Galaxy Digital announced the opening of a new office and the creation of a regulated entity under Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), marking a significant expansion into the United Arab Emirates. The new office — based in the heart of ADGM — will be led by Managing Director Bouchra Darwazah, who will drive regional growth leveraging Galaxy’s global experience in digital assets, data-center infrastructure, and institutional services.
According to Ms. Darwazah, the Middle East is now one of the most influential financial regions, home to sophisticated investors, sovereign funds, and rapidly expanding digital-infrastructure projects. Establishing a permanent office in ADGM enables Galaxy to better support institutional clients, counterparties, and portfolio companies in a region increasingly shaping global digital-asset trends.
Galaxy founder and CEO Mike Novogratz noted the expansion unlocks fresh opportunities for collaboration and innovation — underscoring both Galaxy’s commitment to the region and ADGM’s growing appeal as a regulated base for digital-asset operations.
ADFW 2025: The UAE’s Fintech & Digital-Asset Momentum
Galaxy’s announcement did not come in isolation — it coincided with a broader wave of digital-finance and fintech developments showcased during ADFW 2025.
The third day of ADFW featured Fintech Abu Dhabi and RESOLVE 2025, events that gathered global finance, tech, legal, and dispute-resolution leaders to explore the next generation of banking, tokenisation, stablecoins, digital assets, AI-based finance, and institutional adoption of crypto-based infrastructure.
On the Fintech Abu Dhabi main stage, top executives from major global fintech and crypto firms addressed crucial topics — from digital credit and regulatory innovation to stablecoins and banking transformation. Notable speakers included Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase; Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle; Richard Teng, CEO of Binance; Jennifer Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton; Anthony Soohoo, CEO of MoneyGram; and Ambareen Musa, GCC CEO at Revolut — all of whom shared insights on the future of regulated digital finance, institutional adoption, and global fintech disruption.
Parallel forums such as Blockchain Abu Dhabi, AI-driven risk & infrastructure forums, and closed-door “Stablecoin Dialogues” and “Web3 Leaders Roundtable” sessions underscored the push for coordinated regulatory clarity, institutional-grade infrastructure, and legal frameworks designed for digital assets.
ADFW also saw a wide range of MoUs and partnerships between local and global players, indicating capital flows, cross-border collaboration, and ecosystem building — all under the banner of “Engineering the Capital of Capital.”
How Galaxy’s Entry Fits Into ADFW’s New Era of Finance
The coincidence of Galaxy’s ADGM office launch with major fintech/digital-asset announcements at ADFW is more than timing — it reflects an emerging, integrated strategy. With ADFW spotlighting frameworks around tokenization, stablecoins, and digital-asset regulation, Galaxy’s regulated presence under ADGM gives it a compliant base to offer services matching this emerging regulatory environment.
As traditional financial institutions and legacy banks — through ADFW — explore digital banking, AI, and tokenization, Galaxy represents a bridge: bringing data-centre infrastructure, digital-asset trading, and custody to serve both fintech disruptors and traditional finance adapting to the new era.
ADFW’s ecosystem of MoUs and partnerships, along with Galaxy’s global reach, may create synergies — facilitating capital flows, cross-border investment, and institutional adoption of digital-asset infrastructure.
Galaxy’s expansion — combined with the innovation push evidenced at ADFW — enhances ADGM’s reputation as a leading regulated hub for digital assets, FinTech and Web3, helping attract more firms, talent, and investors.
A Broader Vision: What This Means for the Future
The combined developments signal a shift in how digital finance is being institutionalized in the Middle East. The UAE — via ADGM and events like ADFW — is positioning itself as a major global center for digital assets, tokenization, fintech, and next-gen banking. Institutional players (like Galaxy) are now anchoring themselves in the region, suggesting long-term strategic bets — not simply speculative or short-term ventures.
Regulatory clarity, infrastructure readiness, innovation-friendly hubs, and global capital alignment may together produce a robust ecosystem where digital assets, blockchain infrastructure, and traditional finance co-exist and collaborate.
In that sense, Galaxy’s arrival at ADGM is both a signal and a catalyst: a signal that global digital-asset firms are betting on Abu Dhabi, and a catalyst that may accelerate institutional-grade adoption, partnerships, and growth across the region.
