In an interview with CNBC Al Arabia, Yazeed Saleh Aldemaigi Deputy, Strategy & International Affairs, at Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that regulations for Security Token offerings (STO) will be out before the end of 2022 in Saudi Arabia. As per the interview, application for STO offerings will be available on the CMA digital platform by end of 2022. He added that the Fintech Lab at CMA has been working on finding the most appropriate environments for FinTech startups. The STO regulations that will come out at the end of 2022 will help to attract foreign investment firms interested in the FinTech domain in KSA as well as support local companies. The Fintech Lab from CMA was launched in 2017.   It aimed to provide a regulatory framework that is conducive for the innovation of Financial Technology (FinTech) in the capital market within the Kingdom. One of the business models under the Fintech Lab was related to use of Distributed Ledger Technology...

Artfi, a non-fungible token (NFT) focused startup, has raised $3.26 million from several investors including Sheikha Hend Al Qassemi, a member of the ruling family of Emirate of Sharjah, and Raza Beig, director of Landmark Group, UAE. The current funding was raised at a valuation of $100 million. Artfi is on a mission to democratize the fine art space by fractionizing high-value artworks into limited editions NFTs. The NFTs will be minted on the polygon network. The fine art fintech company is now gearing up for whitelisting for its first fine art NFT offering from August and is also working towards developing a museum in the metaverse where the art collection will be always accessible. Asif Kamal, Founder of Artfi stated that the company will use the investment funds to build its technology and a dedicated marketplace for fine art NFTs. A portion of the funds will also be deployed to strengthen its product and team. Kamal stated in an interview, “Artfi was launched with a vision to ma...

  Singaporean start-up, KoinBasket, which recently received a 2 million USD pre-seed funding, is launching the UAE’s first crypto basket application. The company wants to make investing in crypto as easy as online shopping. As per the press release , the crypto basket application will also provide the with superlative fundamental analysis from KoinBasket. The company is backed by marquee investors that include Angellist quant fund, Stonks fund, Kube VC cryptopreneurs like Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal and Global CXOs from Ripple, Binance Citibank, Google, Accenture, Nomura, Fiserv and many more. Elaborating on how KoinBasket’s collaboration with global crypto exchanges will transform the way the world invests in crypto assets, Co-Founder and CEO Khaleelulla Baig states, “The UAE is an emerging market for us and we are excited to launch a variety of basket options in the Emirates, which is rapidly growing to become a global crypto hub with proactive and encouraging regulations...

  Komainu,  a regulated digital asset custody provider created by  Japanese investment bank Nomura, digital asset manager CoinShares and digital asset security company Ledger.  has been granted a provisional regulatory approval from Dubai's   Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA] to commence operational readiness. The provisional license will enable Komainu to be amongst the first fully regulated digital asset custody services to institutional clients in the region. As per the press release , Komainu acts as key gatekeeper to institutions gaining exposure to the digital asset industry with the provision of secure and regulated digital asset custody services for blockchain and beyond. Over the years, Komainu has established itself as one of the leading digital asset custody providers for institutional clients, providing the same safeguards and protections investors are accustomed to in traditional finance. The Custodian's industry-leading services have been ...

  The NFT (Non Fungible Token) marketplace trading volume is currently at around 4 billion USD per month despite the crypto bearish sentiments. Yet, the NFT segment is still far from saturated or mature, thus promising massive opportunities. Dubai-based OasisX , the first multi chain curated NFT Marketplace and Creator Studio is launching in a few weeks, paving the way for MENA based creators, collectors, and brands to take part in this new digital era. The platform has already on boarded more than 100 artists for its launch in addition to multiple regional brands for web3 activations. Najib Khanafer, Ramzi Mneimneh, and Jimi Ibrahim decided to take on the challenge of building secure and accessible tools to navigate the NFT and web3 world, bringing meaningful impact to artists, creators, collectors and brands from the region. All three have extensive knowledge in crypto, blockchain and technology and have been early adopters of this disruptive digital trend According to the foun...

