The Blockchain Center Abu Dhabi

The UAE is entering a new phase of blockchain adoption. Our new flagship report with @binance looks at how a layered regulatory framework is enabling institutional-scale blockchain deployment across finance, government, and public services. Commenting on the findings, @dhaheri_12, CEO @adbc_ae, said: “The UAE has created an environment where regulators, financial institutions, and technology providers can work together to deploy blockchain in a controlled and meaningful way. The result is an ecosystem focused on real use cases, regulatory clarity, and long-term financial infrastructure. This report captures that transition from experimentation to supervised deployment, and shows how global platforms such as @binance are increasingly participating within locally regulated market structures rather than operating on the periphery.” Access the full report 👉theblockchaincenter.ae/adbc-binance-r… #AbuDhabiToTheWorld

On May 7, the UAE's two regulated stablecoins, @AECoin_UAE (AED) and @Universal_USDU (USD), announced they are building an automated conversion framework between them. The first regulated AED–USD on-chain bridge, powered by @almaryahbank (Mbank). Today the UAE has five @centralbankuae-approved payment tokens: @AECoin_UAE, Zand AED, DDSC, @Universal_USDU, and RAKBANK AED (in-principle). All authorized under the Payment Token Services Regulation (PTSR). This matters because the UAE's stablecoin market is not small. The country processed $𝟓𝟔𝐁 in crypto volume between July 2024 and June 2025 — 𝟓𝟏% of it in stablecoins, one of the highest concentrations in MENA. Merchant crypto payments grew +𝟖𝟖.𝟏% YoY. Institutional transactions above $𝟏𝟎𝐌 grew +𝟓𝟒.𝟕%. The infrastructure is catching up to the demand. 👉@adbc_ae #UAEForDigitalAssets

Missed Xin’s recent interview on Al Qahera News القاهرة الإخبارية)? Here are some key moments: - US-China Summit & Supply Chains: youtu.be/UUsPDeohiEE?t=… - AI, Data Centers & Energy Tech: youtu.be/UUsPDeohiEE?t=… -Geopolitical Analysis: Middle East: youtu.be/UUsPDeohiEE?t=… Tip: Enable Settings -> Subtitles -> Auto-translate -> English

Welcoming Republic Technologies to the Sign ecosystem. investing.com/news/stock-mar… Republic Technologies (CSE: DOCT | FSE: 7FM0 | OTCQB: DOCKF) is a Canadian public-market vehicle giving listed-equity shareholders disclosure-driven exposure to the foundational infrastructure layers of the next-generation internet: verification, identity, programmable capital, settlement. Under this agreement, Republic will be deploying the S.I.G.N. stack across capital-markets and public-company workflows. The first publicly listed deployment of this stack. A meaningful step toward S.I.G.N. stack entering the listed-company toolkit, alongside conventional audit, compliance, and continuous-disclosure processes. Onward.

We've rounded up the latest moves by the world's financial giants betting on the UAE, from $3.3 trillion @CapitalGroup to @nubank's 131-million-customer digital bank. ▪️@blackstone commits $250M into a UAE payments infrastructure platform — 🗓️𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟔 (👉 thenationalnews.com/business/econo…) ▪️Muzinich & Co opens its @ADGlobalMarket credit management office — 🗓️𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟑𝟎 (👉 zawya.com/en/business/in…) ▪️Hillhouse Investment opens an @ADGlobalMarket office — 🗓️𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐 (👉 thenationalnews.com/business/econo…) ▪️@nubank announces global headquarters in the UAE — 🗓️𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟑 (👉 fintechnews.ae/30978/digital-…) ▪️@BainCapital and @Barings open @ADGlobalMarket offices — 🗓️𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟔 (👉 thenationalnews.com/business/econo…) ▪️@Ripple opens its MEA regional HQ in @DIFC — 🗓️𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟑𝟎 (👉 zawya.com/en/press-relea…) ▪️@hashed_official obtains its @ADGlobalMarket financial services permission — 🗓️𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟑𝟎 (👉 adgm.com/media/announce…) ▪️Rokos Capital Management receives @ADGlobalMarket approval — 🗓️𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏 (👉 adgm.com/media/announce…) ▪️@CapitalGroup announces its first-ever Middle East office at @ADGlobalMarket — 🗓️𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟓 (👉 thenationalnews.com/business/econo…) ▪️Man Group submits a Category 3A licence application at @ADGlobalMarket — 🗓️𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟓 (👉 thenationalnews.com/business/econo…) ▪️@BNYglobal expands crypto services in Abu Dhabi — 🗓️𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟕 (👉 coindesk.com/business/2026/…) Every one of these announcements came against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, and that's exactly what makes them significant. Institutional capital, particularly in digital assets, keeps moving into the UAE. The volume of commitment we've seen since @ADFinanceWeek in December 2025 has been extraordinary. We invite everyone to be part of this growth and explore what the region has to offer! 👉@adbc_ae #UAEForDigitalAssets

Seeing Signs again in Korea! SIGN Korea Representative, @pudgysook, will be attending 2026 The Institutional Web3 Forum Beyond Banking: Web3 for Institutions 2026 as a speaker on May 12th. This event is co-hosted by @tokenpostkr, Korea’s leading blockchain media, Korean (Korea Fintech Industry Association), and OBDIA (Open Blockchain & DID Association).

