‘Leaders Attract Leaders’: Ripple CEO Reacts to Crucial UAE Expansion

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has already taken to X, Elon Musk’s social media network, to celebrate the latest scaling efforts in the Middle East. 

Garlinghouse took to X to express his enthusiasm, writing, “Leaders attract leaders… Proud to be expanding in the UAE”.

As reported by U.Today, Ripple announced that it had opened its headquarters at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Scaling up in Dubai 

Ripple made a decision to launch the new headquarters due to growing demand for highly regulated digital asset services, such as payments and custody. 

According to the company, the expanded facility provides the physical capacity needed to double the size of Ripple’s existing regional team.

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Reece Merrick, Ripple’s Managing Director for the Middle East and Africa, claims that the company has witnessed a massive and growing appetite from local businesses. 

Ripple’s long-time presence in the UAE 

Ripple is far from a newcomer to the UAE. The company’s deep roots in the region date back to 2020, when it first established its initial MEA regional headquarters in Dubai. 

Over the past several years, the region has evolved into a key driver of the company’s global expansion, with the Middle East now accounting for a significant share of Ripple’s global customer base.

With the help of the newly established headquarters, Ripple intends to deepen its support for its established network of partners and clients across the Middle East and Africa. These include Zand Bank, Absa Bank, and other names. 

Back in 2020, Garlinghouse even floated the idea of relocating Ripple’s global headquarters from San Francisco to Dubai on the verge of the company’s legal battle with the SEC. 

Dubai has long been praised by Ripple’s executives for its progressive approach toward crypto regulation. In March 2025, Ripple achieved a major milestone by becoming the first blockchain payments provider to be fully licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). More recently, the DFSA officially approved Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin.