Tokenisation, stablecoins, and startup capital are reshaping Dubai’s digital asset market

Dubai’s digital asset ecosystem is entering a more pragmatic phase. With improved market access and clear regulatory frameworks, companies are now building for scale, not just testing for visibility.

Conversations have now evolved beyond crypto hype and early blockchain experiments to focus on how tokenisation, stablecoins, and digital asset infrastructure can transform real-world finance. That marks a clear departure from past stages and paves the path for a new financial future, positioning Dubai as a hub where ideas turn into actionable scale.

In a recent episode of Live, Work & Play in Dubai Podcast, Adam Popat, CEO, SettleMint, delved into the forces driving this momentum: clear regulation, supportive regulators, and strong backing from leadership. “Dubai is one of the few global centers for digital assets today… the regulation and the regulators and their positive cooperative stance, trying to create regulation, which is clear, is really driving that. And then on top of that, you have, at a national scale, buy-in from the leadership,” he said.


Listen to the full episode on ET Digital
Tokenisation is becoming part of a new financial infrastructure
At the centre of this shift is tokenisation. For Popat, this is not just one interesting blockchain use case. It is a much bigger change in how financial systems can work.

SettleMint works with large institutions, especially regulated institutions, helping them connect blockchain technology to their core systems. Popat said the strongest demand today is around asset tokenisation. That includes financial assets such as bonds, equities, funds, and stablecoins, as well as real-world assets such as real estate, commodities, and precious metals.

He described the shift in simple terms: “What we’re doing here is re-plumbing the entire financial system.” He also explained why tokenisation matters: “Think of any asset, and it can be tokenised… and then the tokenisation leads to instant settlement, lower settlement risk, operational risks, lower capital requirements, lower liquidity requirements, more velocity in transactions… the benefits are huge.”

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation push has become one of the clearest examples of this trend, but Popat made it clear that the movement is wider than that. He said tokenisation in Dubai is “progressing at speed on all fronts,” including financial assets, stablecoins, and other real-world assets. He also stressed that tokenisation needs real market depth to succeed: “You can tokenise things, but unless you create liquid marketplaces, then you don’t really, there’s no real point.”

Clear rules are helping the market move faster
One reason Dubai is moving quickly is that regulation is growing with the market. In the podcast, the discussion touched on the role of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the Dubai International Financial Centre, and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre in shaping the digital asset ecosystem.

Popat’s own view of the regulatory approach was very positive. “Sometimes, they are in the room, and they feel like they’re a partner for growth. They really are trying to solve the regulation at the same time as the solutions are being put together and the technology is being developed,” he said.

That matters because it gives companies more clarity as they build.

Stablecoins are becoming an important payments tool
Stablecoins are another big part of the story. Popat sees them as a practical way to improve payments, especially in markets where cross-border transactions still move slowly through old banking systems.

“Stablecoins solve that in one fell swoop,” he said, especially for south-to-south flows that still pass through multiple banks, delays, and extra costs.

He was equally clear about the bigger direction of the market. Asked where he would place his bets over the next decade, he said: “Asset tokenisation number one,” followed by stablecoins and real-world assets. He added that “the tokenising of pretty much all assets over time I think, is undeniably going to happen.”

Why startups are looking closely at Dubai
For startups building blockchain solutions, Dubai offers more than just visibility. Popat pointed to the mix of capital, customers, and ecosystem support already available in the region.

He said one of the big attractions is “the capital that’s here, whether through family offices, corporate entities, VCs, increasingly,” and added that “the VC activity has gone up massively in this region recently.” For early-stage companies, he said, “this would be a great place to start.”

He also highlighted a more practical advantage: “The capital is here, and then the clients are here.” Along with growing talent and openness to new technology, that makes Dubai “a fantastic sort of petri dish if you’re going to try and test something and build a new business here.”

What should founders do before entering the market?
Popat’s advice to founders was clear and practical. First, he said companies should think carefully about where and how they set up. “When you’re thinking about setting up your legal entity… shop around, there are a lot of different options,” he said, adding that different free zones offer different strengths, including the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).

Second, he said, founders should enter with the right mindset. “Be open-minded, be inquisitive, be humble,” he said. “You are entering a new market; there are different ways of doing business in every place.” He also encouraged companies to think in terms of partnerships: “Who can you partner with, how can you help, how can others help you?”

His larger point was that success in Dubai is not only about entering the market. It is about understanding the ecosystem, choosing the right base, building relationships and being ready to execute well.

The opportunity for India-linked digital asset firms
Popat also linked Dubai’s appeal to a wider opportunity that includes India. He pointed to SettleMint’s work in Jharkhand, where a technology-led project supported seed distribution for 16 million farmers, and said he expects “massive developments when it comes to blockchain in India,” given the size of the market and the pace of technology development there.

His larger point was that Dubai can serve as a place where digital asset and tokenisation solutions are developed, tested, and then taken into larger regional markets. That gives the city a more practical role for companies in this space: not just as a place to enter, but as a base for building and growth.

The next phase will be about scale
The bigger takeaway from Popat’s conversation is that Dubai’s blockchain story is entering a more serious stage. Tokenisation is no longer just a future-facing idea. It is beginning to take shape as a practical tool for payments, asset markets, and financial systems. The next phase will depend on how Dubai turns this early progress into wider adoption, stronger business use, and lasting financial change.

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