03.08.2026 16:50
Dubai-based airline Emirates has started accepting Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for flight ticket payments. Passengers can now purchase their tickets with cryptocurrency through the payment feature developed with Cryptocom.
Emirates and Crypto.com had announced that they would work together in this field. Emirates gave its first signal regarding Bitcoin payments in 2022, and with the latest step, Crypto.com users were enabled to use any digital asset in their payments. According to the new regulation, passengers with a Crypto.com account can select Crypto.com Pay at the payment step when purchasing tickets through Emirates or the Emirates app. For now, the option is only available for tickets priced in UAE dirhams and is currently offered only to passengers residing in the UAE.
Emirates' Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Adnan Kazim said the step reflects the rapidly changing preferences of a young, digitally fluent generation that largely manages their money and travel from their phones. According to Kazim, this generation expects the airlines they fly with to keep up with this pace.
INTEGRATION OPERATES VIA DUBAI-LICENSED INFRASTRUCTURE
The integration is conducted through Crypto.com's Dubai-licensed entity. According to the company, this entity became the first virtual asset service provider to receive a Stored Value Services license from the Central Bank of the UAE.
The step also contributes to broader public goals. The initiative supports Dubai's Cashless Strategy, part of the D33 Economic Agenda. This strategy aims to make 90 percent of public and private sector transactions in the emirate digital by the end of 2026. The development follows Emirates' earlier partnership with Dubai Finance to advance digital payments. Crypto.com had also made a separate agreement with Dubai Finance to accept digital payments for public services.