Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has launched an innovative proof of concept (POC) under its Digital Asset Lab, representing a significant advancement in the application of blockchain technology to Islamic finance.

In a statement, QFC noted that this remarkable development was made possible through the collaboration of a strong consortium of partners—AlRayan Bank, Blade Labs, and Hashgraph—each bringing unique expertise to a shared vision of financial innovation.

Enhancing transparency and compliance through technology

The POC will showcase a blockchain-based Digital Receipt System (DRS) designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and regulatory compliance in Shariah-compliant asset-backed finance.

The system will operate on HashSphere, a private permissioned distributed ledger technology (DLT) network built using Hedera technology, deployed on Google Cloud infrastructure provisioned through QFC’s Digital Asset Lab.

This initiative exemplifies a collaborative model where regulatory foresight, technical innovation, and domain expertise come together.

QFC acts as the orchestrator of the initiative, providing infrastructure support and subject matter expertise to steer the use case development. Hashgraph delivers and operates the foundational blockchain infrastructure, ensuring secure and scalable network performance, while Blade Labs spearheads the development of the DRS, including smart contracts and user interfaces tailored to Islamic finance applications. AlRayan Bank plays a pivotal role in validating the system’s functionality, offering domain-specific insights and exploring commercialization pathways, while Google Cloud’s enterprise-grade infrastructure is leveraged for the initiative.

Read more: Binance launches Sharia Earn as first multi-token staking service compliant with Islamic finance principles

Commitment to digital asset ecosystem

Commenting on the significance of the project, Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, Chief Executive Officer of QFC, stated: “At QFC, we are committed to building a strong digital asset ecosystem that supports innovation and real-world applications. Through our Digital Assets Lab, we’re proud to facilitate this pilot as a step forward in exploring how blockchain can bring greater efficiency and scalability to Shariah-compliant financial products. This initiative reflects our continued support for tokenization, financial innovation, and collaboration aligned with the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan.”

This initiative represents a bold step towards collaborative innovation in financial services. It also serves as a strong demonstration of the role and objectives of the Digital Assets Lab. By uniting diverse expertise across cloud technology, blockchain infrastructure, and Islamic finance, the Lab is fostering co-experimentation and the creation of new digital products while accelerating their commercialization.

Further reinforcing QFC’s leading role in the digital assets space, the Digital Asset Lab welcomed 33 new firms in the first half of 2025 alone, expanding its portfolio of collaborative projects that now include tokenised deposits, real estate tokenization, and blockchain-based rewards systems.

This growth supports Qatar’s vision to be a regional leader in fintech and digital innovation under the Qatar FinTech Strategy and National Vision 2030.

Launching QFC Metaverse

The Lab also launched the QFC Metaverse platform, an immersive digital hub that enables enhanced business engagement, networking, and training opportunities focused on advancing technology and innovation.

According to QFC CEO Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, this expansion consolidates the QFC’s position as a dynamic ecosystem conducive to fintech scaling and supports its objective to facilitate an attractive business environment with streamlined regulatory processes and 100 percent foreign ownership permissions for digital asset companies.

The Digital Assets Framework issued by QFC provides comprehensive legal guidelines on tokenization, addressing legal recognition, custody, and exchange transactions with a principle-based, technology-neutral regulatory approach.

Accelerating fintech adoption

This framework is integral in creating a flexible and agile ecosystem that accelerates fintech adoption for real-world assets, marking a significant differentiation from more prescriptive regimes globally.

The QFC aims to extend its global footprint through partnerships with global blockchain consortia such as The Hashgraph Association, R3, and Polygon, aiming to evolve beyond POCs to fully commercialised products.

Additionally, QFC supports complementary initiatives like the Qatar Central Bank’s wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) project, which seeks to enhance payment infrastructure and financial ecosystem interconnectivity.