The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) officially prevents the use of agricultural land to mine cryptocurrencies with a fine of Dh100,000 for those who disobey the law.

This strict control, which comes into force or effect on September 30, 2025, protects the sustainability of agriculture in the emirate and ensures that the land and resources that should be used to produce food are not abused. The fine applies to the farm owners and those tenants who participate in the activity.

What is the Primary Reason for the Ban?

Misuse of agricultural land in non-approved economic activities that compromise food security and biosecurity mostly cause a ban.

According to ADAFSA, crypto mining in farms is not included in the list of legitimate agricultural and livestock operations. The land that is being used as farmland is used purely to produce crops and breed animals. The authority knows many examples of farms being reused as improvisational energy-intensive data centers, which were directly against prevailing land use regulations.

What Specific Penalties Face Violators?

Violators are fined Dh100,000 on the first instance, and the amount doubles on subsequent occurrences. One of the 5 serious consequences is the fine.

The penalty framework is an indication of a 900 percent rise above the maximum violation limits of Dh10,000 in the past to affirm the zero tolerance attitude of the government. The administrative fines are imposed on both the farm owner and the tenant identified as carrying out the mining.

The 5 Enforcement Actions:

Dh100,000 Fine: Levied on the owner and/or the tenant.
Fine Doubling: The penalty doubles for repeat offenses.
Electricity Disconnection: Utility services disconnect power to the site immediately.
Equipment Confiscation: All crypto mining hardware is seized by authorities.
Service Suspension: Government support programs and all related ADAFSA services to the farm are suspended.

How Does Crypto Mining Threaten Farm Sustainability?

Crypto mining continues to pose a threat to the sustainability of farms due to overuse of energy, resource exploitation and biosecurity risks.

Energy Consumption: Mining rigs require enormous amounts of electricity that have to flow continuously, which places a strain on the on-site power infrastructure. This is not a high-industrial load infrastructure, but an agricultural infrastructure.
Resource Exploitation: Miners are being offered subsidized rates of agricultural utility, which are lower than commercial or residential rates. Studies indicate that the agricultural rates are significantly lower than the industrial rates which present a strain to the government revenue to sustain agriculture.
Stress on the environment: continuously farming equipment causes excessive heat and noise, which makes the farm environment bad. This non-agricultural activity and noise endanger biosecurity aspects that are of great importance to the health of plants and animals. Water-based cooling systems are also highly dependent on, which puts strain on local water resources.

Table 1: Threat Assessment of Illicit Farm Mining

Area of Concern	Specific Operational Impact of Mining	Policy Threat
Energy Grid	High, continuous, non-stop power draw.	Strains the infrastructure, ensures instability.
Economic	Exploitation of subsidized agricultural tariffs.	Undermines fair competition, depletes public resources.
Environmental	Extreme heat generation, high water use for cooling.	Threatens biosecurity, pressures scarce water resources.
Land Use	Converting barns/sheds into data centers.	Violates land zoning, decreases food production capacity.

Does the Ban Affect all Crypto Operations in Abu Dhabi?

No, the ban does not prohibit licensed crypto activities; it merely limits them to the area of agriculture.

The UAE is a significant, crypto-friendly destination, with billions of dollars in crypto inflows and approximately 4 percent of the global Bitcoin hash rate. Mining is not a financial service, but an industrial or IT undertaking. The operator has to obtain an adequate business license and conduct business in a suitable business or industrial premise. The ban on ADAFSA merely creates the requirement of making this industrial activity impossible on farmland.

What is the Next Step for Enforcement?

ADAFSA needs the farm owners and tenants to act now and refer all the violators to be subjected to an additional legal action.

The Authority uses the inspections carried out by the utility providers and data analysis to identify the abnormalities in the power usage in the agricultural areas. The idea is to implement the law immediately, so that agricultural land is not compromised in other areas that will not result in food security and sustainable development within the emirate.