Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain, partnered with ARP Group on November 1, 2026, to establish a wholesale bank in Bahrain that is engineered to be AI-native and blockchain-enabled.
Securing Regulatory Approval at Gateway Gulf 2026
The planned institution has secured in-principle approval from the Central Bank of Bahrain. Regulated operations will not begin until final authorization is granted. The partnership was formally announced on the sidelines of Gateway Gulf 2026. The venture unites Mumtalakat, established on June 29, 2006, under Royal Decree No. 64 of 2006, with ARP Group, the holding company for ARP Global Capital and ARP Digital.
ARP Digital was co-founded by Yusuf Alireza alongside Abdulla and Abdulaziz Kanoo, who are fifth-generation twins from the GCC’s Kanoo Group. The firm holds a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain as a Capital Market-Crypto Assets Service Provider (Cat3) alongside registration with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). ARP Digital reported more than $3.5 billion in volume processed, a client base above 450, and 4x volume growth in 2025.
Deploying Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain in Institutional Banking
The bank is being built to deploy artificial intelligence throughout its operations. It will provide programmable services linking directly to client systems via APIs, backed by human oversight, governance, and risk controls. The rollout of products and services will happen in stages, guided by feedback from prospective clients.
The proposed institution targets regulated financial institutions, payment companies, and businesses operating across borders. Its goal is to make banking simpler for clients whose requirements cover several markets and currencies. Yusuf Alireza, founder of ARP Global Capital, noted that institutional clients with intricate cross-border requirements continue to encounter fragmented banking services.
Building on Bahrain’s Financial Infrastructure
Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, chief executive of Mumtalakat, stated that financial services have been a mainstay of Bahrain’s economy for a long time. He noted that the fund’s task is to put money into opportunities that bolster the sector’s competitiveness. Alireza added that Bahrain’s well-established financial sector and regulatory track record give the venture a solid base to serve clients throughout the Gulf and in international markets.
