Islamic Fintech Ruya Goes Crypto—Because Even Halal Banks Can’t Resist Digital Gold Rush

Dubai’s Sharia-compliant digital bank Ruya just flung open the doors to cryptocurrency investments—proving that when there’s money to be made, even the most conservative institutions will dance with volatility.

The move signals a tectonic shift in Islamic finance: after years of hand-wringing over crypto’s permissibility, Ruya’s platform now lets clients trade major digital assets while supposedly keeping it halal. Because nothing says ’ethical investing’ like chasing the same speculative bubbles as Wall Street.

Observers note the UAE’s financial watchdog (the FSA) has been quietly greenlighting crypto experiments—as long as they generate fees. Meanwhile, Ruya’s app reportedly saw a 300% surge in downloads within hours of the announcement. Because apparently, ’blockchain-based’ is the new ’interest-free’ when marketing to millennials.

One cynical take? This is less about financial inclusion and more about banks realizing they’ll become irrelevant if they don’t pretend to love decentralized finance. The race to rebrand speculation as ’asset diversification’ is officially on.

ruya joins UAE Liv digital bank in offering crypto trading solutions

According to Christoph Koster, CEO of ruya, the bank is committed to transforming the financial landscape in the UAE. By offering crypto in its investment platform, it is also empowering customers to participate in the digital economy.

He adds, “We can also assure our customers that the virtual assets we are offering on our ruya investment platform are Shari’ah-compliant, providing much-needed certainty.”

Mohammed Ali Yusuf (Mo Ali Yusuf), Co-Founder and CEO of Fuze, stated, “Partnering with ruya is a big step towards making virtual assets a seamless part of everyday banking. Together, we’re combining Fuze’s cutting-edge infrastructure with ruya’s commitment to ethical Islamic banking.”

ruya is not the first bank to embrace crypto in the UAE. Liv digital bank, a subsidiary of the UAE’s Emirates NBD bank, also started offering its clients crypto trading services on its application.

Liv bank has openly showcased its entrance into the crypto era, competing with already regulated UAE crypto exchanges. UAE Liv Bank touts itself as a trusted partner to invest in crypto because it has directions for how users in the UAE can trade securely with the Liv app for fees as low as 0.5% with guided modules and the security that Emirates NBD Bank brings.

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