Ripple Secures Regulatory Approval To Offer Crypto Payments In The UAE

Ripple, a leading provider of enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions, announced Thursday that it had bagged full regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to offer cross-border crypto payment services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Leading crypto firm Ripple has scored full regulatory approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to offer cross-border crypto payment services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This new Dubai license will see Ripple able to tap into the UAE’s flourishing $40 billion cross-border payments market with its blockchain-powered solutions.

The approval makes Ripple the first payments provider of its kind to be licensed to operate within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and will be a huge expansion in the Middle East for Ripple.

“We are entering an unprecedented period of growth for the crypto industry, driven by greater regulatory clarity around the world and increasing institutional adoption,” said Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

Garlinghouse added that the UAE is “exceptionally well-placed” to benefit from this period of growth as it has taken early steps to create a conducive environment for cryptocurrency innovation.

This latest approval follows Ripple’s in-principle DFSA license approval in October 2024, which allowed the firm to launch its services in the DIFC, a UAE free-zone with its own tax policies and regulatory framework.

“This latest regulatory approval positions Ripple to further accelerate growth and innovation in a high-potential market,” Ripple wrote.

The company noted that the United Arab Emirates boasts a $40 billion cross-border payments market, which has seen increasing demand for more seamless payment solutions.

With the need for real-time settlements also expected to fuel stablecoin adoption in the region, Ripple launched its U.S.-dollar-backed RLUSD stablecoin in December.

The crypto is currently valued at $134.9 million, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Ripple vs SEC

Ripple’s official entry into the UAE market comes amid reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to close its case against the crypto firm after more than four years.

This comes as the agency, under U.S. President Donald Trump and the helm of Mark Uyeda, has seen a shift to a more positive stance on crypto.

Despite the agency’s case against the crypto firm, which has seen the SEC pursue an agenda to register crypto tokens sold as securities, Ripple remained undeterred, securing an impressive license portfolio.

With this new DFSA license, Ripple’s global regulatory approval count now stands at over 60. This includes a Major Payments Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Trust Charter, to name a few.

As Ripple secures more licenses and expands its global footprint, it seems that XRP is also being lined up for more mainstream adoption, with the XRPArmy focused on reaching the highly coveted $3 price point.

The crypto asset was trading at $2.32 at the time of writing, showing a 7% surge over the past 24 hours.