Abu Dhabi has signed four agreements with OpenAI to expand the use of artificial intelligence across government services, energy operations and investment, following a meeting between Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on November 2. The Crown Prince witnessed the signing
Standard Chartered has launched a cryptocurrency trading service for affluent clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), allowing eligible investors to buy and sell Bitcoin and Ether directly through their existing bank accounts. Announced on October 14, 2026, the service marks the bank’s first offering of this kind globally and
Kraken is preparing to launch in the United Arab Emirates after its parent company, Payward, received Full Market Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). VARA’s public register shows that Payward’s licence was issued on October 6, 2026, authorizing it to serve institutional, qualified and retail investors. Payward publicly
Standard Chartered has launched Bitcoin and Ether spot trading for institutional clients in the United Arab Emirates, expanding its regulated digital asset services through its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) entity. The British multinational bank announced the move on September 3, 2026, saying it has become the first global systemically
In light of an unexplained incident, MANTRA Chain has decided to suspend all network operations until the investigation is concluded. The suspension commenced on August 21 and paused all operations on public endpoints, validators, bridge services, and transactions within the network. While MANTRA Chain’s official status page announced the suspension
Dubai Duty Free has integrated the payment system through incorporating crypto payments in all of its airport stores and even online. Customers will be allowed to make purchases through Crypto.com Pay if they are eligible to do so. The integrating cryptocurrencies in one of the busiest international airports in the
Solmate Infrastructure, which operates as Nasdaq-listed Brera Holdings, has reinforced its commitment to the Solana ecosystem by announcing a plan to build a Solana hub in the UAE that aims to expand blockchain infrastructure and attract institutional participation in the region’s growing digital asset sector. As per the official release,
The banking system of the UAE stays completely operational regardless of increasing regional conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, as stated by the central bank of the country, as authorities shifted to reassure markets after missile and drone attacks on the country this week. The statement released by the
The United Arab Emirates has accumulated approximately $344 million in unrealized bitcoin profit, excluding energy costs, according to new data from Arkham Intelligence. The holdings stem from mining operations linked to Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group. Arkham reported that UAE-linked wallets currently hold $453.6 million worth of bitcoin. The mining activities
The Blockchain and Fintech firm Ripple and the UAE-based digital bank Zand have partnered to accelerate the region’s adoption of regulated stablecoin and other innovative solutions powered by Zand’s dirham-backed token and Ripple’s USD stablecoin. According to the official statement released by Zand Bank on February 10, the partnership is
