Dubai’s Crypto Hub Ambitions Bolstered at Token2049
In April 2025, Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah resort hosted Token2049, a blockchain conference drawing 15,000 attendees from 150 countries, reinforcing the emirate’s role as a global crypto hub. A $2 billion investment by Abu Dhabi’s state-backed MGX into Binance, using USD1, a Trump-affiliated stablecoin, marked a milestone in Dubai’s push for decentralized finance leadership. The deal, alongside the city’s regulatory framework and tax-free incentives, underscores its strategic vision, though it has sparked scrutiny over transparency.
The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) hosts over 650 Web3 firms, per Cointelegraph, supported by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which licenses exchanges like Binance and Crypto.com. The UAE’s crypto market, valued at $744.3 million in 2024, is projected to grow 16.75% annually through 2033, per the Carnegie Endowment. VARA’s compliance with Financial Action Task Force standards and the UAE’s exit from the FATF grey list in April 2024, after $31.3 million in fines, enhance its credibility. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and Ras Al Khaimah’s RAK DAO offer 100% foreign ownership, attracting firms like CoinW, which made Dubai its global headquarters in 2025.
Announced on May 1, 2025, by Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff, the MGX-Binance deal uses USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin on the TRON blockchain, to bolster Binance’s operations, per Reuters. Eric Trump noted its use for transactions at the planned Trump International Hotel and Tower, per The New York Times. The Dubai Land Department’s Prypco Mint platform, launched in May 2025, tokenizes property deeds on the XRP Ledger, enabling fractional ownership from 2,000 dirhams ($540), per CoinDesk. OKX’s zero-fee crypto payment app and Zodia Custody’s UAE entry via Tungsten Custody acquisition, per a May 2025 press release, highlight practical blockchain applications.
Token2049 positions Dubai to shape the $3.3 trillion global crypto market.
Photo credits: Dubai Token 2049.
Oksana Bozhko
Oksana Bozhko is a Contributor to Dubai Voice.
Vladyslava Garkusha
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