Middle East Stablecoin Association Incorporates in DIFC

The Middle East Stablecoin Association (MESA) was incorporated in the Dubai International Financial Centre on 15 July 2026 as a Non-Profit Incorporated Organisation. The association will promote responsible stablecoin adoption, policy dialogue, education, research, standards development and cross-border knowledge exchange across the Middle East.

MESA said it will convene stablecoin issuers, exchanges, banks, fintech infrastructure providers, legal advisers, investors and regulators to support transparent and interoperable use of digital money in the region. The organisation will operate in the public interest and will not provide commercial advantage to any single member.

The association will be organised around functional committees, including Legal and Regulatory Affairs and Compliance, Technology and Innovation, Marketing and Public Relations, and Banking and Corporate Treasury. MESA said these committees will develop practical standards, produce educational materials and coordinate regulatory engagement across Gulf states and the wider region.

MESA cited data indicating the global stablecoin market capitalisation is about USD 311 billion, up from roughly USD 28 billion in 2020. The association referenced projections that estimate the market could reach about USD 1.9 trillion in a base case and USD 4.0 trillion in a bullish scenario by 2030. MESA also reported that the UAE received more than USD 56 billion in crypto value in a 2024–25 reporting period, a 33% year-on-year increase.

The group noted the region’s regulatory landscape involves multiple authorities, including the Central Bank of the UAE, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market. The Central Bank’s Payment Token Services Regulation is in force and the DFSA recognised USDC and EURC as crypto tokens within the DIFC in 2025. MESA positioned itself as a neutral forum to support industry dialogue while these frameworks develop.

Before formal registration, MESA published a regional legal and regulatory analysis titled “Towards Harmonization: An Analysis of the Stablecoin Regulatory Landscape Across the Middle East.” The association also released an educational briefing on stablecoins and corporate treasury, co-hosted a closed-door roundtable with Citi at DIFC and participated in an institutional allocator conference in Abu Dhabi alongside firms including Coinbase, Polygon and GMO Trust.

Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, MESA’s chairman, described stablecoins as moving into core financial infrastructure and said they can support settlement, treasury, cross-border payments and programmable finance. His Excellency Arif Amiri, chief executive officer of DIFC Authority, welcomed the registration and highlighted DIFC’s legal framework for non-profits and its role as an international financial centre. Kristiina Lumeste, MESA co-chair of Technology, Innovation and Education, noted that governance, education, interoperability and confidence are needed for sustainable adoption and said the association will bring market participants together around practical standards.

MESA selected DIFC for its legal framework for non-profit organisations and its concentration of finance and technology firms. The association invited organisations interested in membership or contributing to working groups to contact it via its website for further information.