Dubai government and Crypto.com announce partnership
Dubai partners with Crypto.com to enable crypto payments for government services.
The Dubai government has signed a formal agreement with Crypto.com to allow residents and businesses to pay for government services using cryptocurrencies.
The announcement was made during the Dubai Fintech Summit on May 12, marking another step in the emirate’s aggressive push toward becoming a cashless econom, reports BeInCrypto.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between Dubai Finance (DOF) and Crypto.com, will enable digital wallets to process cryptocurrency payments and convert them into UAE dirhams (AED) for settlement into government accounts. While specific digital currencies have not been named, the statement indicated that “stable cryptocurrencies” will be used.
Integration into Dubai’s cashless economic strategy
The agreement aligns with Dubai’s Cashless Strategy, launched in late 2024, which aims to ensure more than 90% of all transactions in both the public and private sectors are cashless by 2026. In 2023, 97% of Dubai’s government transactions were already conducted digitally, according to the DOF.
“The Dubai Cashless Strategy is expected to drive economic growth by adding at least AED 8 billion annually,” officials stated, noting that the Crypto.com partnership reinforces Dubai’s D33 Economic Agenda to become a global innovation hub.
Government-led adoption of crypto and fintech
Senior officials including Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary General of the Executive Council, and Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of DOF, oversaw the signing. Crypto.com UAE President Mohammed Al-Hakim called the partnership a “milestone” for digital finance integration in the region.
Dubai continues to lead the Middle East in digital asset adoption, with projects like the Trump International Hotel and Tower also incorporating crypto payments. As the fintech sector expands, the Crypto.com partnership sets a precedent for broader institutional use of cryptocurrencies in government services.
Recently we wrote that Dubai real estate and cryptocurrency regulators have signed a cooperation agreement to explore the use of tokenization in property registration and management.
