Innovation City in Ras Al Khaimah has launched a blockchain-based digital business identity system, replacing paper and PDF licenses with cryptographically verifiable assets on the OPN chain. The system went live on May 4 and gives each registered company a “living” digital identity that can be checked instantly onchain instead of through centralized records.
The UAE free zone, which focuses on artificial intelligence, said the rollout matches a recent federal directive calling for 50% of government services and operations to move to agentic AI within two years. Putting business identities onchain creates machine-readable data that AI agents can use for permits, compliance reviews, and tax-related processes.
From static licenses to verifiable digital assets
Innovation City said business identity has long been tied to paper files, PDFs, and fragile databases, creating delays in cross-border trade and institutional checks. CEO Paul Dawalibi said the new model is meant to end that cycle and reduce what he called “verification uncertainty” that slows interactions between companies, banks, and public bodies.
The free zone listed several near-term effects: less document forgery, tighter limits on opaque shell company structures, and much faster status checks for banks and regulators. Under the new setup, a company’s standing can be verified in seconds instead of weeks. The identities are also designed to move across platforms and across borders.
OPN chain built for machine-readable enterprise data
The infrastructure comes from IOPN. According to the company, OPN is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain capable of more than 10,000 transactions per second with sub-second finality. IOPN CEO Mojtaba Asadian described it as the sovereign infrastructure layer for the UAE’s developing AI economy.
Innovation City framed the rollout as more than a software update, calling it a full redesign of how corporate existence is represented and verified. The free zone argued that as AI integration becomes standard across the Middle East, blockchain-based business identity will become a basic requirement for companies that want to operate in low-friction global commerce. Innovation City has positioned itself as a hub for emerging technologies, with a focus on AI and decentralized finance.