Emarat, a state-owned oil company in the UAE boasting a market value of nearly $14 billion, has begun accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as fuel payments.
The cooperation with Crypto.com, announced on May 8, 2025, stands to benefit both the digital currency adoption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and the energy sector.
Ten Emarat service stations, which already have the Crypto.com payment infrastructure installed, will be the first to implement it. This attempts to make it possible for consumers to use supported digital assets to pay for gas and convenience shop purchases. In addition, this pilot program intends to spread throughout Emarat’s more than 155 service stations in the United Arab Emirates, contingent on regulatory permission and consumer feedback.
Launching “Project Landmark”
The project includes the rebranding of Emarat’s Al Ameen Station on Al Wasl Road in Dubai as the “Crypto.com Emarat Service Station.” This marks a global first, with a cryptocurrency company securing naming rights for a fuel station, offering comprehensive services enabled by the partnership.
The infrastructure features Crypto.com’s systems to facilitate crypto payments and displays joint branding, serving as a controlled environment for service optimization while increasing the partnership’s visibility.
Promoting Customer Adoption
Both companies have developed a joint rewards program to encourage customers to adopt the new payment system through exclusive promotional packages. Despite the absence of exact details, it may include limited-time incentives designed to spur usage of the cryptocurrency payment option. The incentives, aligned with the customer engagement goals of both entities, may include discounts, loyalty bonuses, or other initiatives to boost adoption during the pilot phase.
This development comes amid growing cryptocurrency integration across the UAE’s retail and service sectors. For instance, the UAE MGX sovereign wealth fund invested $2 billion in Binance using a stablecoin. Additionally, Trump’s Tower project in the region will also allow purchases to be made in cryptocurrency.
As oil-producing nations start accepting payment forms beyond the US dollar, this could signal the beginning of the end for the petrodollar system.
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