CoinDesk
Abdulla Kanoo, heir to Bahrain's 135-year-old Kanoo business dynasty, is building blockchain-based settlement infrastructure for emerging-economy trade through his firm ARP Digital — a market he says exceeded $6 trillion in 2024 and could reach $32 trillion by 2030. ARP has already processed more than $3.5 billion in transaction volume across 450-plus institutional clients, with volume growing fourfold last year.
Why it matters
The structural problem ARP is targeting is deceptively large: Global South institutions increasingly trade with one another but still route payments through legacy correspondent-banking chains that can take days to settle and leave capital stranded offshore. Kanoo frames it bluntly — "That's not a niche. That's the structural gap we settle into." A Category 3 license from the Central Bank of Bahrain and in-principle approval from Dubai's VARA give ARP regulated footing in two of the Gulf's most active financial jurisdictions, while a fresh integration with the Fireblocks Network for Payments connects it to a platform spanning more than 100 countries.
Market impact
The Fireblocks deal is the near-term catalyst to watch: it hands ARP access to one of the largest institutional digital asset networks in the world and gives Fireblocks a regulated on-ramp into Gulf payment corridors. Kanoo's thesis — "For a century, the Gulf stored the world's capital. By 2030, it will move it and settle it" — positions the region as the settlement layer for South-South trade flows, a role that legacy dollar-correspondent infrastructure has never cleanly filled. If volume continues on its fourfold annual growth trajectory, ARP becomes a meaningful data point for the broader case that blockchain rails are winning real institutional payment mandates.
Frequently asked questions
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How much transaction volume has ARP Digital processed so far?
ARP Digital has processed more than $3.5 billion in transaction volume across more than 450 institutional and corporate entities, with volume growing fourfold in the most recent year.
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What regulatory approvals does ARP Digital currently hold?
ARP 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 (VARA).
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What does the Fireblocks integration mean for ARP's reach?
The Fireblocks Network for Payments connects payment providers, fintechs and financial institutions across more than 100 countries, giving ARP access to one of the largest institutional digital asset networks in the world and providing Fireblocks a regulated entry into Gulf payment corridors.
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Why are legacy banking systems inadequate for South-South trade flows?
Payments between Global South institutions often pass through multiple correspondent banks, settlement can take days, capital sits offshore, and access to dollar liquidity remains uneven — creating friction and cost that blockchain rails are designed to eliminate.
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How large could the emerging-economy trade market become by 2030?
Kanoo estimates the South-South trade market exceeded $6 trillion in 2024, representing roughly a quarter of global trade, and projects it could reach $32 trillion by 2030.
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