MENA News
Discover the latest blockchain and crypto news from the MENA region, including updates from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, covering trends, regulations, and developments shaping the industry
The UAE digital assets market entered 2025 with confidence—but exited the year with clarity. What defined the past twelve months was not a single breakthrough, but a series of structural signals that now shape the 2026 outlook for crypto, blockchain, and digital finance in the country. Consolidation replaced expansion. Enforcement followed licensing. Infrastructure moved from promise to delivery. Banks stepped into custody and issuance. And speculation, while still present, lost…
Read More »As we turn the page to 2026, the global crypto and blockchain industry stands at a pivotal inflection point. Following years of rapid expansion, innovation cycles, and regulatory trial balloons, the narrative for the year ahead is no longer about who can build the next protocol, but who can integrate, scale, and consolidate sustainably. This shift is already underway, and nowhere is that more evident than in the Middle East…
Read More »AIxCrypto Inc. (NASDAQ: AIXC) announced the establishment of a regulated Web3-focused subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates, after receiving approval for a Web3 operations license from local authorities, subject to final administrative processing. The subsidiary is based in Ras Al Khaimah Innovation City, one of the UAE’s most Web3-friendly jurisdictions. The license marks a foundational step for AIxCrypto, strengthening regulatory certainty, capital access, operational flexibility, and long-term scalability, while positioning…
Read More »The UAE’s leadership held high-level talks with Elon Musk this week, highlighting the country’s growing role in shaping the future of artificial intelligence, advanced technology, and global digital infrastructure. President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Musk in Abu Dhabi to discuss developments in AI, next-generation technologies, and the importance of international cooperation in accelerating innovation. The meeting, attended by senior UAE leaders including the Crown…
Read More »In a development that reads like the sequel to one of this year’s most talked-about stablecoin regulatory stories, the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has now formally accepted USDT on the TRON blockchain as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token (AFRT) under its Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). The announcement was confirmed in an X post by TRON DAO, highlighting that licensed Authorized Persons in ADGM can now use USDT on TRON…
Read More »In a significant step toward modernizing humanitarian giving, the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) has launched a service allowing approved charitable associations and institutions in Dubai to accept donations in cryptocurrencies and virtual assets. The initiative, which reflects Dubai’s commitment to digital transformation and innovation, offers donors new, modern channels to support humanitarian causes while aligning the emirate’s charitable sector with global trends in digital finance. A Strategic…
Read More »The UAE is entering a decisive phase in its stablecoin journey.AEcoin is already live under the Central Bank’s payment token framework. Zand Bank’s AED-backed stablecoin has secured regulatory approval. Meanwhile, the market is watching closely as larger institutions, including First Abu Dhabi Bank and RAK-linked initiatives, await their own approvals from the Central Bank. In this increasingly active landscape, one project has chosen a clearly different path. When USDU (Universal…
Read More »ADGM, Abu Dhabi’s international financial centre, is entering its second decade with accelerating momentum — and digital assets are increasingly at the heart of that growth. The centre announced the addition of 11 major global financial institutions representing more than USD 9 trillion in assets under management, underscoring Abu Dhabi’s rising influence across both traditional finance and next-generation financial infrastructure. The jump is striking. Assets represented at ADGM stood at…
Read More »Dubai’s DMCC has entered a strategic partnership with cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com to advance tokenization across global commodities and lay the groundwork for next-generation digital trade infrastructure. The collaboration, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding, aims to explore blockchain-enabled solutions that reduce settlement friction, enhance price transparency, and expand market access across commodities including precious metals, diamonds, energy, and agricultural products. The initiative also includes evaluating tokenized commodities for listing on…
Read More »Financial infrastructure provider Fuze has entered into a strategic partnership with Jazari, a “Remit Now, Pay Later” platform, in a move aimed at reshaping cross-border money transfers across the Middle East and North Africa. The collaboration targets the region’s estimated $200 billion remittance market and seeks to deliver faster, more affordable payments to more than 30 million people, many of whom are underserved migrant workers. The partnership will leverage compliant…
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