Ripple announced that it has become the first authorized blockchain payments provider in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC). In fact, the crypto company obtained the license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), unlocking cross-border crypto payments that become fully regulated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Summary
Ripple is the first provider of crypto payments and blockchain services in Dubai
Ripple has become the first authorized blockchain payments provider in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC). This milestone comes after the crypto company obtained the license directly from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).
“Ripple has obtained regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), thus becoming the first blockchain payments provider authorized in the DIFC. This milestone unlocks fully regulated cross-border cryptocurrency payments in the United Arab Emirates, bringing faster, cheaper, and more transparent transactions to a 40 billion dollar market.”
Specifically, this approval makes the Ripple product for global payments available to all companies in the United Arab Emirates.
Not only that, Ripple hopes to become the trusted crypto partner for financial institutions that wish to leverage the superior capabilities of digital assets, in order to promote real-world utility.
Ripple in Dubai: a cross-border payments market of 40 billion dollars
The enthusiasm for Ripple’s new position in Dubai was also shared by the CEO of the crypto company, Brad Garlinghouse:
“We are entering a period of unprecedented growth for the cryptocurrency industry, thanks to greater regulatory clarity worldwide and increasing adoption by institutions. Thanks to its leadership in creating a favorable environment for technological innovation and cryptocurrencies, the United Arab Emirates is in an exceptional position to benefit from it.”
The core business of Ripple has always been blockchain-based cross-border payments. According to data from the World Bank reported, the cross-border payments market of the UAE is valued at a substantial 40 billion dollars.
With this scenario, Ripple has analyzed that throughout the Middle East there is a growing demand from crypto enterprises and traditional financial institutions. These companies are seeking alternative solutions to traditional cross-border payments that still offer high fees, long settlement times, and a lack of transparency.
In any case, the present achievement of Ripple is the DIFC, which represents the leading global financial center in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
At the same time, Arif Amiri, CEO of the DIFC emphasized his enthusiasm for supporting forward-thinking companies like Ripple to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology in the payments sector.
The official conquest in the United Arab Emirates and the XRP ETFs in the USA
The present announcement by Ripple confirms its official achievement for the entire UAE, already announced in October 2024.
In fact, at that moment, Ripple had already shared that it had obtained in principle approval from the DFSA for its license for blockchain and crypto financial services.
In August, then, Ripple had announced also its partnership with the DIFC Innovation Hub, with the goal of accelerating blockchain adoption throughout the Middle East.
At that moment, Ripple had committed one billion XRP to accelerate development and new global use cases on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the decentralized first-layer blockchain.
Meanwhile, in the USA, just yesterday, the news leaked that the digital asset manager, Franklin Templeton, filed the form S-1 with the SEC, to issue its spot Ripple ETF. In the hands of the SEC, there would now be the applications for the issuance of XRP ETFs from WisdomTree, Bitwise, 21Shares, Canary Capital, and NYSE Arca.
