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Kanoo Heirs Build Regulated Blockchain Rails for $6 Trillion Emerging‑Market Trade

Their Bahrain‑licensed firm seeks to speed cross‑border settlement to cut costs for trade between emerging economies.

Overview

  • Abdulla and Abdulaziz Kanoo founded ARP Digital to build blockchain‑based payment and settlement infrastructure that moves money between emerging economies faster and with fewer intermediaries.
  • ARP holds a Category 3 crypto‑asset license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and has received in‑principle approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, showing formal regional regulatory backing.
  • The company says it has integrated with the Fireblocks Network for Payments to connect ARP to major institutional custody and payment rails.
  • ARP reports processing more than $3.5 billion in volume for over 450 institutional and corporate clients, a claim that is sourced to the company and has limited independent verification.
  • The Kanoo brothers shifted their family office into Bitcoin starting in 2020 and are pitching tokenized settlement as a way to cut correspondent‑bank delays and dollar‑liquidity frictions in a trade‑finance market they value at about $6 trillion.