Avalanche has secured the role of the underlying blockchain infrastructure for the UAEPASS Digital Vault — the document service within the UAE's national digital identity platform, used by 12.5 million people. According to an announcement from Deca4 and Ava Labs on September 14, the companies will work with the UAE Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) to upgrade the blockchain system supporting the vault. Deca4 will lead implementation and coordinate the transition with TDRA, while Ava Labs will provide Avalanche infrastructure and technical expertise. The partners expect the new system to handle growing demand for digital identity services and verified documents across the country.
Key figures: 12.5 million UAEPASS users, more than 15,000 digital services, and over 350 connected public and private organizations. The Digital Vault stores verified documents, while the blockchain confirms their integrity without placing personal data onchain.
UAEPASS serves citizens, residents and visitors as the UAE's national digital identity platform. Users can verify their identity, sign documents and access digital services provided by government agencies and private companies. With 12.5 million users, the platform connects people to more than 15,000 services through over 350 participating organizations. The Digital Vault operates within UAEPASS, allowing users to request, store and share verified documents through the same national identity system.
The project adds blockchain infrastructure to an already operational government service rather than creating a separate identity platform. UAEPASS already provides citizens, residents and visitors with a single digital identity for accessing services and signing documents. Within this system, the Digital Vault allows users to receive verified records from connected organizations and then store or share them as needed. Cryptographic verification allows another party to confirm the integrity of a document while keeping its personal contents offchain.
UAEPASS also integrates the vault into an identity platform that already supports authentication and electronic signatures. A user can prove their identity, sign a file and access related services through a single national system instead of relying on a separate account for each participating organization. The platform covers both public and private services, extending its use beyond interactions with government agencies. More than 350 organizations are connected to UAEPASS, giving the blockchain upgrade a role in a service used across multiple segments of the UAE's digital economy.
Instead of storing the contents of personal documents directly onchain, the Digital Vault uses cryptographic records to confirm their integrity. A blockchain record can verify that a document has not been altered without placing personal information from the file on the blockchain. Avalanche will become the underlying blockchain infrastructure for this verification process. Deca4 and Ava Labs said the upgrade will improve the vault's throughput and performance as more people and organizations use digital identity and document services.
Keeping personal information off the blockchain also separates the verification record from the document itself. A user can share a verified file, while the accompanying cryptographic record helps the receiving organization check whether the document remains authentic. TDRA will oversee the Digital Vault ecosystem, while Deca4 will handle local implementation. Ava Labs will support the deployment with its blockchain technology and technical team throughout the implementation process.
Saeed Belhoul, Director of Operations at Dgov, noted that the system already plays a regular role in how millions of people use services across the country. “UAEPASS Digital Vault has become part of everyday life for millions of people in the UAE, and the trust they place in it is something we protect every day,” Belhoul said. He added that upgrading the vault will give the platform infrastructure capable of carrying that responsibility “for years to come.”
Privacy principle: Personal data never enters the blockchain. Only a cryptographic proof of document integrity is recorded onchain, allowing a verifier to confirm the authenticity of the file without gaining access to its contents.
As the primary implementation partner, Deca4 will manage the transition to the new blockchain environment in coordination with TDRA. The company works across blockchain, digital infrastructure and other emerging technologies. The project divides responsibility among three organizations: TDRA will oversee the service and its place within the UAE's digital government system; Deca4 will carry out local implementation; and Ava Labs will provide Avalanche infrastructure and technical expertise.
Mohammed Mahfoud, founder and CEO of Deca4, said the partnership combines his company's implementation experience in the UAE with Avalanche's blockchain system. “By combining Deca4's local implementation capabilities with Avalanche technology, we are helping build a scalable foundation for the next generation of trusted digital documents and government services,” Mahfoud said. For users, the Digital Vault will continue to provide a place to request, store and share verified records. The blockchain component operates behind the service, supporting document verification without requiring users to manage the verification process separately.
John Nahas, chief business officer at Ava Labs, noted that digital identity systems need to remain reliable while operating at real-world scale. “Digital identity is one of the clearest examples of technology that must work reliably at real-world scale,” Nahas said. Describing blockchain as infrastructure operating behind the service, Nahas said the partnership demonstrates how Avalanche can support systems that people use in everyday life.
Supporting a national identity platform gives Avalanche a government use case tied to millions of registered users and thousands of digital services. Its role is focused on the infrastructure behind verified documents rather than placing blockchain directly in front of users. For U.S.-based Ava Labs, the agreement expands the use of its technology in public digital infrastructure beyond the United States. The UAE project focuses on document verification and does not introduce the native AVAX token as part of the service.
Avalanche has also expanded into consumer payments: in February 2025, crypto.news reported on its Visa card, which allowed users to spend supported cryptocurrencies through a physical or digital card anywhere Visa is accepted. The UAEPASS deployment applies Avalanche technology to a different function: instead of processing retail crypto spending, the infrastructure helps verify the integrity of digital records within the UAE's national identity platform. Earlier, Kenya used Avalanche to verify student certificates, demonstrating the technology's applicability in the public sector.
Ava Labs will provide technical support throughout the implementation, while Deca4 oversees the upgrade and transition. TDRA will continue supervising the Digital Vault ecosystem as the service supports verified documents across government agencies and private-sector organizations. The project demonstrates how blockchain can be integrated into existing government services without changing the user experience: the technology operates behind the scenes, enabling authenticity checks without requiring users to manage the verification process themselves.
Strategic significance: The UAE gains scalable infrastructure for trusted documents, while Avalanche receives its largest government use case with 12.5 million users, strengthening the network's position in public digital infrastructure without involving the AVAX token.
“Government digital transformation is not about technology, but about how we serve people. The goal is a government that works around the clock, is accessible from anywhere and anticipates citizens' needs.”
— Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE, on the country's digital government strategy
