UAE lenders deepen ties with regulated crypto firms

Vijay Valecha, Mon, June 5, 2026 AGBI

Crypto exchange Binance will allow customers to deposit and withdraw dirhams directly through the UAE banking system via a tie-up with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB).

The move enables users to move between fiat currencies and virtual assets without relying on third-party payment providers, adding the world’s largest cryptocurrency platform to a list of digital asset companies working with regional banks.

The Bahrain-based exchange Rain already offers AED banking services through partnerships with local lenders, while Emirates NBD has partnered with regulated infrastructure providers Aquanow and Zodia Custody.

Vijay Valecha, of Dubai-based financial brokerage Century Financial, said the announcement reflected broader changes in the relationship between traditional lenders and virtual asset providers. “This is a direct integration between the bank and Binance, not a third-party payment workaround,” he said.

“When a large institution like ADCB becomes an active infrastructure partner for crypto, it changes how other regional banks may view the industry.”

Binance said the facility, known as an on- and off-ramp, lets customers move dirhams directly between their bank accounts and the platform.

Unlike a stablecoin, which is a privately issued digital token, or a central bank digital currency, which is issued by a central bank, the service relies on conventional bank deposits and withdrawals.

Customers can deposit funds without fees and withdraw money at a low cost through the ADCB integration, with daily limits of up to AED7.2 million ($2 million).

Transactions are processed the same business day and conducted in dirhams, removing the need for foreign-exchange conversions. The payment solution operates under the UAE’s Client Money Account framework, which is designed to safeguard customer funds.

Tarik Erk, Binance’s head of Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, said the development would eliminate existing friction points.

“Previously, the process could involve multiple steps, foreign-exchange conversions, fragmented payment flows or longer settlement times,” he told AGBI.

Last month, the US said payments to Iranian authorities for transit through the chokepoint could expose shipping companies, insurers and financial institutions to sanctions risk.

The warning covered digital assets, stablecoins, informal swaps, barter arrangements and other in-kind transfers.

Secondary sanctions penalise foreign companies that facilitate prohibited transactions by restricting their access to US markets and the dollar-based financial system.

The US Treasury said Nobitex had facilitated transactions for wallets associated with IRGC-linked ransomware actors.

It also accused the exchange of helping the Central Bank of Iran access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins and enabling regime insiders to use international exchanges despite sanctions restrictions.

“While Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to co-opt digital asset technologies for its own corrupt agenda, including evading sanctions and transferring wealth out of the country,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Valecha said the case highlighted how some crypto exchanges had evolved beyond retail trading venues into critical financial infrastructure.

“When a single platform handles the majority of a nation’s digital asset flows, it starts to resemble a correspondent bank or clearing house rather than a traditional exchange,” he said.

“In heavily sanctioned economies, these exchanges can perform functions traditionally associated with banks, facilitating cross-border payments, stablecoin transactions and access to international financial networks.”

Mullion said the designation could create fresh compliance risks for shipowners and legitimate digital asset operators if payments are pushed into increasingly opaque channels.

“That such new payment systems may disperse out into the established and legitimate crypto banking system means that those crypto operators will need to be ever more vigilant and take the appropriate action to prevent this,” he said.

AGBI