The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has operated a rental cheque system for decades, but stablecoins could transform the landscape.
Bobby Zhou, the co-founder of Aqua Labs Investment, believes the technology that will enable tenants to pay their rent in digital currencies is already available.
The only challenge is coordinating developers, real estate agents and property management companies to embrace change, which is easier said than done.
Zhou said the transition could happen far sooner than many people expect, speaking at the Stablecoin and Digital Asset Innovation Forum 2026 at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
Why the UAE Rental Market Is Ready for Change
UAE tenants have traditionally paid their rent to landlords as post-dated cheques.
The system has become a part and parcel of the country's property market. However, digital finance buffs are advocating for blockchain-based settlements.
They can make rental transactions faster, more flexible and easier to manage.
Zhou claimed that the obstacle is no longer technological innovation. It was only a matter of bringing the right players together.
In his words, developers, agents and property managers now need to assemble a team and the tools to make the system work at scale.
Stablecoins Expanding Beyond Real Estate
Zhou also highlighted commodities trading as another sector stablecoin payments can transform.
He explained that cross-border commodity settlements use digital currencies because they are an obvious upgrade over traditional banking systems, which can be slow and expensive.
Moving payments from conventional systems like SWIFT to blockchain networks can help drastically reduce settlement times. It can also help cut transaction costs from around $25 to just a few cents.
Stablecoins are set to become popular in the UAE's growing digital economy, with the regulated gambling sector among industries exploring blockchain payment solutions.
Many UAE online casinos already facilitate stablecoin payments for deposits and withdrawals.
Major Partnerships Accelerating Crypto Adoption
The UAE and the wider Gulf region have been establishing major partnerships designed to accelerate mainstream cryptocurrency adoption.
Safeheron and UPay have signed an agreement to connect secure digital wallets to everyday spending tools.
Owen Yang, the chief executive of UPay, announced that the partnership would allow users to seamlessly switch between cryptocurrencies and real-world payments.
The platform currently supports assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and other stablecoins.
However, direct bank transfers from crypto balances are not yet possible in the UAE, as the company awaits regulatory go-ahead.
Stablecoins Becoming the UAE's Preferred Crypto Asset as Regulators Lay the Groundwork
Stablecoins are gradually becoming the most dominant form of cryptocurrency in the UAE,
According to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, stablecoins account for almost two-thirds of UAE crypto transactions this year, far more than Bitcoin and Ether.
The firm also earmarked the UAE as one of the fastest-growing crypto markets in the world as more practical financial use cases emerged.
Regulators have also played a key role in laying the foundation for this transition.
The UAE Central Bank had been implementing a digital currency strategy since 2023 before establishing a proper stablecoin framework a year later.
ADGM and Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority have also helped develop more encompassing regulatory structures for digital assets.
The UAE's first regulated Dirham-backed stablecoin, AE Coin, received approval in December 2024. Tether has since been cleared to develop another locally regulated stablecoin in 2025.
Wai Lum Kwok, senior executive director of authorisation at ADGM's Financial Services Regulatory Authority, claimed Abu Dhabi's stablecoin framework is 99% complete.
However, he still acknowledged some challenges to completion, such as banking adoption.
Traditional lenders are still cautious about providing services tied to digital assets due to compliance requirements, security and uncertainty over how crypto should be treated on balance sheets.
Traditional Finance Starts Embracing Stablecoins & AI’s Role
Despite those concerns, major financial institutions are backing crypto to thrive.
Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Sirius International Holding jointly developed DDSC, another Dirham-pegged stablecoin, which has been approved by the UAE Central Bank.
The token has been used in one massive Dh110 million transaction and processed more than Dh150 million in total activity.
It has since been approved for use on platforms regulated by Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, paving the way for it to go mainstream.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is also expected to boost stablecoin adoption.
Vincent Tse, chief executive of AiPayWithCrypto, has predicted that future payments will involve more machine-to-machine transactions, as AI agents are given power to make decisions on behalf of users.
Tse argues that traditional payment networks cannot handle the speed and scale of those transactions, spurring demand for blockchain payment solutions.
