Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Feb 13, 2026

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
OpenAI and DeepCent Superintelligence Race: Artificial General Intelligence and AI Agents as a National Security Arms Race
Prince William in Saudi Arabia on Official Three-Day Visit to Strengthen UK-Saudi Relations
Prince William Highlights Women’s Sport During High-Profile Visit to Saudi Arabia
Prince William Begins High-Profile Diplomatic Mission to Saudi Arabia
Syria and Saudi Arabia Seal Multibillion-Dollar Investment Agreements to Drive Post-War Economic Reconstruction
Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode blocks FBI data access in journalist device seizure
Foreign Governments and Corporations Spend Millions with Trump-Linked Lobbying Firm in Washington
KPMG Urges Auditor to Relay AI Cost Savings
Saudi Arabia Quietly Allows Wealthy Foreign Residents to Buy Alcohol, Signalling Policy Shift
US and Iran to Begin Nuclear Talks in Oman
China unveils plans for a 'Death Star' capable of launching missile strikes from space
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
U.S. State Department Issues Urgent Travel Warning for Citizens to Leave Iran Immediately
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Eighty-one-year-old man in the United States fatally shoots Uber driver after scam threat
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz Begins Strategic Gulf Tour with Saudi Arabia Visit
Dubai Awards Tunnel Contract for Dubai Loop as Boring Company Plans Pilot Network
Five Key Takeaways From President Erdoğan’s Strategic Visit to Saudi Arabia
AI Invented “Hot Springs” — Tourists Arrived and Were Shocked
Erdoğan’s Saudi Arabia Visit Focuses on Trade, Investment and Strategic Cooperation
Germany and Saudi Arabia Move to Deepen Energy Cooperation Amid Global Transition
Saudi Aviation Records Historic Passenger Traffic in 2025 and Sets Sights on Further Growth in 2026
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Global Shifts in War, Trade, Energy and Security Mark Major International Developments
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Saudi Crown Prince Tells Iranian President: Kingdom Will Not Host Attacks Against Iran
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Trump Defends Saudi Crown Prince in Heated Exchange After Reporter Questions Khashoggi Murder and 9/11 Links
Saudi Stocks Rally as Kingdom Prepares to Fully Open Capital Market to Global Investors
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
Saudi Arabia scales back Neom as The Line is redesigned and Trojena downsized
Saudi Industrial Group Completes One Point Three Billion Dollar Acquisition of South Africa’s Barloworld
Saudi-Backed LIV Golf Confirms Return to Trump National Bedminster for 2026 Season
Gold Jumps More Than 8% in a Week as the Dollar Slides Amid Greenland Tariff Dispute
Boston Dynamics Atlas humanoid robot and LG CLOiD home robot: the platform lock-in fight to control Physical AI
United States under President Donald Trump completes withdrawal from the World Health Organization: health sovereignty versus global outbreak early-warning access
Trump Administration’s Iran Military Buildup and Sanctions Campaign Puts Deterrence Credibility on the Line
Tech Brief: AI Compute, Chips, and Platform Power Moves Driving Today’s Market Narrative
NATO’s Stress Test Under Trump: Alliance Credibility, Burden-Sharing, and the Fight Over Strategic Territory
Saudi Arabia’s Careful Balancing Act in Relations with Israel Amid Regional and Domestic Pressures
Greenland, Gaza, and Global Leverage: Today’s 10 Power Stories Shaping Markets and Security
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
Trump’s Board of Peace: Breakthrough Diplomacy or a Hostile Takeover of Global Order?
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Saudi Arabia Advances Ambitious Artificial River Mega-Project to Transform Water Security
Saudi Crown Prince and Syrian President Discuss Stabilisation, Reconstruction and Regional Ties in Riyadh Talks
Mohammed bin Salman Confronts the ‘Iranian Moment’ as Saudi Leadership Faces Regional Test
×