Dubai, UAE; 5 November 2026: Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, focused on two connected but distinct shifts shaping long-term capital on day four of the inaugural Dubai Future Finance Week. 

The future of family wealth
 
The Dubai Family Wealth Summit addressed priorities for family businesses, family offices, ultra-high-net-worth principals and next-generation stewards. The focus of the event included governance and succession; wealth structuring and investment amid regulatory and geoeconomic change; technology and future assets; and responsible capital, philanthropy, impact and resilience. The Summit reflected a broader view of family wealth: continuity is not solely centred on asset management, but also depends on leadership, family unity, jurisdictional resilience and the future of family enterprises. The event underscored the growing importance of structured succession, effective governance and responsible capital stewardship. 
 
His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, delivered a keynote address during The Dubai Family Wealth Summit, reinforcing the importance of international connectivity and collaboration as Dubai continues to strengthen its position as a global hub for trade, investment and financial services.

Key speakers included Hussain Sajwani, Chairman, DAMAC Group; Halima Dangote, GED Family Office & International Offices, Dangote Industries Limited; Maurice Gravier, Group Chief Investment Officer for Wealth Management, Emirates NBD; Shehab Gargash, Founder, Gargash Prime; and Osama Ibrahim Seddiqi, Vice Chairman, Seddiqi Holding. 

 
A tokenised future
 
The Future Tokenisation Forum was opened by Mark Steward, Chief Executive of the DFSA and the event brought together regulators, financial institutions, investors and technology providers to consider how tokenised finance can move beyond fragmented use cases towards trusted, scalable market infrastructure. 

At the forum, the DFSA shared insights from their upcoming publications on tokenisation, highlighting the regulatory, legal and operational considerations shaping the evolution of digital finance. The report explored the foundations required to support trusted, scalable and internationally connected tokenised markets, while addressing key opportunities and challenges associated with wider adoption.
 
Mark Steward, Chief Executive of the DFSA, said: “Our new DFSA report, Scaling Tokenisation: The Road Ahead, brings together perspectives and insights from leading market practitioners across the financial services ecosystem. As tokenisation moves into live use across financial products, payments, and market infrastructure, important questions about what is needed for tokenised markets to thrive and achieve scale responsibly need to be addressed. We hope this white paper will stimulate further discussion among industry, investors, regulators, and policymakers about the road ahead.”
 
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) published its new report, Scaling Tokenisation: The Road Ahead, bringing together perspectives from leading practitioners across the financial services ecosystem, including BlackRock, Ripple, Robinhood, Soter Insure and Standard Chartered. The paper examines how tokenisation may develop as it moves from experimentation towards practical use across financial products, payments, and market infrastructure, and considers the conditions that may support its responsible development at scale. 

Contributing to the broader discussion on tokenisation, the DIFC Courts, in collaboration with the DIFC Innovation Hub, DECA4 Advisory and industry partners, published a white paper proposing a new global standard for resolving disputes in the on-chain economy. At its centre is the Dispute Resolution Oracle (DRO) — an opt-in connection between smart contracts built on the blockchain/Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and a trusted court or other qualifying chosen forum. The proposal addresses a critical gap in digital markets: while legal authorities can determine who is entitled to an asset, they cannot currently make that decision effective directly on-chain. The standard would allow parties to choose their forum before transacting, preserve the disputed asset when a claim is raised and once a final decision is reached then it can be fully enforced on chain.  

The initiative is designed as an open standard rather than a single jurisdiction solution. Human judges, arbitrators, mediators and experts would continue to decide cases off-chain, with safeguards including limited asset freezes, early review, reasoned decisions and appeal rights. 
 
Speakers included Glen Fernandes, Senior Executive Officer, DIFC Branch, BNY Mellon; Paul Kayrouz, Chief Fintech Officer, Central Bank of the UAE; William Mason, Director General, Guernsey Financial Services Commission; Amna Al Owais, Deputy Director of DIFC Courts; Michail Fekkas, First Vice Chairman, Hellenic Capital Market Commission; His Excellency Senator Osita Izunaso, Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Markets, Federal Republic of Nigeria;; and Ruben Bombardi, General Counsel and Head of Regulatory Enablement, and Paul Boots, Senior Director – Head of Sector Development, Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).Also on day four, the Investment Leaders Exchange convened sovereign wealth funds, institutional capital allocators, and family office principals. The exchange facilitated strategic dialogues on asset allocation, cross-border risk management, and the integration of digital assets into multi-generational institutional portfolios.