The Dubai International Financial Center’s (DIFC) Innovation Hub, and Ripple, a leading blockchain and crypto solutions provider, have announced plans to partner with the goal of accelerating blockchain and digital asset innovation in the UAE.
“The Ripple collaboration further cements DIFC’s role as a leading global hub for talent, technology and innovation, as we continue to enhance our ecosystem powered by a world-class regulatory jurisdiction, to drive the future of finance,” stated Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority.
Connecting developers with DIFC
The partnership with Ripple seeks to connect the next generation of developers with the DIFC Innovation Hub, the largest innovation community in the region and home to more than 1,000 growth-stage tech firms, innovation companies, digital labs, venture capital firms, regulators and educational entities.
“The UAE’s progressive approach to fintech, coupled with Ripple’s billion XRP developer fund, creates a fertile ground for innovation in the UAE,” said Reece Merrick, Ripple managing director, Middle East and Africa.
This partnership will provide the means to drive blockchain and crypto adoption amongst early-stage companies and scale-ups. In addition, it seeks to introduce and position the technology within traditional large strategic institutions and their use cases.
For his part, Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO, stated that the UAE is one of the most advanced jurisdictions globally when it comes to offering regulatory clarity for licensed firms to offer virtual asset services. The country also fosters an environment in which the next generation of financial innovation can flourish.
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Ripple’s global impact
Ripple has committed one billion XRP to accelerate development and new global use cases on the XRP Ledger (XRPL), the decentralized, layer 1 blockchain. Through this commitment, the company will provide financial, technical and business support to developers.
Since announcing the 1B XRP Fund in late 2021, Ripple has funded over 160 teams building on the XRPL, reaching 47 countries to date, across a wide range of use cases spanning decentralized finance (DeFi), to Real World Assets (RWA), and other groundbreaking new solutions.
Notably, the Ripple Middle East and Africa (MEA) regional office is located within the DIFC. In November 2023, the DIFC approved XRP for use within the Center. Since then, licensed virtual asset firms within the DIFC can incorporate XRP into their virtual asset services.
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