Dubai Land Department will launch a secondary market for tokenized real estate on February 20, 2026, enabling resale of about 7.8 million tokens under a controlled pilot. The program aims to test market efficiency, operational readiness, and investor safeguards within a regulated model. DLD signaled continued coordination with VARA and future platform integrations.

According to a recent RWA.XYZ analysis, tokenized real estate across 10 countries reached $356.2 million over the past 30 days, with more than 10,000 holders owning 57 assets. The UAE leads by number of tokenized real estate assets with 23 properties worth $129 million, while the USA leads by value with $145 million across 10 assets. Mantra Chain has tokenized $117.7 million of real estate, ahead of Base at $81.5 million and Stellar at $71.7 million, as the broader tokenized real estate market remains small compared with stablecoins and U.S. Treasuries.

As of February 5, 2026, Swiss private bank Maerki Baumann & Co. Ltd. is regulated in the UAE by the FSRA of ADGM, according to a press release. Its Abu Dhabi Middle East Hub, operating under the ARCHIP brand, will provide liquidity management, trading, custody, staking, and other digital asset services to blockchain and crypto firms.

On February 2 2026, the UAE federal government formally recognized MBank's regulated AED stablecoin AE Coin for the payment of government service fees. Individuals and businesses will be able to use AE Coin and the AEC Wallet across federal ministries, supported by MOUs with several UAE banks and Network International. Separately, ADGM-regulated Universal Digital Intl Limited introduced the fully USD-backed USDU stablecoin as a foreign payment token, which cannot be used for UAE domestic payments.

On January 7 2026, RAK BANK said it had obtained in-principle approval from the Central Bank of the UAE to develop an AED-backed stablecoin, pending completion of regulatory and operational conditions. The bank plans a 1:1 AED-pegged token with audited smart contracts and real-time reserve attestations, while other UAE institutions such as FAB Bank, Crypto.com and Al Maryah Community Bank are also advancing their own AED stablecoin initiatives.

On January 5 2026, Binance detailed immediate changes to how it delivers products and services worldwide, following the award of three new ADGM licenses in Abu Dhabi. The exchange will now route services, contracts, data control, clearing, and custody through three distinct ADGM-regulated entities, including Nest Exchange Limited and Nest Clearing and Custody Limited. Open on-exchange derivatives positions are being cleared through Nest Clearing and Custody Limited, while users’ access, balances, and trading functionality on the platform remain unchanged.

Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority has issued an in-principle approval to French fintech Vancelian, registered in the UAE as Automata FZE, for management and investment, lending and borrowing, advisory, and crypto broker-dealer licenses. Vancelian manages 100 million Euros, has paid 7 million Euros in interest, and offers products such as a crypto basket, Bitcoin-backed loans with a 10% average fixed annual return, and real estate co-financing projects in Bali and Dubai.

On December 8, 2025, UAE Islamic bank ruya enabled Bitcoin trading in its mobile app through a partnership with UAE‑regulated digital asset infrastructure provider Fuze. The bank positions the service as Shari'ah‑compliant and says it is the first Islamic bank in the UAE to allow customers to buy and sell Bitcoin directly. The launch comes amid rising crypto inflows into the UAE and alongside initiatives such as Mashreq Capital's BITMAC fund, which includes Bitcoin exposure.