Crypto.com has become the first virtual asset service provider to receive a Stored Value Facilities license from the Central Bank of the UAE, giving the exchange a regulated route to support digital-asset payments for government services.
The license was granted to Foris DAX Middle East FZE, Crypto.com’s UAE entity. It allows the company to activate its partnership with the Dubai Department of Finance, giving UAE residents the ability to pay government fees using virtual assets through Crypto.com’s regulated platform.
The structure is not a free-for-all crypto payment system. Crypto.com said all financial settlements will be conducted in UAE dirhams or Central Bank-approved dirham-backed stablecoins through the SVF framework. That means users may initiate payments through digital assets, while the government-facing settlement layer remains tied to approved local currency rails.
The company said the milestone supports the Dubai Cashless Strategy, which aims to move more government and consumer payments away from physical cash and into regulated digital channels. It also gives Crypto.com a rare payments role in the UAE because the firm says it is currently the only VASP holding an SVF license in the country.
The government-fee use case gives the license more weight than a standard regional expansion announcement. Crypto exchanges often secure operating approvals to offer trading, custody, or brokerage services. This license connects crypto access to public-sector payment flows, where compliance, settlement certainty, consumer onboarding, and local currency conversion are all harder to manage.
Crypto.com said UAE residents who want to use the virtual asset payment service will need to be onboarded through its VARA-licensed platform. After additional Central Bank approvals, the SVF license will also allow Crypto.com to begin payment integrations with Emirates Airline and Dubai Duty Free.
That sequence gives the announcement a clear adoption path: government fees first, then travel and retail payments if the required approvals are completed. It also places the UAE ahead of many larger markets where crypto payment regulation remains fragmented, cautious, or limited to private-sector pilots.
The UAE has already become one of the most active jurisdictions for regulated crypto infrastructure. Ripple’s recent Dubai expansion showed how payment and settlement firms are using the region’s regulatory clarity to build Middle East operations. Crypto.com’s SVF license adds a more consumer-facing layer by connecting digital assets to official payment services.
Crypto.com’s strongest claim is exclusivity inside a regulated payment corridor. President and COO Eric Anziani said the license reflects the company’s commitment to compliance and regulated digital-asset adoption in the UAE, while Mohammed Al Hakim, Crypto.com’s President and GM for UAE and Bahrain, said the firm can now launch its Dubai Finance partnership and support the cashless strategy.
The announcement does not remove the usual risks around crypto payments. Users still face asset volatility before conversion, platform onboarding requirements, jurisdictional limits, and product-specific terms. The stronger point is that Dubai is not treating crypto payments as an unregulated workaround. It is routing them through licensed infrastructure, approved settlement assets, and supervised entities.
That is why the SVF license matters beyond Crypto.com’s own regional strategy. It shows how a major crypto platform can be inserted into government payment flows without forcing public agencies to hold volatile crypto directly. If the model works, the UAE could give other markets a practical template for crypto-enabled public payments: user-facing digital assets on one side, regulated local-currency settlement on the other, and licensed infrastructure in the middle.
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