Ripple said it is expanding its footprint in the United Arab Emirates with a larger regional headquarters in Dubai, citing rising demand for regulated blockchain-based payments and custody services across the Middle East and Africa. The move, announced in a company press release dated April 29, centers on a new office in the Dubai International Financial Centre, or DIFC, and comes as the firm points to regulatory progress in the emirate as a key driver of regional growth.
Ripple Opens Bigger DIFC Base in Dubai
Ripple said the new DIFC-based office will serve as its Middle East and Africa regional headquarters and give the company room to double the size of its existing local operations. According to the press release, Ripple first established its MEA headquarters in Dubai in 2020, and the Middle East has since become a significant share of its global customer base.
The company framed the expansion as a response to sustained client demand rather than a symbolic office move. In the release, Reece Merrick, Managing Director, Middle East and Africa at Ripple, said: “In recent years the Middle East has become an increasingly vital driver of Ripple’s global growth. Our new regional headquarters is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to playing our part in the region’s upward trajectory.” He added that Ripple had seen strong local demand since its early days in the UAE.
Merrick also tied the expansion directly to execution capacity on the ground. “From our earliest days in the UAE, we have seen first-hand the appetite from local businesses for regulated, blockchain-powered payment infrastructure, an appetite that is only growing. A larger team, based here in Dubai, will enable us to go further in supporting our clients and partners across the region and beyond,” he said, according to the press release.
Ripple’s statement also highlighted Dubai’s regulatory environment as a factor behind the enlarged base. The company said it became the first blockchain payments provider to secure a full license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority in March 2025, allowing it to provide regulated cross-border digital payment services from within DIFC.
That licensing milestone has since been followed by another approval tied to Ripple’s product suite. According to the release, the DFSA recently recognized RLUSD, Ripple’s dollar-backed stablecoin, as a recognized crypto token, a designation that allows regulated firms operating in the DIFC to use it. Ripple did not provide additional operational details in the announcement about how quickly the enlarged office would be staffed.
DIFC Authority also used the announcement to position Dubai as a venue for digital asset firms seeking regulated expansion. In the press release, His Excellency Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer at DIFC Authority, said: “Ripple’s expansion within DIFC is a strong signal of the confidence that world-leading digital asset firms have in Dubai as a global hub for blockchain technology. Since establishing its regional headquarters here, Ripple has been a model for how digital asset firms can operate with both ambition and accountability – connecting institutions to the future of finance through regulated, scalable technology.”
Regional Demand Lifts Payments and Custody
Ripple said the larger office is meant to support rising demand for both payments and custody products in the region. The company described itself in the release as a provider of blockchain-based enterprise solutions across traditional and digital finance, and said regional appetite has been strongest for regulated infrastructure rather than speculative retail products.
The company named several existing clients and partners in its Middle East and Africa business, including Zand Bank, Ctrl Alt, Garanti BBVA, Absa Bank, and Chipper Cash. Ripple did not break out regional revenue or transaction volume in the press release, but it said the Middle East now accounts for a meaningful portion of its global customer base, suggesting the area has become strategically important for its enterprise business.
The announcement fits a broader pattern in which crypto infrastructure firms have emphasized the Gulf as a market for institution-facing products built inside formal regulatory frameworks. In Ripple’s telling, demand is being pulled by businesses looking for cross-border settlement tools and custody services that can be deployed under local supervision. The company’s statement does not quantify that demand, but it presents the UAE as a core operating hub for that regional push.
AI Transparency Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of an AI system based on the sources listed and was reviewed, edited, and approved by a human editor before publication. All quotes, data points, and factual claims are intended to be grounded in the cited source material; however, errors cannot be ruled out entirely.
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