Dubai Government Opens Door to Accepting Crypto for Service Fees

The woody with Crypto.com volition let residents and businesses to wage fees utilizing crypto wallets portion the authorities receives dirhams.

May 13, 2025, 11:58 a.m.

Dubai agreed to let cryptocurrency payments for authorities services successful a woody with crypto speech Crypto.com, taking a measurement toward implementing its program for a cashless society.

Once method details are complete, the statement volition let individuals and businesses to wage fees utilizing integer wallets from Crypto.com, which is licensed by the emirate's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The level volition past person the amounts into dirhams for payment, according to a Monday property release.

The statement allows the authorities "to harness fiscal exertion successful launching a caller integer outgo transmission connected the government’s integer portals," it said successful the release. The cashless strategy is expected to adhd astatine slightest 8 cardinal dirhams ($2.2 billion) annually to the economy.

Dubai has been gathering its crypto credentials for respective years and sees itself arsenic a Middle East crypto hub. In March 2022, it established VARA, calling it the world’s archetypal autarkic crypto regulator, and has awarded licenses to exchanges including Binance and OKX. It besides initiated a metaverse strategy aiming to pull 1,000 metaverse and blockchain companies by 2030.