The Open Network (TON) Foundation’s Golden Visa slip-up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) highlights the need for legal compliance and proper review, a local lawyer said.

A premature announcement about TON’s UAE golden visa aimed to benefit the community but ran into complex local crypto rules, according to NeosLegal founder Irina Heaver.

With five regulators overseeing crypto asset service providers’ (CASP) activity in the UAE and strict marketing rules by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), ensuring local compliance requires proper legal assessment.

“Even with support from local government officials, you still must promote crypto deals in full alignment with the federal and local laws,” Heaver told Cointelegraph, adding that CASP-regulated activities like staking and token-related offers require specific attention.

TON’s Golden Visa incident: the timeline of events

The TON Foundation announced a program on Saturday, a Toncoin (TON) staking opportunity that claimed to offer golden visas for holders to enter the UAE.

A group of UAE regulators promptly denied the news on Sunday, issuing a joint statement that golden visas are not issued to digital asset holders. VARA highlighted that the company behind TON was neither licensed nor regulated by the agency.

In the now-deleted announcement, TON said it was offering to secure a “10-year Golden Visa with a one-time $35,000 processing fee” in addition to staking $100,000 in Toncoin for three years.

The foundation has since clarified that the announcement was premature and that it is working with a licensed partner independently. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov had amplified the post by retweeting crypto influencer Ash Crypto’s claim that “TON has just partnered with the UAE,” though Durov deleted the tweet a day later.

“TON has just partnered with the UAE to offer a 10-year Golden Visa to TON stakers,” said the now-deleted X post by Ash Crypto, which was retweeted by Durov.

The retweeted post was live until Monday at 1:00 pm UTC at least, and then deleted by Durov. The original post remained live on Ash Crypto as of Tuesday at 10:00 am UTC.

Early warnings from CZ

Some prominent figures in the crypto community, including former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, were quick to question the credibility of TON’s announcement.

“Is this real?” CZ asked X in response to the announcement. “It would be awesome IF it is true. But I got conflicting info so far,” he said on Saturday.

CZ specifically referred to the lack of official information from government authorities related to the program, calling on the community to verify sources, no matter how reputable they are.

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Despite early warnings, TON’s golden visa announcement generated significant excitement within the community, prompting a sharp price rally on Saturday, followed by a sell-off after UAE authorities denied involvement.

Legal reviews “can save millions of fines”

Despite the initial enthusiasm, the UAE’s swift denial turned the TON announcement into a cautionary tale. Legal experts said it’s a reminder that hype-driven announcements in the crypto space can backfire when not properly vetted.

“In a fast-moving space like ours, it’s tempting to prioritize hype and own Twitter feed for a day, but in the UAE, the laws are already well-established,” Heaver said.

“It takes a knowledgeable crypto lawyer just two to three hours to review marketing materials and flag potential issues, and that quick check can save weeks of regulatory headaches and millions of dirhams in fines,” she said, adding:

“It’s a reminder that legal review isn’t a blocker — it’s a builder of sustainable growth.”

VARA declined to comment any further on the incident to Cointelegraph, referring to the joint announcement posted on Sunday.