Crypto exchange Bitpanda has partnered with a state-backed Dubai bank as part of its first expansion into the Middle East.

RAKBANK, one of the United Arab Emirates‘ oldest banks, has partnered with the Vienna-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda to expand its crypto offerings in the region.

Per an Aug. 19 press release, the partnership aims to provide UAE residents with a platform to manage crypto holdings, marking Bitpanda’s first agreement in the region.

Although the collaboration is still pending approval from the Central Bank of the UAE, RAKBANK plans to give its customers the green light to various digital asset use cases and payment options once the deal is finalized. Bitpanda chief executive officer Lukas Enzersdorfer-Konrad highlighted the UAE’s ambition in the crypto space, anticipating that the collaboration will “transform crypto access for millions in the UAE and lay the groundwork for future innovation.”

RAKBANK’s engagement with the crypto space is not new. In 2020, the bank partnered with Bangladesh’s Bank Asia to enable money transfers between accounts at the two institutions using Ripple’s technology. Additionally, the latest deal follows a significant legal development in Dubai, where the Court of First Instance recently recognized crypto as a valid form of salary payment.

As Coin Insider Daily previously reported, the court’s landmark decision was made in a case involving an employee who had not received their contractual payment of over 5,000 EcoWatt (EWT) tokens. The court upheld the validity of cryptocurrency as a payment method and mandated the employer to fulfill the agreed-upon payment in EcoWatt tokens, affirming cryptocurrency’s role in employment contracts.