  Qatar National Bank (QNB) has launched a direct remittance service powered by Blockchain RippleNet. The remittance service will offer money transfers from Qatar to Philippines connecting through China Bank. China Bank is one of the leading private banks in the Philippines. RippleNet is a financial technology powered by leading enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions provider. The new service will provide the Bank’s customers with a convenient remittance experience and a fast cross-border money transfer solution. The service, which mainly targets Philippine nationals in Qatar, will allow them to make fund transfers   up to PHP 50,000 to any bank in the Philippines in real- time. All transactions above PHP 50,000 sent prior to the cut off time (3pm Manila time during working days)       will be credited on the next working day. Adel Al-Malki, General Manager QNB Group Retail Banking, said: “QNB has always been pioneer financial technology a...

Matcha Capital, a Blockchain crypto investment fund based out of Europe, soon to be opening its offices in Dubai   UAE within DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) has made a significant investment in BitBlaze crypto exchange start-up, which will be launching its presence in Pakistan. Omar Rahim, Managing Partner of Matcha Capital stated on LinkedIN , “It has been a long time in the making but I am delighted to make public our investment into BitBlaze which will be launching a cryptocurrency exchange in Pakistan, the 5 th most populous nation on earth!” As per Rahim’s post BitBlaze will be powered by Binance Cloud. Rahim who was previously the Regional Director for Binance in MENA is one of the first to invest in BitBlaze’s pre seed round, founded by Abdul Alim and Imran Rahim. Rahim will also take over the role as chairman of BitBlaze noting his prior experience in Binance. Matcha Capital when launched in  early 2022 had stated that the fund would be capped at around...

  UAE RAK Bank has partnered with Kraken crypto asset exchange to offer virtual assets trading in AED using their local bank account. As regulated by the Central Bank of UAE, RAKBANK will enable Kraken, which is licensed by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), to have their UAE-based clients fund their crypto account through local fund transfers from any bank in the UAE.   Kraken was the first global exchange to have received a full license to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). Currently, UAE residents who trade virtual assets must use banks or foreign correspondents outside the UAE to fund their trading. As a result, they incur high foreign exchange costs and fees, experience long lead times (more than 24 hours) and are subject to overseas-jurisdiction asset governance. Through this innovative solution, UAE residents will be able to fund their account faster and at lesser costs, all while remaining within the UAE’s juris...

  UAE Mulk International has been granted an exclusive license to establish a blockchain and digital assets special economic zone in Zimbabwe. This comes in parallel with Mulk International pledge to develop a 500 million USD Cyber City Hi tech park near the capital of Zimbabwe, Harare. The project Zim Cyber City, will facilitate special window clearance of blockchain and digital assets licenses and bank accounts, cutting-edge office spaces and high-end residential living for all individuals and entities operating and living in the community. Owner of Mulk International, Dubai based billionaire Shaji Ul Mulk has pledged to fund the project. As per an interview with Zimbabwean media, Ul Mulk stated, “The project will include villas, cyber technology offices, shopping malls, and the tallest tower in Africa the Mulk Towers all constructed on 2.5 million square metres of land.” The first phase of the project is expected to be complete in the next two years. Local businessman Temp...

  Saudi based SABIC, petrochemicals manufacturer majority owned by Aramco, has launched a pilot project to investigate utilizing blockchain technology to support end to end traceability of circular feedstock. KSA based SABIC has partnered with Finboot, Plastic Energy, and Intraplás. SABIC has launched this pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of using a blockchain-based, value-chain IT application. SABIC’s is the first project of its kind in the industry to trace the product from feedstock production to converter, going further than previous industry applications of blockchain in end-to-end tracing. The platform offers reduced costs, time and improved data integration for all value chain partners. Waleed Al-Shalfan, Vice President Polymers Technology & Innovation at SABIC, said: “At SABIC, we have a deep commitment to innovation and technology that can help us to deliver more sustainable solutions to our customers. Our vision to create a circular economy for plast...

