UAE announces OPEC exit, will sell oil in multiple currencies including Bitcoin

The United Arab Emirates announced it will leave OPEC effective immediately and begin pricing crude exports in a basket of currencies including the dirham, yuan, and Bitcoin. Abu Dhabi’s state news agency called it “a diversification of settlement architecture aligned with national interest.” The move follows the cartel’s failure to agree on any coordinated response to the Hormuz crisis at the Vienna emergency session. UAE produces roughly 3.5 million barrels per day. If even 10% of that settles outside the dollar, it is the largest crack in the petrodollar system since Nixon closed the gold window. Saudi Arabia now stands alone as the last major producer fully committed to dollar settlement. For how long is the question nobody in Riyadh wants to answer.