ARP Digital Pushes Gulf Trade Payments Toward Blockchain Settlement

Abdulla Kanoo, an heir to Bahrain’s long-running Kanoo business dynasty, is using ARP Digital to build blockchain-based infrastructure for cross-border payments. The company is focused on moving money between emerging economies faster and with fewer intermediaries than traditional banking rails.

The effort matters because trade between emerging economies has become a multi-trillion-dollar market. Kanoo told CoinDesk that such trade exceeded $6 trillion in 2024, while ARP’s pitch is that legacy correspondent banking can leave institutions dealing with slow settlement, offshore capital and uneven access to dollar liquidity.

ARP Digital is not being positioned as a new exchange or token project. Instead, the Bahrain-headquartered firm is targeting institutional settlement and payment flows, with Kanoo arguing that blockchain can become a core layer for the next phase of global commerce.

The company holds a Category 3 Crypto-Asset Service Provider license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and has received in-principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority. Kanoo said ARP has processed more than $3.5 billion in transaction volume across more than 450 institutional and corporate entities, with volume growing fourfold last year.

ARP’s latest step is an integration with the Fireblocks Network for Payments, which connects payment providers, fintech companies and financial institutions across more than 100 countries. For ARP, the integration expands access to institutional digital asset infrastructure; for Fireblocks, it adds a regulated route into Gulf payment corridors.