  The Saudi Central Bank, better known as SAMA, has appointed Mohsen AlZahrani, former Managing Director of Financial Services at Accenture KSA as Virtual Assets and CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) program Lead. AlZahrani recently announced this on his LinkedIn profile. This is a significant announcement given that KSA Central Bank has been working on its CBDC project since it announced its Aber project with UAE back in 2019. At the time both The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB) clarified in a joint statement that one of the objectives of launching the common digital currency project ” Aber” is for use in financial settlements between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.   It was known that IBM was one of the vendors working on the project. In addition six commercial banks, three from UAE and three from KSA participated in the joint digital currency pro...

  Dubai has officially launched its metaverse strategy which will bring on 5000 blockchain and metaverse companies to the city by 2027. His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council has launched the directives of the Dubai Metaverse strategy.  As per his tweet , the Dubai Metaverse strategy will add 5 times more Blockchain and Metaverse companies to Dubai within the next five years. Knowing that today Dubai currently has 1000 Blockchain and metaverse entities, this means that by 2027 there should be 5000 Blockchain metaverse companies at least in Dubai UAE. As Sheikh Hamdan stated, “It will also add 40,000 new jobs in the virtual world and bring in 4 billion USD to Dubai’s economy in the next 5 years.” He notes, “Today we have launched our metaverse strategy which is the next economic and technological revolution that will play a role in every facet of our lives for the next two decades to c...

  UAE Amana Solar has selected to work with KrypC, a global technology company automating carbon offset creation and distribution utilizing  CarbonCore, a solution running on the carbon-negative Hedera network that aims to make carbon trading markets more reliable, efficient, and inclusive. CarbonCore stores, tracks and distributes carbon credits, and acts as an end-to-end carbon offset marketplace where industrial supply and demand meet. The application can be integrated with existing platforms to allow carbon emitters to easily purchase carbon offsets, and enables environmental projects to provide carbon credits to the market through a streamlined tokenization and minting process. Amana Solar, a global leader in the installation of rooftop solar power, will work with KrypC and CarbonCore to develop advanced, highly granular Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), enabling the efficient tracking and offsetting of carbon emissions. Their critical strategic goal for the partners...

  Kucoin cryptocurrency exchange has revealed in a report “ Crypto Verse Report on adoption of digital currencies in Saudi Arabia" that 3 million Saudi Arabians are crypto investors who currently own cryptocurrencies or have traded in past six months. This means 3 million out of an adult population of 21 million  or 14 percent currently own cryptocurrencies. The survey also found that another 17 percent of adult population surveyed, was crypto curious and are likely to invest in crypto in the next six months. This would be mean that by the end of 2022, 31 percent of Saudi adult population or 6.6 million will be trading or owners of cryptocurrencies.  The report’s findings highlight sustainable interest among potential crypto investors in the Arab country. In the first quarter of 2022, 49% of crypto investors intended to increase investment in cryptocurrencies over the coming six months. The onset of the bearish market in the second quarter of 2022 saw a reversal of i...

  Singaporean, Stratez Capital with offices in UAE, a boutique firm that focuses on assisting enterprises who are planning to elevate to the next phase of growth, has partnered with NewTek Holdings to develop tokenized commodity trading and real-estate projects on the Blockchain. As per the press release , the Middle East has been identified by NewTek as a priority market, and the company is initially looking to focus on major real estate projects in Dubai.  “This is an exciting partnership, and in line with the investment and strategy objectives of the company, and we feel we can add huge value with our expertise and investments. NewTek brings real asset value and a clear vision in one of the fastest growing areas where real world assets combine with future Web3 and blockchain technology,” said Vik Pillai, Managing Partner at Singapore-based Stratez, announcing the agreement today. Qurashi, CEO of London-based NewTek, said: “I’ve been very impressed by the depth and variety t...

