Key Takeaways:
- Circle gains a full Financial Services Permission (FSP) license from Abu Dhabi Global Market, enabling regulated USDC payment and settlement services across the UAE.
- The company appoints former Visa executive Dr. Saeeda Jaffar to lead Circle’s Middle East & Africa strategy and institutional partnerships.
- The approval strengthens the UAE’s position as a global hub for regulated digital assets amid rising demand for compliant stablecoin infrastructure.
Circle’s latest regulatory win in Abu Dhabi marks one of its most significant milestones in the Middle East. The U.S.-listed stablecoin issuer is now formally authorized to operate as a regulated Money Services Provider in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), signaling the UAE’s accelerating adoption of onchain finance. The appointment of a high-profile regional leader adds further weight to Circle’s expansion efforts.
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Circle Deepens Gulf Footprint with Full ADGM Authorization
Circle’s newly acquired FSP license grants the company the legal foundation to roll out regulated payment, settlement, and digital-asset infrastructure tied to USDC across the UAE. The consent is due to the scaling of Abu Dhabi of a digital finance ecosystem with explicit regulations on tokens with fiat backing and institutional blockchain services.
In the case of Circle, the license is not just the compliance requirement but it allows direct interaction with banks, corporates, and developers interested in adding trusted digital dollars to the financial rails.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of ADGM has become one of the limited regulators in the world that provide a holistic approach to stablecoins and establish the standards of transparency, consumer protection, risks management, and issuance. Circle’s inclusion places the company alongside a growing list of international firms now using Abu Dhabi as a launchpad for regulated digital-asset activity.
A Key Step Toward Internet-Scale Financial Infrastructure
Jeremy Allaire, Circle’s co-founder and CEO, emphasized that regulatory clarity is essential for the future of onchain finance. He noted that ADGM’s rules set a benchmark for how stablecoins should be supervised globally and enable trusted digital money to operate at internet speed.
The company’s entry comes during wider regional policymaking efforts. Over the past two years, the UAE has laid out explicit rules for fiat-backed tokens, tokenized assets, reporting standards, and payment infrastructure developments that have positioned the country as one of the most advanced regulatory environments for crypto-linked financial services.
New Leadership to Drive Institutional Adoption Across MEA
To accelerate the rollout of stablecoin-powered financial applications, Circle has appointed Dr. Saeeda Jaffar as Managing Director for Middle East & Africa. She joins from Visa, where she led operations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager.
Dr. Jaffar is considered to be experienced in banking, strategy, and payments transformation, and she occupied senior positions in McKinsey, Bain, and Alvarez and Marriott. Her experience as a consultant to financial institutions, as well as sovereign bodies in the region, makes her the right person to lead the next phase of Circle expansion.
Her mandate includes:
- Deepening relationships with financial institutions, payment providers, and enterprises
- Driving adoption of USDC and upcoming Circle products in business payments and settlement
- Expanding developer partnerships for onchain payment and treasury solutions
- Supporting broader MEA market development for tokenized finance
Why Regional Leadership Matters Now
Stablecoin adoption in the UAE is advancing quickly as enterprises look for faster settlement rails, reduced cross-border transfer costs, and programmable money that works across markets. The presence of a senior executive who has extensive regional experience would enable Circle to overcome different regulatory environments, organize with banks, and speed up the process of institutional onboarding.
As tokenized cash payment or cross-border blockchain payment options are considered by numerous organizations in the GCC, the move by Circle makes USDC one of the most familiar regulated stablecoins in the region.
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UAE Emerges as a Global Magnet for Regulated Stablecoins
The UAE’s digital-asset ecosystem has evolved rapidly, supported by two major regulatory zones:
- ADGM in Abu Dhabi, focused on institutional markets
- DIFC in Dubai, which earlier recognized USDC and EURC as the first stablecoins under its crypto token regime
These dual frameworks give Circle a unique regulatory corridor across the country.
Recent approvals for other global players highlight the broader trend. Tether’s USDT has been granted recognition across multiple blockchains in ADGM, while Binance recently secured permissions for exchange, clearing, and brokerage services in the free zone.