Ripple has received a license to offer cryptocurrency payments in the UAE

The company was the first licensed blockchain payment provider at Dubai International Financial Center

13.03.2025 - 10:10

2 min

What’s new? Fintech company Ripple, which issues the $130,7 billion XRP token, has received full approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to offer cross-border cryptocurrency payment services in the UAE. The company will operate within the Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC), a free economic zone with its own tax policy and regulatory framework.

Material by Cointelegraph

What else is known? Obtaining authorization to operate in the country was phased. Back on October 1, 2024, Ripple announced that it had started working on deploying its digital asset infrastructure in the UAE. At that time, the DFSA gave the company in-principle approval for the license. With the issuance of full authorization, Ripple became the first blockchain-based payment provider to operate in the DIFC free zone.

With this license, Ripple can provide its global blockchain-based payment solutions to businesses across the UAE. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the UAE is “well-placed” to benefit from technological and crypto innovation:

“We are entering an unprecedented period of growth for the crypto industry, driven by greater regulatory clarity around the world and increasing institutional adoption.”

Ripple also noted the growing demand for cross-border payments in the Middle East, not only from crypto firms but also from traditional financial institutions.

In addition, Ripple is looking into the actions of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) to regulate stablecoins. “This is something we’re monitoring closely, and we are working with the CBUAE to understand the requirements and timelines for when this regulation comes into effect,” the spokesperson said. This is important for the company as it recently launched its own dollar-pegged stablecoin, RLUSD.

Ripple and RLUSD: A new look at stablecoins

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Ripple makes it a priority to make RLUSD available globally. The stablecoin is available in the UAE through crypto exchange CoinMENA, a company representative clarified.

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