Author|jk
On February 28, 2026, the US and Israel jointly launched a military strike against Iran, and Iran immediately launched a large-scale counterattack. The skies of the Middle East were instantly torn apart by missiles. Shattered were not only military facilities on the battlefield but also the lives of crypto practitioners who had just settled in this land. Dubai, a city hailed in recent years as the "Promised Land of Web3," is now facing a more severe, real-world test.
To this end, Odaily Planet Daily sought out multiple crypto industry professionals based in Dubai to inquire about their experiences, current situations, and plans for their next safe haven.
Dubai's Current Situation: Airport Attacked, Hotel on Fire, Financial and Real Estate Markets Show Lagging Reaction Signals
For those living in the UAE, Dubai is already a battlefield in a certain way.
Since Iran began its "True Promise" retaliatory operation, Iran has launched over two thousand missiles and drones towards Dubai. Missiles and anti-missile systems have engaged in a tug-of-war in Dubai's skies.
On the ground, Dubai International Airport and the Burj Al Arab hotel have been affected. Xiaohongshu is filled with scenes of Dubai International Airport terminals being pierced by drone debris, smoke billowing, and passengers fleeing in all directions.
Emergency evacuation when Dubai International Airport was hit. Source: X
Area near Dubai International Airport fuel depot hit. Source: BBC
In local Chinese community groups in Dubai, people share daily: "I heard explosions again here."
Previously, Odaily Planet Daily reported that the Fairmont Palm Hotel on the luxurious Palm Jumeirah was set on fire by falling drone debris, injuring 4 people. (I checked this hotel; the cheapest rooms cost around 1500 RMB per night during the low season, and can reach three to four thousand during the peak season.)
If you only read the news, you might think nowhere in Dubai is safe.
The first reaction of outsiders is: if the situation is already this severe, must Dubai's booming real estate market be plummeting through the floor? Should we all be evacuating?
What about the Real Estate and Financial Markets?
When the retaliation began, the Dubai Financial Market Real Estate Index (DFMREI) plummeted from around 16,000 points to the range of 11,500-11,700 points, a drop of about 30% in just a few weeks. Residential transaction volume also fell by 25%-30%. The DFMREI fell from about 16,140 points on February 28 to about 11,500 points in mid-March, a drop of about 30%, hitting its lowest point since April 2025 and erasing all gains accumulated throughout 2026. As of March 31, the DFMREI closed at 11,721.04 points, basically consolidating at low levels with no significant rebound yet.
Dubai Financial Market Real Estate Index. Source: TradingView
However, it's important to note that the DFMREI is a stock index tracking the share prices of real estate companies listed on the Dubai Exchange (such as Emaar, DAMAC, etc.), not the actual real estate transaction prices. A 30% drop in the index does not mean Dubai apartment prices fell 30%; in terms of actual transactions, according to local news reports, from February 28 to March 22, actual number of property transactions decreased significantly compared to the same period in previous years, with the average transaction price falling by about 4%-5%.
Regarding financial markets, as of March 31, the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets have lost a total of about $120 billion in market capitalization since the war began on February 28. Among them, the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) General Index fell about 16%, losing about $45 billion; the Abu Dhabi ADX General Index fell about 9%, losing about $75 billion.
Judging from the market reaction, it doesn't seem that severe.
Meanwhile, Dubai International Airport is still operating, albeit on a reduced schedule. A drone-induced fuel depot fire on March 30 again briefly halted flights, which were only partially restored by 10 a.m. that day. Flight suspensions to Dubai by major European airlines like Lufthansa, Air France, and British Airways have been extended until the end of March or even later, with some cancellations lasting until May 31.
The Token2049 Dubai summit, well-known in the crypto industry and originally scheduled for April 29-30, 2026, announced a postponement to April 2027, citing "the impact of ongoing regional uncertainties on safety, international travel, and operational logistics."
With all these conflicting pieces of information coming in, what is the real situation in Dubai like?
