Dubai approves tokenized money market fund in RWA drive

The Dubai Financial Services Authority has approved the QCD Money Market Fund (QCDT), a joint project by Qatar National Bank (QNB) and DMZ Finance, as a tokenized money market fund within the Dubai International Financial Centre.

In a statement released on Monday, DMZ Finance said it will serve as the co-originator and provide specialized tokenization technology infrastructure, while QNB is set to lead fund origination and investment management.

QCDT is designed to support multiple institutional applications across the financial sector. For example, banks can use QCDT as qualifying collateral, while centralized exchanges can deploy it as mapped collateral. Additionally, the fund can function as backing reserves for stablecoins and serve as a foundational layer for Web3 payment systems.

"QCDT is not only the first DFSA-approved tokenized money market fund in Dubai but also a pivotal step in QNB's digital asset journey," said Silas Lee, CEO of QNB Singapore, in the statement. "As the Middle East rapidly emerges as a global hub for financial innovation, the successful deployment of QCDT further consolidates QNB's leadership in the regional financial ecosystem and reflects our long-term vision to shape the next generation of financial infrastructure."

Dubai has taken steps to develop its crypto industry. In May, the Department of Finance of Dubai city signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Crypto.com to introduce cryptocurrency as a payment method for government services. 

Last month, the DFSA also approved RLUSD, Ripple's U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, as a payment rail within the Dubai International Financial Centre.