UAE Institutional Leaders Gather in Abu Dhabi as Digital Asset

Abu Dhabi will host the inaugural Digital Assets Forum Abu Dhabi on May 13, 2026, bringing senior leaders from global banks, asset managers, regulators and sovereign-backed institutions together to assess institutional adoption of digital assets under the UAE’s progressive regulatory framework. The event is the Middle East expansion of the Digital Assets Forum series, which follows the third London edition that gathered nearly 2,000 senior attendees. The forum is organised by the European Blockchain Convention, launched in 2018 in Barcelona, which runs the institutional-focused Digital Assets Forum.

“Across our successful London editions, we have seen how regulatory clarity drives institutional engagement,” said Victoria Gago, Co-Founder of Digital Assets Forum. “Abu Dhabi is now at the center of a structural shift in global finance, with capital concentration, infrastructure buildout, and global firms relocating headquarters. This forum brings together the decision-makers who are shaping the future of digital finance and turning strategy into action.”

Confirmed institutional speakers

• Christoph Richter, Head of Digital Assets & AI at ADGM
• Sebastian Widmann, Head of Dubai at Komainu
• Karl Naim, Group Chief Commercial Officer at XBTO Middle East
• Yan Ma, Executive Director at Spartan Group
• Catrina Wang, General Partner at Portal Ventures
• Elliot Andrews, CEO of Aspen Digital
• Rachel Conlan, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Binance

Agenda and format

DAF Abu Dhabi will examine a broad institutional agenda comparing UAE digital asset regulation with other jurisdictions and focusing on practical pathways to capital allocation and partnership execution. Topics listed by organisers include institutional digital asset management and portfolio strategies, stablecoins, payments and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), DeFi and TradFi integration, real-world asset tokenisation (RWA), the state of crypto ETFs, liquidity, custody and institutional market infrastructure, and institutional risk management frameworks.

• Main-stage panels addressing regulatory and market structure
• Closed-door sessions for policymakers and senior executives
• Dedicated one-to-one meeting areas and private briefing rooms for deal-making

The forum is explicitly designed as an executive-level, highly curated gathering with an emphasis on deal-making, capital deployment and strategic partnership formation rather than retail outreach. Organisers say the objective is to translate dialogue into tangible agreements and coordinated investment strategies for 2026 and beyond.

Outlook

With Abu Dhabi positioned as a focal point for institutional digital asset activity in the Gulf, the forum aims to accelerate deployment of infrastructure and capital under a clearer regulatory regime. Attendees and speakers are expected to focus on practical implementations — from custody and market infrastructure to tokenisation and institutional product development. Tickets and further information are listed at www.eblockchainconvention.com/digital-assets-forum-abu-dhabi/.