Ripple to Open Office in Dubai International Finance Centre

Enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions firm Ripple will open its office in Dubai as the Emirate continues to emerge as a key global financial hub for crypto innovation.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse announced the plans in a tweet during the ongoing Dubai Fintech Summit, being organised by Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), on Monday. He also praised the UAE’s recent efforts to regulate the crypto sector.

The two-day Dubai Fintech Summit began on Monday in which more than 5,000 global fintech executives and technology professionals are attending to discuss the latest innovations and challenges in the sector.

The new office will be in DIFC as part of the expansion. Further, the crypto solutions firm will also hold ‘Swell Global 2023,’ the seventh edition of its annual customer conference in Dubai on November 8-9, Garlinghouse disclosed.

“We chose Dubai as both a key office for Ripple, and to bring Swell Global to the city, in large part due to its forward-thinking regulatory environment. Regulators here have risen to the challenge of establishing a framework that allows the local crypto industry to thrive, create jobs and increase economic growth, while also ensuring participants act in a responsible manner,” Garlinghouse said.

“Dubai is playing an important part in shaping the world’s future economy. By demonstrating truly visionary leadership, the Emirate has positioned itself as an exciting fintech hub that is embracing crypto and blockchain technologies to bring innovation and foreign investment into the space,” he said.

“With 20% of our customers based in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and clear regulatory regimes being developed, it’s no surprise that Dubai is emerging as a key global financial hub for crypto innovation to thrive,” the CEO said.

First in MENA Region

Navin Gupta, Managing Director, South Asia & MENA, at Ripple, said that in a hyper-global connected world, the need for cross-border payments is on the rise, with an estimated $156 trillion worth of cross-border payment flows in 2022 alone.

As a region containing several significant remittance markets and corridors, the Middle East’s financial institutions are focused on making payments faster, cheaper, and more efficient for the people who need it the most, he said.

“This is where Ripple excels. We were the first enterprise company to leverage crypto to tackle the trillion-dollar challenges associated with cross-border payments – expertise that we have been bringing to our customers in the Middle East for many years. Ripple is proud of its presence in the UAE, and we are excited about what the future holds for our business in the region,” he added.

MENA region is one of the key markets for Ripple and its customers include Qatar National Bank, Lulu Financial Holdings, Al-Ansari Exchange, RAK Bank, and SABB, among others.

Over half of Ripple’s MENA payment volume consists of cross-border payments such as remittances from the UAE, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia to India. The company chose the DIFC as the location for its MENA headquarters in 2020 due to Dubai’s innovation-forward regulations, expansive network and reputation as a leading global financial centre.

High Costs

Ripple has been fighting a long battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and earlier this month, Garlinghouse said that his company will have spent $200 million defending itself in court from the US regulator.