What is the future of Dubai? Is Dubai's crypto industry suffering irreversible damage?
Portrait of Crypto Practitioners in Dubai: Some Resign and Return Home, Others Rush to the 'Battlefield' by Starlight
"Some resign from office and return home; others rush to the examination hall by starlight." This phrase from "The Scholars" perfectly describes the scene in Dubai in 2026. Based on reactions collected by Odaily Planet Daily from crypto industry practitioners, they can be roughly divided into three categories.
The Escapers: Ten thousand reasons can't outweigh parents' worry
Stella is a data analyst at a cryptocurrency exchange. The company headquarters is in Dubai, and she has been working there for a year. In February this year, she took annual leave during the Spring Festival and rushed back to her hometown in Hunan to celebrate a lively New Year with her parents.
But right after the New Year, the geopolitical conflict broke out.
On the day of her return flight, Stella waited at the airport for 5 hours. The scheduled flight was delayed repeatedly and eventually canceled.
"Ticket prices changed every day during that time," she told an Odaily Planet Daily reporter. "Fortunately, the company eventually allowed all of us to work remotely, including colleagues in Dubai. No one goes to the office anymore."
She told the reporter that she originally wanted to keep trying to get a ticket back to Dubai, but it was really hard to explain to her parents at home. Stella said, her parents are in their fifties and often see WeChat official accounts talking about explosions and airstrikes here and there. She really couldn't let them worry so much.
"When I was studying for my master's degree abroad, I encountered the COVID-19 pandemic. My parents couldn't sleep all night looking at the local infection data." After realizing the conflict in Iran showed signs of becoming prolonged, Stella felt that even if she had to work across time zones, she didn't want to go through something like that again.
Stella is lucky. Rebecca, who works for a crypto infrastructure service provider, rushed back to China after the conflict started.
On March 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised Chinese citizens stranded in the Middle East to seize the window of resumed flights to evacuate.
After the conflict broke out, according to Rebecca, ticket prices didn't skyrocket particularly outrageously, but tickets still needed to be snatched up in the initial period of the conflict. Especially right at the start, there were news reports claiming that "the US military bombed Iran by hiding under the radar of civilian aircraft, thus avoiding detection," so some people, worried that civilian flights could become potential targets, drove for hours from Dubai to Oman—the only country in the Middle East without a US military base—and then made their way back to China.
Rebecca said that everyone she knew during that time returned to China.
"This time it's really... the vast majority of Chinese people are hearing explosions with their own ears for the first time. Who can handle that?"
The Stayers: If the Sheikhs haven't left, why should I?
A significant number of those who stayed expressed a very optimistic attitude in interviews. Within days of the Iranian attack, the leaders of the UAE, the Sheikhs, appeared publicly in downtown Dubai to reassure the public and express confidence.
Sheikhs appearing in public after the conflict. Source: Gulf News
Also, according to a report by The National, as of the 29th, data showed 11 deaths and 178 injuries in the UAE. Fortunately, not a single one was Chinese. Most of the injured were South Asian expatriate workers, with a small number being military personnel.
Tiffany, who works for a crypto wallet project, told the reporter, "People in Dubai, those whose companies aren't remote, basically carry on as usual, going to work normally if that's the routine."
According to an interview by crypto.news, an exchange employee using the pseudonym Jarseed stated that he had left Dubai for Hong Kong, but "many exchange employees have bought houses, settled down, and sent their children to school in Dubai. This group's attachment is far stronger than that of the digital nomads who can relocate at any time." Even if companies allow temporary work-from-home or longer-term remote work, these people have put down roots in Dubai. Where else can they go?
The Returners: You, Dare to Sign a Life-or-Death Waiver?
"Not my company, but I know some companies require people returning to Dubai to sign a life-or-death waiver," revealed an anonymous employee stationed in Dubai.
