Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the financial hub of the UAE capital, has entered into a partnership with blockchain infrastructure provider Chainlink to explore regulatory frameworks for tokenization and onchain finance.

Announced on Monday, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) outlines a collaborative effort to support emerging blockchain projects registered under ADGM’s regulatory authority. 

As part of the agreement, Chainlink will provide technical resources and guidance on blockchain interoperability, verifiable data, and tokenization—key building blocks in creating regulated onchain financial systems.

The move comes as global interest in asset tokenization continues to grow, with financial centres and regulators evaluating ways to oversee decentralized technologies without stifling innovation. 

Chainlink, widely used in the blockchain industry for services such as cross-chain communication and oracle data feeds, has reportedly enabled more than $19 trillion in transaction value through its network.

ADGM CEO of the Registration Authority, Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, described the partnership as a way to bring greater alignment between innovation and regulation, particularly in areas like transparency and security. The initiative follows ADGM’s recent steps to create dedicated digital asset and distributed ledger technology (DLT) frameworks, including its DLT Foundations Regulations.

Under the MoU, the two entities will host a series of events and workshops to promote dialogue on blockchain governance, artificial intelligence, and interoperability standards. Topics such as proof of reserves, cross-chain connectivity, and regulatory models for decentralized systems will be key focus areas.

Chainlink representatives emphasized the significance of operating within a structured regulatory environment like ADGM. The collaboration is expected to offer blockchain projects a clearer path toward regulatory compliance while experimenting with new models of finance and digital infrastructure.

The partnership signals a broader push in the UAE to position itself as a leader in blockchain and Web3 regulation. With increasing participation from institutional players, financial centres such as ADGM are looking to balance innovation with safeguards—an area that partnerships like this aim to address.