Share this article
Dubai Government Opens Door to Accepting Crypto for Service Fees
The deal with Crypto.com will allow residents and businesses to pay fees using crypto wallets while the government receives dirhams.
May 13, 2025, 11:58 a.m.
What to know:
- Once technical details are complete, the agreement will allow individuals and businesses to pay fees using digital wallets from Crypto.com.
- The emirate's cashless strategy is expected to add at least 8 billion dirhams ($2.2 billion) annually to the economy.
Dubai agreed to allow cryptocurrency payments for government services in a deal with crypto exchange Crypto.com, taking a step toward implementing its plan for a cashless society.
Once technical details are complete, the agreement will allow individuals and businesses to pay fees using digital wallets from Crypto.com, which is licensed by the emirate's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). The platform will then convert the amounts into dirhams for payment, according to a Monday press release.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The agreement allows the government "to harness financial technology in launching a new digital payment channel on the government’s digital portals," it said in the release. The cashless strategy is expected to add at least 8 billion dirhams ($2.2 billion) annually to the economy.
Dubai has been building its crypto credentials for several years and sees itself as a Middle East crypto hub. In March 2022, it established VARA, calling it the world’s first independent crypto regulator, and has awarded licenses to exchanges including Binance and OKX. It also initiated a metaverse strategy aiming to attract 1,000 metaverse and blockchain companies by 2030.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Key U.S. Senator on Crypto Bill, Lummis, Negotiating Dicey Points With White House
The Republican lawmaker who is among the core negotiators on the U.S. market structure bill said the White House has rejected some ethics language.
What to know:
- Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said she is negotiating with the White House on behalf of Senate Democrats trying to insert ethics provisions into Congress' market structure legislation.
- Lawmakers should reveal a new draft market structure bill by the end of the week and hold a markup hearing next week, she said.
Top Stories
