Ripple’s Bahrain Breakthrough: First Blockchain Payments Provider Shakes Up Middle East Finance
Ripple just crashed the traditional banking party in Bahrain—and regulators actually handed them the keys.
The Crypto Kingdom Opens Its Gates
Bahrain's central bank just greenlit Ripple as the first blockchain-powered payments provider in the kingdom. This isn't just another regulatory nod—it's a seismic shift for a region where financial innovation typically moves at the speed of bureaucracy. The Central Bank of Bahrain's approval signals that even conservative financial hubs recognize blockchain's potential to revolutionize cross-border payments.
Cutting Through Red Tape Like a Hot Knife
Ripple's distributed ledger technology bypasses the traditional correspondent banking system that adds days and hefty fees to international transfers. While legacy banks still require three business days and multiple intermediaries to move money across borders, Ripple's network settles transactions in seconds. The timing couldn't be more perfect—Middle Eastern nations are aggressively diversifying their economies beyond oil, and efficient payment infrastructure sits at the center of that transformation.
Traditional Finance's Awkward Pivot
Watch legacy institutions scramble to either partner with or copy Ripple's playbook. They've spent decades building fortress-like payment networks, only to see a blockchain company waltz into one of the world's most regulated markets and secure what they couldn't. The irony? Most traditional banks still treat crypto like the plague while simultaneously trying to replicate its technology. Typical finance sector logic—fight what you can't immediately control, then quietly adopt it once the regulators give their blessing.
This Bahrain breakthrough proves blockchain payments aren't just theoretical—they're officially mainstream enough for kingdom-level adoption. The gates are open, and the traditional financial cavalry is looking increasingly outdated.
Bitcoin and tax
Currently, the IRS treats crypto as property, meaning even small purchases trigger taxable events that create significant reporting burdens for merchants and consumers alike.
In the hectic final hours of negotiations over the reconciliation bill in July, pro-crypto senators and industry policy leaders raced to include the de minimis exemption and other benefits for crypto stakers, miners, and businesses holding digital assets.
Lummis had vowed to reintroduce the proposal in upcoming Senate sessions, calling it a key step toward Bitcoin adoption.
Arthur Azizov, Founder and Investor at B2 Ventures, told Decrypt that a de minimis exemption "is a pragmatic fix for a paperwork problem," adding that it could help merchants and wallets experiment with Bitcoin.
But Azizov cautioned the exemption alone won't turn Bitcoin into a reliable payment method, noting that stores can still lose money if Bitcoin's price changes between payment and conversion to dollars.
He added the reform needs to be "part of a package that includes clear broker-reporting rules, anti-fragmentation protection, and fiat-conversion tools" to become "a realistic step toward broader merchant adoption."
Lummis and crypto
Lummis has remained active on crypto tax reform on multiple fronts.
In May, she and Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) sent a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding immediate action on a separate but related Biden-era tax policy that puts U.S. crypto firms at risk of paying millions in taxes on profits they haven't realized.
"Neither Congress nor FASB planned this outcome," the senators wrote. "It's the unintended result of basing tax liability on decisions by a private organization… not principles of taxation."
