- Galaxy Digital announced it is expanding into the Middle East by opening a new office and entity in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
- Mubadala Capital (the investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s main wealth fund) revealed that it is exploring tokenized access to private market investments via a partnership with tokenization infrastructure provider KAIO
- The push to digitize RWAs is gaining real steam, as tokenized US Treasuries alone have grown from about $3.9 billion to $8.6 billion in 2025
Abu Dhabi has solidified its status as the premier destination for institutional digital assets, executing a dual strategy of attracting Wall Street heavyweights and deploying sovereign capital onto the blockchain.
Galaxy Digital, the financial services firm led by Mike Novogratz, announced the opening of a new entity in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) today, the UAE capital’s international financial centre.
The new office will be led by Bouchra Darwazah, a Managing Director at Galaxy.
Related: Binance Becomes First Global Exchange With Complete FSRA Approval In Abu Dhabi
Mubadala Capital Explores Asset Tokenization
In parallel, Mubadala Capital (the investment arm of Abu Dhabi’s main wealth fund) revealed that it is exploring tokenized access to private market investments via a partnership with tokenization infrastructure provider KAIO. If successful, it would allow investors to buy and sell shares in normally hard-to-trade private companies directly on a blockchain.
KAIO’s digital platform has brought in more than $200 million in large-scale investments that are recorded on the blockchain.
Interestingly, the Mubadala-KAIO project seems to be in line with the bigger shift this year, where financial players are moving toward the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). This includes things like government bonds and private funds, where the goal is to make these traditionally complex assets easier to trade, more accessible, and faster to manage using blockchain systems.
Generally speaking, the push to digitize RWAs is gaining real steam. According to the CoinShares report, tokenized US Treasuries alone have grown from about $3.9 billion to $8.6 billion in 2025.
ADGM’s Regulatory Changes
Earlier this year, ADGM signed an MoU (memorandum of understanding) with Chainlink to develop compliant frameworks for tokenized assets, bridging blockchain infrastructure with regulated finance.
In June, ADGM’s regulator, Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), rolled out notable amendments to its digital asset regulatory framework.
The changes included switching the official term from “crypto assets” to “virtual assets” in order to match global standards. More importantly, the new rules stopped treating crypto as one general business type, and instead, they now regulate specific services (like holding assets for clients, running an exchange, or brokerage) separately, much like traditional finance.
Banning Privacy Coins
Most notably, ADGM’s directives outright ban specific types of cryptocurrencies. Privacy coins and algorithmic stablecoins can’t be listed or offered by regulated companies, showing a firm line against tokens regulators see as riskier or harder to track.
Additionally, not long ago, ADGM’s company registration body adopted a significant new set of instructions. The update gives the authority much stronger powers to enforce all business laws in the financial free zone.
As such, ADGM’s updated rules establish a two-level fine system:
- For smaller rule-breaking, with fines up to $2,000
- For major or intentional violations, with fines that can go as high as $54 million
The registration authority also gets stronger investigation tools. It can now force people to hand over documents, hire outside experts, inspect business premises, interview people under oath, and even freeze assets or stop activities if required.
Related: Circle Wins Key Licence in Abu Dhabi as UAE Moves Ahead With Digital Finance Rules
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