Crypto.com Secures UAE License for Government Crypto Payments

Crypto.com has received a Stored Value Facilities license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, allowing residents to pay Dubai government fees using cryptocurrencies via its platform, the company said Monday.

The company says the license allows users to fund payments in digital assets while settlements are made in UAE dirhams or in dirham-backed stablecoins approved by the central bank under the SVF framework.

The approval allows Crypto.com to activate its partnership with Dubai’s Department of Finance, giving the exchange access to provide digital asset payment services for government fees through its platform under Dubai’s cashless payments strategy.

The company said the license could also support future payment integrations with Emirates Airlines and Dubai Duty Free, though those services remain subject to further approvals from the UAE central bank.

Crypto.com secures SVF license. Source: Crypto.com

The SVF authorization applies to its local Dubai entity, Foris DAX Middle East FZE, which trades as Crypto.com. Subject to further sign-offs from the central bank, the company said the license will also allow it to start crypto-funded payment integrations with Emirates Airlines and Dubai Duty Free, extending the same digital asset-to-dirham settlement model into commercial payments.

Cointelegraph reached out to Crypto.com and the Central Bank of the UAE for comment, but had not received a response by publication.

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Crypto.com expands UAE regulatory and payments push

The new authorization adds another layer to Crypto.com’s regulatory footprint in the UAE, where it already holds a Virtual Asset Service Provider license from VARA and promotes its platform as an institutional-grade, compliance-focused venue for digital assets.

Outside the UAE, the company has been building a similar regulated profile, including securing licensing to operate under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regime and obtaining conditional approval from the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national trust bank charter that would allow it to act as a qualified digital asset custodian.

At the same time, Crypto.com is expanding into event-based derivatives and prediction markets through a regulated US affiliate, part of a broader strategy to combine tighter regulatory oversight with a growing range of trading and payments products around cryptocurrencies.

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