Ton Foundation clarifies misleading announcement regarding UAE golden visa
2025/07/07 11:15The TON Foundation has denied claims that it has launched an official UAE Golden Visa initiative, clarifying that no formal partnership exists between the blockchain project and the UAE government.
The clarification follows widespread social media reports suggesting that digital asset investors could gain UAE residency through staking TON tokens.
Over the weekend, TON promotions claimed individuals could secure a 10-year Golden Visa by staking $100,000 worth of TON tokens and paying a $35,000 processing fee. This was framed as a more accessible alternative to traditional routes that require real estate investments exceeding $500,000.
However, UAE authorities swiftly refuted these claims. In a joint statement released July 7, the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security (ICP), the Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) denied any such initiative.
The ICP clarified that Golden Visas remain limited to applicants who meet specific eligibility criteria, such as real estate investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and exceptional talents, with digital asset holders not currently included.
The SCA added that virtual assets are regulated under a separate legal structure unrelated to residency pathways, while VARA confirmed that TON is not licensed or authorized to operate within the UAE’s regulatory framework.
In its July 7 statement, TON explained that the initiative in question is an exploratory effort in collaboration with a licensed partner specializing in blockchain infrastructure and tokenized assets, but is developing entirely outside any formal arrangement with UAE government entities.
According to the statement:
“No official Golden Visa program has launched in partnership with the government of the United Arab Emirates, nor has any governmental endorsement been granted to TON.”
TON emphasized that while the collaboration seeks to explore compliant, blockchain-based frameworks that could one day support real-world residency pathways, it is still in early development. The statement also emphasized that any visa application decisions remain at the discretion of UAE authorities.
The announcement drew industry criticism for its initial marketing approach. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao called it “aggressive/misleading marketing.”
TON said it welcomed the UAE’s joint statement, reaffirming its commitment to regulatory transparency and responsible development. The foundation added that any future official involvement in Golden Visa programs would be communicated transparently through the appropriate channels.
The TON Foundation continues to focus on integrating real-world assets with digital infrastructure in its broader efforts to bring tokenized services on-chain.
The post Ton Foundation clarifies misleading announcement regarding UAE golden visa appeared first on CryptoSlate.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Morgan Stanley’s $50.6M BTC buying shields market – But rally to $82K has THIS hurdle
Will the Fed "continue raising interest rates"? Will the "tightening cycle" of the late 1980s be repeated?
The Citi report points out that the current macro environment is highly similar to the tightening cycle of 1988-1989, when the economy remained resilient and inflation pressures gradually accumulated, followed by a slowdown in economic activity before policies shifted to easing. During that tightening cycle, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates 16 times in a row.
Rare alliance of arch-rivals! Musk and Altman support Dario Amodei's call to "slow down AI globally"
Anthropic's Amodei issued a call to "slow down AI globally," and to everyone's surprise, rivals Musk and Altman both publicly endorsed the initiative. The three industry giants unanimously agreed to grant third-party access to "employee-level" evaluation rights and to implement coordinated deceleration measures. Altman went further, announcing that OpenAI will not IPO this year. The resignation of a researcher and a collective breakout of uncontrollable AI systems have ignited long-standing industry fears.
Bitcoin vs Ethereum ETFs: Which asset is winning September’s flow battle?
Crypto prices
More
