Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The United Arab Emirates has emerged as one of the world’s most advanced digital-asset markets, according to the Global Digital Assets Report 2025 issued by the Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) in collaboration with Arthur D. Little. Released during the Singapore FinTech Festival 2025, the study highlights how the UAE’s regulatory progress is setting international standards for innovation, investor protection and market integrity.

The findings reflect the region’s growing focus on establishing clear and comprehensive regulatory frameworks for digital assets. The report identifies the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar among the 12 jurisdictions assessed as global regulatory reference points, highlighting the Gulf’s progress in developing well-defined licensing regimes and institutional pilots. Singapore and Switzerland appear in the same global assessment, reflecting the international context against which the GCC’s frameworks are now evolving.

The study finds that market participation is accelerating fastest in jurisdictions with clear and well-defined regulatory parameters, a trend reflected across the Gulf’s emerging frameworks. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) are recognised for implementing activity-based licensing that connects innovation to investor protection. Saudi Arabia’s SAMA and Capital Market Authority (CMA) are developing supervisory regimes for tokenisation pilots and cross-border payment corridors. In Qatar, the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) is progressing frameworks for tokenised-asset applications within existing financial-sector laws.

The study draws on interviews with more than 40 regulators, central bankers and financial executives from Asia, Europe and the Middle East. It finds that investor participation is rising fastest in markets with clear regulatory parameters. GCC jurisdictions are now part of that group, reflecting the region’s progress in establishing well-defined regulatory parameters that support responsible market development.

“The data shows a region that has moved to economic application,” said Sopnendu Mohanty, Group CEO of GFTN. “Behind the numbers is a simple reality: capital follows clarity. The Gulf’s regulators are building frameworks designed for responsible innovation.” Arjun Vir Singh, Partner and Head of Financial Services at Arthur D. Little Middle East, said “Our collaboration with GFTN reflects Arthur D. Little’s commitment to evidence-based insight.

The GCC’s frameworks demonstrate how clear policy design can accelerate market readiness and strengthen institutional confidence in digital finance.” The GFTN Global Digital Assets Report 2025, prepared in collaboration with Arthur D. Little, was unveiled during the Singapore FinTech Festival (12 to 14 November 2025) and the Insights Forum. It provides a cross-jurisdictional reference for policymakers and financial institutions assessing the evolution of digital money, tokenisation and decentralised finance, and shows how the GCC’s structured approach now ranks among the world’s most advanced regulatory models, supporting continued cooperation between regional authorities and global standard-setters.