Ripple opens regional office in Dubai, could this be its new HQ in the future?

Quick Take

1 minute read

• Ripple has put out an announcement revealing that it has established a regional office in the Dubai international financial centre, otherwise known as DIFC. 

• On the 7th of November, the company announced it decided to choose this location for its innovative regulations. 

Over the weekend, the San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple put out an announcement revealing that it has established a regional office in the Dubai international financial centre, otherwise known as DIFC. On the 7th of November, the company announced it decided to choose this location for its innovative regulations. The website for the financial centre highlights the special economic zones which serve more than 2500 companies all over Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.

A managing director at the San Francisco company, Navin Gupta said:

“Ripple already has a significant client base in the MENA region and the opportunity to co-locate with our customers made DIFC a natural choice… Our regional office will serve as a springboard to introduce our blockchain based solutions and deepen our ties with even more financial institutions in the region.”

It has been a rumour for a while now that the company would move away from San Francisco. The Chief Executive of the company, Brad Garlinghouse has spoken about moving the headquarters for the blockchain business to a country with greater regulation clarity than that of the United States. Japan and Singapore were even shortlisted as potential locations to relocate to.

Potentially one of the key reasons as to why DIFC was chosen by ripple Is because it offers blockchain companies no taxes on corporate income and profits for at least 50 years. On top of this, their multi-commodity centre is the biggest free zone in the United Arab Emirates which announced earlier this year in January that it is planning to launch a new type of crypto Valley.

If ripple is one of the first companies to be a part of this, it could prove great for the future of the business.

Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer of DIFC Authority said: 

“Leveraging DIFC’s world class platform, laws and regulations, our FinTech firms are able to work with other DIFC’s clients, who form part of the region’s largest financial ecosystem, to contribute to the development of the global, regional and local finance industry. During this post-pandemic recovery period, we recognise how digital agendas are being prioritised. Ripple and the other 230+ FinTech related companies in the Centre are key to driving the future of finance. Ripple is one of the most exciting client additions to DIFC this year. They are well regarded globally for innovation in the finance industry and therefore is a perfect partner and client for DIFC, given our vision to drive the future of finance. Together, we will advance the use of blockchain in Dubai, UAE and the region, and accelerate the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021.”

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