أصبحت عملة آي إي كوين، AE Coin، معتمدة الآن لدى مجموعة نيفوس، لتكون بذلك أول شركة خدمات مهنية في المنطقة تُتيح مدفوعات العملات المستقرة الخاضعة للتنظيم عبر محفظة اي اي سي. يمثل هذا خطوة أخرى نحو تسهيل المدفوعات الرقمية اليومية في جميع أنحاء الإمارات العربية المتحدة، بدءًا من التسوية الفورية للفواتير وصولًا إلى خفض تكاليف المعاملات. AE Coin is now accepted by Nephos Group, the first professional services firm in the region to enable regulated stablecoin payments via AEC Wallet. From instant invoice settlement to lower transaction costs, this marks another step toward everyday digital payments across the UAE. #MbankUAE #BankOnUs #DigitalBank

آي إي كوين، أول عملة مستقرة مدعومة بالدرهم الإماراتي، وعملة USDU، أول عملة مستقرة مدعومة بالدولار الأمريكي، تتعاونان لتطوير أول إطار رقمي منظم في دولة الإمارات للتحويل بين الدرهم الإماراتي والدولار الأمريكي، بدعم من بنك المارية المحلي. هذه المبادرة تتيح تنفيذ عمليات تحويل شبه فورية بين رموز الدفع الرقمية المقومة بالدرهم والدولار، بما يدعم تسويات الأصول الافتراضية، وإدارة السيولة، وعمليات الخزينة، ضمن منظومة مالية رقمية متوافقة مع الأطر التنظيمية في دولة الإمارات. تمثل هذه الخطوة محطة جديدة نحو بناء بنية تحتية مالية رقمية أكثر ترابطاً وكفاءة، تدعم مستقبل المدفوعات والتسويات الرقمية وتعزز مكانة دولة الإمارات كمركز عالمي للابتكار المالي.  AE Coin, the first UAE dirham-backed stablecoin, and USDU, the first US dollar-backed stablecoin, are collaborating to develop the UAE’s first regulated digital framework for converting between the UAE dirham and the US dollar, with support from Mbank. This initiative enables near-instant transfers between digital payment tokens denominated in dirhams and dollars, supporting virtual asset settlements, liquidity management, and treasury operations within a digital financial ecosystem that complies with the UAE’s regulatory frameworks. This step marks a new milestone toward building a more connected and efficient digital financial infrastructure that supports the future of digital payments and settlements, while reinforcing the UAE’s position as a global hub for financial innovation. #AECoin #USDU #MbankUAE

Today marks a major milestone for KAIO with the $KAIO TGE. A quick reflection on where we stand after 2 years of building: • ~$100M TVL live with tokenised top-tier funds from BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, Laser Digital, and Mubadala Capital. • Live across 10+ Tier-1 chains with our cross-chain gateway including @solana, @SeiNetwork, @SuiNetwork, @Aptos , @hedera, and others. • Backed by top tier institutions who are rewriting how capital markets and money moves including @tether, @LaserDigital_, @BHDigitalAssets, @Systemic_VC, @LyrikVentures, @Karatage_, @ShorooqPartners, and others. • Building toward deeper DeFi composability that bring real utility to RWAs • KASH, our retail RWA access product, is launching soon to open up even broader access. The tokenised asset space is hitting a real inflection point. For KAIO it has always been traction and product before hype. We’re here to lead this transition to onchain capital markets. This is what we mean by Transforming Institutional Funds Onchain.

