Dubai Government Opens Door to Accepting Crypto for Service Fees

May 13, 2025

in Breaking, News

Reading Time: 7 mins read

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By Camomile Shumba|Edited by Sheldon Reback

May 13, 2025, 11:58 a.m.

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.

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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.

Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner.

Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.