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UAE fintech boom: Tokenisation emerges as next frontier for everyday investors
As blockchain-based trading platforms rack up global recognition, the UAE positions itself as a hub for the world’s shift toward tokenised assets
- PUBLISHED: Mon 20 Jul 2026, 6:00 PM
The UAE’s fintech sector is riding a wave of momentum as the country pushes to close a long-standing gap between its wealthy economy and comparatively low rate of retail investment participation.
While the UAE boasts a $620 billion economy and more than 1.4 million registered businesses, only 200 companies are listed on its stock market. By contrast, India has 5,400 listed firms, and roughly 10 percent of its population actively invests digitally — a figure that climbs to about 62 percent in the United States. Traditional UAE investors have long favoured real estate and gold, assets that typically require large capital and effectively shut out smaller, younger investors.
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That gap is now being targeted by a new wave of blockchain-based platforms offering fractional ownership of global assets — letting investors buy into stocks, bonds and commodities for as little as $100. Industry estimates suggest the broader tokenisation market could eventually exceed $600 trillion as financial assets increasingly migrate onto blockchain infrastructure, while McKinsey projects more than $2 trillion in assets could move on-chain by 2030.
The trend received a symbolic boost this week when two UAE-based platforms, Dealing.com and Blockmaze — both part of Finvasia Group — earned Guinness World Records for tokenisation-related achievements, at a ceremony attended by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade.
Officials say the milestone reflects a broader strategic push. “The UAE now commands a quarter of the start-ups in the tech market, with a sector value of nearly $4 billion that continues to grow at a double-digit rate,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said, adding that more than 1,600 tech start-ups are now operating in the country, backed by innovation hubs and a growing renewable energy base.
Industry leaders argue that regulation, not just technology, will determine whether tokenisation lives up to its promise. “Simply tokenising an asset does not solve the challenge,” said Tajinder Virk, Co-Founder and CEO of Blockmaze. “The real breakthrough comes when that token represents a legally recognised, real-world asset, carries genuine ownership, and can move seamlessly across regulated markets with confidence... We believe this is the foundation on which the next generation of global capital markets will be built.”
For the UAE, the stakes go beyond any single platform. With 2.4 million registered public equity investors currently underserved by a shallow domestic listings market, tokenisation offers a route to global diversification without the paperwork traditionally associated with cross-border investing. As Dr Al Zeyoudi put it, the country’s ambition is to “demonstrate what is possible with bold ideas” as it competes to become a leading hub for Web3 and regulated digital finance.
Whether tokenisation becomes a mainstream on-ramp for the UAE’s next generation of investors — or remains a niche product for the already financially engaged — is likely to be the defining fintech question in the region over the next several years.