Shocking at first hearing, but this is indeed the reality for some workers in Dubai. As commercial entities, companies naturally cannot guarantee personal safety under these circumstances, so some companies require employees to sign liability waivers, what they call "life-or-death waivers."
Part of the reason is that some people truly cannot return to China for various reasons; on the other hand, because so many people have returned home, a certain vacuum has appeared in local operations in some niche areas. At this time, whoever has the courage to step up and take these orders gains the opportunity to overtake competitors in various industries.
This is both a risk and an opportunity. Thus, the Middle East is witnessing some brave returners.
Stella laughed and cried as she opened her phone to show a local group chat to Odaily Planet Daily: "Look in this group chat, this person just came back, and everyone刷屏 (floods the screen with) 'Welcome xx back to the war zone to overcome difficulties together with everyone'".
Dubai's Position Has No Substitute
"In the long run, will Dubai still be the crypto hub of the Middle East?" I asked everyone for their opinion on this question.
Ethan, the founder of a Web3 x AI project, directly opened a map to discuss this issue with us.
Ethan believes that Dubai's position is irreplaceable in the long run. His logic is simple: besides Dubai, where else can you go?
If you draw a circle centered on the UAE, you'll find almost no city comparable to Dubai within range
The nearest city of similar scale, Qatar, although developed and the country is not short of money, is also within the strike range. Israel is developed, but how do you do business with Arabs if you move there? Other cities in the Middle East are not as large as Dubai, and they might also be affected by the escalating situation.
Slightly farther away, Istanbul has an insufficient market size and not a high enough English proficiency rate. A bit further, North Africa is far less stable financially and politically than Dubai.
Even farther away, if you want to do business with the EU, why not just move to London, Paris, or Frankfurt?
So, after considering all options, Ethan believes that if you need to simultaneously satisfy the conditions of a city of similar scale,无障碍的语言沟通 (barrier-free language communication), crypto-friendly, and stable policy and financial environment, Dubai is the only choice.
"We can't just go to India, right."
Ethan told me that Dubai has always been the center of business dealings in the Middle East. Agricultural products from North Africa are unloaded here, small appliances from China are distributed here. Around the Deira area where Ethan lives, hundreds of thousands of Indians, Arabs, and Africans support the largest trade market in the Middle East.
Rebecca holds a similar view. Her company is a large international company, and Dubai is the center of its MENA (Middle East North Africa) regional business. Although she is temporarily working remotely from China, she told us that the company's operations are running normally, and she herself "will eventually return to Dubai."
The Agglomeration Effect of a Big City is Important, Especially for the Crypto Industry
Oliver, the Business Development (BD) lead for an audit project, told Odaily Planet Daily that living in a big city like Dubai is very important for the team.
He told us that although Web3 is mostly remote work, relying solely on online connections and conferences is far from enough for BD. His colleagues are mostly based in hotspot cities like Singapore and New York, and they usually cultivate very good crypto circles within their own cities, which is very important for "getting familiar" and building early trust.
Oliver himself comes from traditional finance. He believes the BD and sales process is "best done face-to-face."
From this perspective, living in a big city with a crypto atmosphere is important. Digital nomads working remotely can indeed live in places with low living costs like Nepal, but how many potential clients in the crypto industry would be there?
Believe in the UAE, and More Importantly, Believe in the Motherland
According to a Crypto.news report, Shuyao, co-founder of MegaETH, stated, "I am still very bullish on Dubai in the medium to long term. This is just its own bear market phase."
Tiffany, who works in operations, mentioned there is another layer of risk.
Since factors like war fall under force majeure, in some employment contracts, the company can lay off employees without liability. At this time, if the employee also doesn't want to return to Dubai, they might have to part ways with the company.
So, some of the returners might also be forced by circumstances.
However, she told us,
"I believe in the UAE; they won't let the situation really become irreparable. China will definitely evacuate its citizens if needed. I also believe in our country."
(Stella, Rebecca, Tiffany, Ethan, and Oliver in the article are pseudonyms.)
