Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Monday, Nov 03, 2025

Saudis, UAE roll out red carpet for crypto as US gives a cold shoulder

Saudis, UAE roll out red carpet for crypto as US gives a cold shoulder

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are rolling out a red carpet of light-touch digital currency regulation, according to US market players — setting up a contrast to the US, where officials are falling…

The US Treasury Dept., headed by Sec. Janet Yellen, has pushed for Congress to crack down on the issuers of "stablecoins."

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are rolling out a red carpet of light-touch digital currency regulation, according to US market players — setting up a contrast to the US, where officials are falling all over themselves to set crypto rules.

Financial titans like Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman made the pilgrimage to the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh last week — where they joined some of the biggest names in digital assets, including Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple Labs and Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital.

In the last few years, Saudi Arabia has ramped up its efforts to attract crypto companies: The Saudi Central Bank and Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates have been working together to learn how the two banks can adopt blockchain and digital payments.

The official stamp of approval is starting to show results, Novogratz said. “I’ve been coming to the region for years and this is the first time I felt like the big pools of capital were interested in crypto,” he told The Post. “The meetings I had with investors, people were asking very advanced questions about adoption and regulation.”

“Saudi Arabia wants to be an international financial center — and they know crypto will be part of that,” Mike Novogratz told The Post.


Crypto insiders told The Post they expect some of the Middle East’s major sovereign wealth funds to invest directly in crypto sometime in the next 12 months.

In Saudi Arabia, the emphasis on crypto is part of the country’s Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and make the country a hub of innovation.

In the UAE, Garlinghouse said, the country has created so-called “financial free zones,” or areas largely free of taxes and strict regulation.

Meanwhile, as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are positioning themselves as a safe harbors for cryptocurrency companies, the US is making it increasingly difficult for those same companies to operate domestically, the crypto bigs contend.

Take currency exchange Ripple. Just last week, Saudi Arabia announced the country will launch Ripple’s “On-Demand Liquidity platform” in an effort to make international payments easier.

“I think it’s clear that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wants to be technology and blockchain forward-leaning,” Brad Garlinghouse told The Post. “This was obvious at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference.”


In the US, Ripple isn’t working on partnerships — instead it’s beefing up its outside counsel to fight a lawsuit from the the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly violating the Securities Act of 1933. The SEC claims Ripple should have registered its XRP digital coin as a security, but failed to do so. Ripple contends it’s been using XRP like a currency for years and wasn’t told to register it as a security.

Meanwhile, the Treasury Department on Monday doubled down on its aggressive crypto stance in a report advocating Congress crack down on issuers of “stablecoins” — a ballooning cryptocurrency pegged to fiat currencies like the dollar — and regulate the technology as a traditional bank.

The SEC, with Chair Gary Gensler at the top, contend Ripple should register its XRP digital coin as a security.

Even as crypto evangelists face a possibly difficult road ahead with US regulators, they say they’re hopeful about their prospects in the Middle East — as evidenced by the big trek to the region for this year’s conference, attendees said.

“Crypto played a bigger role at FII than in previous years,” Bob Diamond, former Barclays CEO who is helping take crypto company Circle public via SPAC told The Post. “In the last year crypto has gotten so big people can’t ignore it.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Saudi Arabia to Host First-Ever International WrestleMania in 2027
Saudi Arabia to Host New ATP Masters Tournament from 2028
Trump Doubts Saudi Demand for Palestinian State Before Israel Normalisation
Viral ‘Sky Stadium’ for Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup Debunked as AI-Generated
Deal Between Saudi Arabia and Israel ‘Virtually Impossible’ This Year, Kingdom Insider Says
Saudi Crown Prince to Visit Washington While Israel Recognition Remains Off-Table
Saudi Arabia Poised to Channel Billions into Syria’s Reconstruction as U.S. Sanctions Linger
Smotrich’s ‘Camels’ Remark Tests Saudi–Israel Normalisation Efforts
Saudi Arabia and Qatar Gain Structural Edge in Asian World Cup Qualification
Israeli Energy Minister Delays $35 Billion Gas Export Agreement with Egypt
Fincantieri and Saudi Arabia Agree to Build Advanced Maritime Ecosystem in Kingdom
Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Accelerates AI Ambitions Through Major Partnerships and Infrastructure Push
IOC and Saudi Arabia End Ambitious 12-Year Esports Games Partnership
CSL Seqirus Signs Saudi Arabia Pact to Provide Cell-Based Flu Vaccines and Build Local Production
Qualcomm and Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN Team Up to Deploy 200 MW AI Infrastructure
Saudi Arabia’s Economy Expands Five Percent in Third Quarter Amid Oil Output Surge
China’s Vice President Han Zheng Meets Saudi Crown Prince as Trade Concerns Loom
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
×