Ripple Execs Court UAE Regulators at Dubai Fintech Summit—Because Even Crypto Needs Permission Sometimes
Ripple’s leadership made strategic moves in Dubai this week, rubbing shoulders with UAE officials at the high-profile Fintech Summit. The payments giant—still battling the SEC back home—clearly sees greener pastures in the Middle East’s sandbox-friendly regulatory climate.
Behind closed doors: Expect whispers about CBDC pilots and cross-border payment corridors. Because nothing says ’decentralization’ like cozying up to central banks.
The irony? A company built to bypass SWIFT now plays the diplomatic game better than most legacy banks. Maybe those XRP reserves buy more than just liquidity.
Ripple meets with UAE officials to discuss digital payment infrastructure and accelerating financial innovation. pic.twitter.com/1N7z8Bcazc
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) May 14, 2025
In a post to X (formerly Twitter), Ripple stated, “We continue to be impressed with the leadership demonstrated by Dubai as it establishes itself as one of the world’s leading hubs for digital assets.” Ripple first opened its Dubai office in 2020 and has since grown its regional footprint, now accounting for 20% of its global customer base in the Middle East. Now, the partnership is continuing to grow, with Wednesday’s in-person meeting serving as proof.
Last year, Ripple announced a major partnership with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Specifically, the firm revealed cooperation with the DIFC innovation hub. That Dubai platform is already acting as “hope for more than 1,000 growth-stage tech firms, innovation companies, digital labs, venture capital firms, regulators, and educational entities.”
“The partnership between Ripple and DIFC Innovation Hub will provide the means to drive blockchain and crypto adoption amongst early-stage companies,” the release said. Moreover, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said the partnership will “drive the adoption of blockchain technology in the region as XRPL continues to be a leading blockchain,” in the UAE.
Additionally, Ripple recently secured its first DFSA license for blockchain payments in the UAE. The license permits Ripple to offer its cross-border payments platform, Ripple Payments, across the region. Furthermore, this move also opens access to a $400B trade hub with regulated cross-border services and the RLUSD stablecoin.
