Dubai Goes Full Crypto: Government Strikes Deal with Crypto.com for Digital Payments
Dubai’s bureaucracy just got a blockchain facelift—officials are swapping paperwork for payouts in crypto. The partnership with Crypto.com lets residents settle government bills in digital assets, skipping the usual banking red tape.
Why it matters: While Wall Street still debates ETF approvals, Dubai’s cutting through the noise by putting crypto in public sector workflows. No more waiting for ’traditional finance’ to catch up.
The cynical take: Because nothing says ’innovation’ like letting citizens pay parking tickets with volatile internet money. At least transaction speeds will outpace the emirate’s permit processing times.
Dubai Advances Cashless Economy with Crypto.com MoU
The emirate’s official media office announced the collaboration. It also emphasized that this represents a major step forward in advancing digital finance worldwide.
“Dubai Finance (DOF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Crypto.com, a globally recognised cryptocurrency trading platform, to enable the payment of government service fees using cryptocurrencies,” the announcement read.
The partnership seeks to leverage Crypto.com’s digital wallets to convert cryptocurrency payments into dirhams (AED). The payment will be transferred to Dubai Finance accounts. The system will be implemented once the technical arrangements for activating the agreement are completed.
Following this, individuals and business entities will be able to pay service fees through the wallet. The statement did not identify the cryptocurrencies for payment. Nonetheless, it noted that “stable cryptocurrencies” will be used for transactions.
Meanwhile, Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai, and Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of DOF, oversaw the signing of the MoU.
In addition, Ahmad Ali Meftah, Executive Director of the Central Accounts Sector at DOF, and Mohammed Al-Hakim, President of Crypto.com UAE, were also part of the formalization.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the Department of Finance for enabling new global partnerships that support the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 and reinforce Dubai’s status as a global hub for innovation,” Al Basti stated.
The MOVE is part of the broader Dubai Cashless Strategy, launched in October 2024. The strategy aims to strengthen Dubai’s global standing by facilitating secure, efficient financial transactions across the public and private sectors.
Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of the Government of Dubai’s Department of Finance (DOF), highlighted in a previous statement that in 2023, 97% of Dubai’s government transactions were already digital.
The latest partnership seeks to accelerate this further. Amna Mohammed Lootah, Director of Digital Payment Systems Regulation, stated that the goal is to ensure that more than 90% of financial transactions in both the public and private sectors are cashless by 2026.
“The Dubai Cashless Strategy is expected to drive economic growth by adding at least AED 8 billion annually to the economy, fuelled by the development of a wide range of innovative financial technology services and the accelerated expansion of Dubai’s fintech sector,” the statement added.
Notably, the Trump Organization’s latest projects in Dubai already align with this vision. Currently under construction, the Trump International Hotel and Tower will accept Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies for purchases. This further supports Dubai’s push to integrate cryptocurrency payments into mainstream commerce.
