Emirates Airlines plans to support the purchase of airline tickets with cryptocurrency, expected to take effect next year.

Emirates Airlines has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, to explore allowing customers to pay for flight bookings through the cryptocurrency platform. The measure is expected to take effect next year. In addition, Dubai Duty Free in the UAE has confirmed a partnership with Crypto.com to explore accepting cryptocurrencies for in-store and online shopping. In recent years, the UAE has become an important base for cryptocurrency companies. In May of this year, UAE budget airline Air Arabia announced a partnership with digital bank MBank to accept stablecoin AE Coin, pegged to the UAE dirham, for flight bookings. In addition, local real estate transactions, transportation, and tuition fees are already accepting cryptocurrency payments, and Dubai's various commodity trading centers have attracted over 650 cryptocurrency companies to set up shop.