في إطار تعزيز بيئة الأعمال وتسهيل الوصول إلى الخدمات المالية، وقّع بنك المارية المحلي مذكرة تفاهم مع اقتصادية أبوظبي متمثلة بسلطة أبوظبي للتسجيل، بهدف تبسيط إجراءات فتح الحسابات البنكية للشركات. وتسهم هذه المذكرة في تمكين الشركات من إدارة عملياتها بسهولة وكفاءة أكبر، بما يدعم نمو الأعمال ويعزز بيئة الأعمال في أبوظبي. To strengthen the business environment by improving access to financial services,Al Maryah Community Bank and #ADDED, represented by ADRA, signed an MoU to simplify business bank account opening. This MoU enables companies to manage their operations more easily and efficiently, supporting business growth and strengthening Abu Dhabi’s business sector. #MbankUAE #BankOnUs #DigitalBank

Last week, @ADGlobalMarket and @hashed_official shared something we've been waiting for — the report from their joint roundtable, held in December at @ADFinanceWeek, the most important week in the #UAE calendar for global finance, digital assets, and institutional capital. Both companies convened a closed-door Web3 Leaders Roundtable, structured around two sessions: Digital Infrastructure 2030 and Institutional Adoption of Digital Assets. The roundtable produced a joint policy report with findings across 8 key themes, from AI agent governance to Basel capital treatment of stablecoins. You can download it here 👉 assets.adgm.com/download/asset… What the room agreed on: 🔵 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 — AI agents will drive transaction volumes by orders of magnitude. Blockchain is the only infrastructure capable of supporting tamper-evident governance at machine scale. 🔵 𝐓𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — not an issuance question. Settlement design, collateral mobility, and secondary-market functionality now determine scale. 🔵 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 — on-chain transactions pass through 2–3 overlapping KYC layers even when FATF standards are already satisfied. Digital-asset exposures remain risk-weighted at punitive levels. 🔵 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 — without cash-equivalent accounting treatment, institutions are structurally constrained from using stablecoins as settlement assets. 🔵 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭–𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐮𝐬𝐞 — regulation follows adoption, not the other way around. @dhaheri_12, who attended the event, noted: "The roundtable made one thing clear: the barriers to institutional crypto are not technical — they are structural. #AbuDhabi is uniquely positioned to solve these at the regulatory level, and that is exactly what this room was working toward." The room also included senior representatives from @BlackRock, @FranklnTempletn, @The_DTCC, @circle, @tether, @Consensys, @Grayscale, @SolanaFndn, ADIA, @dbsbank, @BHDigitalAssets, @LaserDigital_, @DMCCAuthority, and others, 31 decision-makers across regulators, institutions, and infrastructure builders. 👉@adbc_ae #UAEForDigitalAssets

As global markets navigate increasing complexity, the UAE’s capital markets continue to demonstrate resilience and strong underlying fundamentals.

TGE: May 6.

Earlier this month, the UAE published two documents four days apart — one from @varadubai, one from Capital Market Authority (CMA). VARA published the world's first dedicated token issuance guidance — a practical framework for any company looking to issue tokens in #Dubai (👉zawya.com/en/press-relea…). Four days later, the CMA issued Resolution No. 04/2026 (👉sca.gov.ae/en/media-cente…), establishing eight licensed activity categories and capital requirements for virtual asset service providers across the rest of the #UAE. The new framework answers the questions that weren't answered before: ❓ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐌𝐀 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐀𝐄? — 8 defined categories: dealing as principal, dealing as agent, providing custody, arranging custody, arranging investment deals, providing investment advice, portfolio management, and operating a multilateral trading facility. ❓ 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐬? — That's now explicit. The CMA framework is built on "same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome." If you custody crypto, you meet the same standards as a traditional custodian. ❓ 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 — 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨? — Yes. The CMA's ATS module covers all three: virtual asset trading facilities, conventional securities platforms, and tokenized securities platforms. ❓ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭? — VARA has codified three issuance pathways for the first time. Fiat-referenced and asset-referenced tokens require a VARA license before issuance. Others must go through a licensed distributor. Only non-transferable or closed-loop assets are exempt. ❓ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫? — It must be published before the asset goes to market, machine-readable, kept accurate at all times, with dated version history. And you cannot disclaim liability for what's in it. ❓ 𝐈𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐭, 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐕𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲? — Legal opinions on the nature of the asset and the rights it creates. Reserve assets must be legally segregated and protected from creditor claims. Now, if you're thinking about a VASP license in the mainland UAE, Resolution No. 04/2026 is your starting point. If you're issuing a token in Dubai, read VARA's Issuance Guidance before you design the structure. 👉@adbc_ae #UAEForDigitalAssets

the Orange Dynasty has arrived on @base we are thrilled to launch Orange Basic Income on Base to celebrate our @coinbase listing! as part of our 100M $SIGN global initiative, we are bringing this reward model to the Base ecosystem to drive liquidity and reward our community. check our OBI program details here: x.com/Sign/status/20… get started: stake.sign.global

LATEST: 🇦🇪 Tether has backed Abu Dhabi tokenization firm KAIO in an $8M round to bring institutional funds onchain, with plans to launch a fund with Mubadala Capital.