Gregory Pudovsky
Printed: February 23, 2026 at 9:19 am Up to date: February 23, 2026 at 9:19 am
In Transient
World banks, asset managers, regulators and sovereign-backed establishments collect for the inaugural Digital Belongings Discussion board Abu Dhabi (DAFME 1), reinforcing the UAE’s emergence as a world hub for institutional digital finance
Senior leaders from world finance, digital asset infrastructure, and regulatory establishments will convene in Abu Dhabi on Might 13, 2026, for the inaugural Digital Belongings Discussion board Abu Dhabi (DAFME 1) — a brand new institutional gathering targeted on the accelerating integration of digital belongings into regulated monetary markets.
The launch of DAFME 1 comes at a defining second for institutional adoption throughout the Gulf area. The Center East and North Africa has quickly emerged as one of many fastest-growing digital asset markets worldwide, supported by sovereign funding methods, regulatory readability, and large-scale monetary innovation initiatives led by the United Arab Emirates.
As world monetary establishments more and more search regulated environments for digital asset deployment, the UAE has positioned itself on the intersection of capital formation, technological infrastructure, and forward-looking policymaking.
Following three profitable institutional editions of Digital Belongings Discussion board in London — bringing collectively practically 2,000 senior executives from banks, asset managers, hedge funds, and market infrastructure suppliers — the discussion board expands into Abu Dhabi amid rising world capital migration towards the area.
“Throughout our London editions, now we have seen how regulatory certainty straight unlocks institutional participation,” stated Victoria Gago, Co-Founding father of Digital Belongings Discussion board.“What’s going down in Abu Dhabi and throughout the Gulf represents a structural shift in world finance. Capital formation, infrastructure growth, and coverage management are more and more converging right here. The UAE is demonstrating how governments and monetary establishments can actively form the longer term structure of digital markets.”
Institutional Management and Confirmed Audio system
Confirmed institutional members embrace senior executives from regulators, funding companies, custodians, and world digital asset platforms:
Christoph Richter, Head of Digital Belongings & AI — ADGM
Sebastian Widmann, Head of Dubai — Komainu
Karl Naim, Group Chief Business Officer — XBTO Center East
Yan Ma, Government Director — Spartan Group
Catrina Wang, Common Accomplice — Portal Ventures
Elliot Andrews, CEO — Aspen Digital
Rachel Conlan, World Chief Advertising and marketing Officer — Binance
Extra institutional audio system and sovereign ecosystem members shall be introduced within the coming weeks.
Backed by Abu Dhabi World Market (ADGM)
DAFME 1 is backed by Abu Dhabi World Market (ADGM) and can happen inside Abu Dhabi’s worldwide monetary centre ecosystem.
By its Monetary Providers Regulatory Authority (FSRA), ADGM has established one of many world’s most complete regulatory frameworks for digital belongings, offering structured licensing regimes for exchanges, custodians, asset managers, brokers, and institutional infrastructure suppliers.
The UAE’s broader nationwide technique — spanning central financial institution digital forex initiatives, tokenisation programmes, and public-private innovation partnerships — reinforces the nation’s ambition to develop into a world capital market connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Sovereign wealth funds, regional banking teams, and institutional allocators throughout the area are actively evaluating:
Tokenised real-world belongings (RWA)
Stablecoin and cost infrastructure
Institutional digital asset funds
Regulated custody and market infrastructure
—all inside a government-supported and compliance-driven framework.
Key Institutional Themes
Digital Belongings Discussion board Abu Dhabi will study the strategic questions shaping institutional markets, together with:
UAE digital asset regulation in a world context
Institutional portfolio allocation and alpha era
Stablecoins, funds, and CBDC developments
Integration between conventional finance (TradFi) and DeFi
Actual-world asset tokenisation
The evolution of crypto ETFs
Liquidity, custody, and market infrastructure
Institutional threat and governance frameworks
A Curated, Final result-Pushed Institutional Format
Digital Belongings Discussion board Abu Dhabi is designed as a extremely curated executive-level atmosphere targeted on decision-makers somewhat than retail participation.
The programme consists of:
Institutional main-stage discussions
Closed-door government classes
Devoted 1:1 assembly areas
Non-public briefing and partnership rooms
The discussion board’s goal is evident: institutional alignment, capital deployment, and infrastructure coordination for 2026 and past.
About Digital Belongings Discussion board
Digital Belongings Discussion board is a world institutional occasion sequence connecting conventional monetary markets with digital asset innovation.
The Abu Dhabi version marks the discussion board’s enlargement into the Center East following established editions in London.
The sequence is organised by the European Blockchain Conference, launched in Barcelona in 2018, now recognised as considered one of Europe’s main platforms bringing collectively monetary establishments, policymakers, and infrastructure suppliers advancing blockchain adoption in mainstream finance.
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About The Writer
Gregory, a digital nomad hailing from Poland, is just not solely a monetary analyst but additionally a priceless contributor to numerous on-line magazines. With a wealth of expertise within the monetary business, his insights and experience have earned him recognition in quite a few publications. Utilising his spare time successfully, Gregory is presently devoted to writing a ebook about cryptocurrency and blockchain.
Extra articles
Gregory, a digital nomad hailing from Poland, is just not solely a monetary analyst but additionally a priceless contributor to numerous on-line magazines. With a wealth of expertise within the monetary business, his insights and experience have earned him recognition in quite a few publications. Utilising his spare time successfully, Gregory is presently devoted to writing a ebook about cryptocurrency and blockchain.
