Dubai Court Recognizes Cryptocurrency as Valid Salary Payment A Landmark Ruling for the UAE

This year, the Dubai Court of the First Instance acknowledged cryptocurrency legal for use in salary payments, thus, changing the legal status of the United Arab Emirates drastically. This case shows that, through this decision, the court is opening the UAE’s doors to approach digital currencies in the same overarching manner as other financial instruments.

The case under consideration involved an employee who received partly wages in EcoWatt tokens, which is a kind of cryptocurrency, according to the contract. This degenerated into a legal battle when the employer was unwilling to pay for this part of the salary.

At first, the court has dismissed the claim based on insufficiency of the legislation to calculate the tokens in fiat money. But in a 2024 decision the court has changed its decision and required the employer to perform the contract and pay the crypto half of the wages without converting them into the fiat money.

This decision not only creates a legal basis in the UAE but also enhances the latter’s efforts to become a world leader in digital finance. The ruling correlates with other reigning efforts in Dubai where other authorities such as the DFSA have been working to develop the correct approaches as to the regulation of cryptocurrencies and related services to facilitate innovation while protecting consumers.

For the businesses and their employees, this ruling helps to define the legal frameworks on the use of cryptocurrency in services contract employment hence opening doors to the usage of the digital assets in the UAE.

This ruling is in line with the UAE’s direction of incorporating innovative financial systems which is evidenced by others as follows; enabling the residents of the UAE to trade cryptocurrencies directly through their accounts as M2 Exchange does.