  Luna PR founder and CEO, Nikita Sachdev has announced that Luna PR, a PR and Marketing agency focused on blockchain and crypto has acquired the franchise for Cointelegraph MENA. As posted on her LinkedIn Feed , “We are celebrating a huge milestone! I’m proud to announce our acquisition of Cointelegraph MENA.” She added, “The goal is mass adoption of blockchain, which will revolutionize the way every industry functions today. Building awareness of blockchain in MENA has always been of utmost importance to us. We want other web3 projects globally to know about what the Middle East has to offer. We hope to do just that.” Nikita told LaraontheBlock, " I did this because I realize the potential in the Middle East and I want more projects to see what this region has to offer. We will most likely officially launch by next month." Cointelegraph is a global Blockchain crypto emerging FinTech media platform that was launched in 2013. Its presence now in the MENA region is a testame...

  In the past few days the Saudis NFT Collection has topped the OpenSea volume charts just below cryptopunks. The Saudis Free to Mint Collection totaled 6,700 ETH (roughly $7.7 million) in sales volume since its mint on July 9 th 2022.  It is now sold out!!   The Saudis is a collection of 5,555 NFT, an exclusive club, max bidding to the top. Each Saudi is unique and programmatically generated from over 80 possible traits. All collectibles are on the Ethereum blockchain. The Saudi NFT will grant its holder a Sheikh status in the Saudis Kingdom and allow owners access to upcoming venues. The Saudis NFT also has onchain metadata as one of its features given that they store their metadata on their smart contracts unlike most NFTs which rely on external sources like AWS (Amazon Web Services) or IPFS to host metadata. Storing the metadata on chain helps to reduce the costs. Not only does this metadata include the name and traits, but it also includes data to generate the...

  While Emirates Airlines was the first to speak about the launch of NFTs, metaverse and so forth, and Qatar airlines followed with its own metaverse initiative with talk about NFTs to be included, it was Etihad Airline who actually will be launching its own NFT collection on Polygon in July 2022. Under the name EY-ZERO1, UAE Etihad airlines will be launching the utility-driven NFT series features of ten highly detailed 3D aircraft models, each one showcasing a unique Etihad Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner livery. The NFT Collection will encompass a total of 2003 limited edition collectibles, symbolizing the year when Etihad Airways was established. The NFT Collection will go on sale at 6pm UAE time on 21st of July. The collectibles include Etihad’s Manchester City FC and Greenliner-themed aircraft, among others. "We're excited to launch our first NFT collection, EY-ZERO1, which not only offers collectors, aviation enthusiasts and travelers a unique work of art, but provi...

  UAE is building its digital economy organically by educating its government employees as well as acquiring it internationally by attracting international tech players and their talents. Not only has the country come out with a new initiative to attract 300 global tech firms, but it is also working with Chainalysis to train its government employees on all things blockchain and crypto (virtual assets).   In recent news announced, Minister of State for foreign trade, Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, launched the “NextGenFDI” that aims to attract 300 global tech firms as well as software developers, data scientists, and coders. The start of the initiative is through partnerships already inked out with seven major firms and business districts that include Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC),  Dubai South, DMCC,  Dubai Internet City, Emirates NBD and digital bank WIO. Al Zeyoudi said international businesses “are approaching u...

  DIFX, a cross asset crypto exchange which recently witnessed a 20 percent increase in its number of users, has launched new features amid the bear market, most notably is the introduction of Avatars  and personalized profiles, giving the exchange a more gamified look and feel.  DIFX announced the launch of its future trading, allowing users to maximize profits by utilizing both traditional and digital markets, including stocks, indices, metals, commodities and of course cryptocurrencies. While users can now create accounts through emails and phone numbers, they can also create their own avatar giving the crypto exchange a more gamified feel to it. New crypto-enthusiasts will also benefit from features such as viewing their digital assets in their preferred currencies, creating trading views with only their favorite assets and custom alerts to keep track of their investments. Other advanced features include the addition of crypto pricing and algorithmic trading, mar...