PANews reported on August 16 that according to Cointelegraph, the UAE has made a major update to its judicial approach to cryptocurrencies, and the Dubai Court of First Instance recognized that wages paid in cryptocurrencies are valid under employment contracts. Irina Heaver, a partner at the UAE law firm NeosLegal, explained that the ruling in Case No. 1739 of 2024 showed that the court was different from its position earlier in 2023, when a similar claim was dismissed because the cryptocurrencies involved lacked an accurate valuation. Heaver believes that this demonstrates a "progressive approach" to integrating digital currencies into the country's legal and economic framework.
The case Heaver recently mentioned involved an employee who sued his employer for non-payment of wages, illegal termination compensation, and other benefits. The case was unique in that the employee's employment contract included not only a traditional fiat currency salary, but also stipulated that 5,250 EcoWatt tokens should be paid monthly as part of the salary. The core of the dispute was that the employer failed to pay the EcoWatt token portion of the salary as required by the contract for six months. In 2023, the court first recognized the validity of the EcoWatt token in this contract, but because the employee failed to provide a clear method to convert the tokens into fiat currency, the court did not force the employer to pay in cryptocurrency. However, in 2024, the court "took an important step" on this issue. It ruled in favor of the employee, explicitly requiring the employer to pay wages directly in cryptocurrency as agreed in the employment contract without converting them into fiat currency. Heaver said that this ruling not only reflects the court's growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in employment contracts, but also emphasizes the court's recognition of the transformative nature of financial transactions in the Web3 economy.
