In a recent interview with Qatar News Agency, the   Secretary-General of Qatar's Research Development and Innovation Council (QRDI) Eng. Omar Ali Al Ansari affirmed that artificial intelligence (AI) science and the digital revolution related to "metaverse" and "blockchain" are among the most important technological transformations in the current era. He believes that these technologies are important due to their contributions to the development of scientific research and innovation, through its ability to analyze huge amounts of data and process them faster and more effectively, which leads to the discovery of new patterns in the data and contributes to innovative scientific discoveries. Al Ansari   added that   the digital revolution and Blockchain technology will provide new levels of security, transparency and security for information, which contributes to the development of methods of dealing with information and data, storing and exchanging them. It ...

  Qatar’s National Blockchain Blueprint which was announced officially, is not much different from the National Blockchain Blueprint consultation paper that Qatar Communications Regulatory Authority published on its website back in August 2022. While the blueprint falls short of the aspirations of Qatar, on the ground things are moving forward.  The Qatar National Blockchain Blueprint is not clear on many aspects and lacks  updated statistics and with a lot of out dated information that makes it look more like a research paper on blockchain rather than a national blueprint. Yet it does depict the interest and seriousness of Qatar towards Blockchain implementation.   One of the most important points that stand out in the National Blockchain Blueprint is the discussion on the development of a solid regulatory   and legal framework which the paper reveals are essential for enabling the investment environment an creating a strong industry. The Blueprint also...

  Two blockchain announcements have come out of Qatar demonstrating that the Gulf country is starting to utilize and grow DLT (Distributed Ledger Technologies) and Blockchain.  The first is the piloting of digital signatures and certificates to be validated on Qatar’s national blockchain network and the second is the inclusion of DLT in Qatar’s Central Bank Fintech strategy. This comes after Qatar announced its Blockchain blueprint in 2022 led by the Communications Regulatory Authority. Qatar’s Genesis Technologies launched the imdaat pilot, a decentralized signature and certificate issuance platform during AlFikra national entrepreneurship competition an initiative of Qatar Development Bank and Qatar University. As per the LinkedIn post by Genesis Co-Founder Mazen El Masri, “Over 130 certificates were issued, signed, and registered on Genesis blockchain network. Our team at Genesis Technologies LLC is happy and proud to support such national initiatives. The pilot was succ...

  Qatar has finally started to truly embrace blockchain. The Communications Regulatory Authority has launched a national consultation paper about the “National Blockchain Blueprint for Qatar”. The paper was collaboratively developed by CRA, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Qatar University. Qatar university recently announced its foray into the metaverse. The consultation paper will establish the blueprint for the blockchain framework in Qatar. It identifies key elements such as regulations, adoption, innovation and creativity. It also identifies the key blockchain requirements. The National Blockchain Blueprint highlights how blockchain technology can contribute to building an innovative and growing IT sector in Qatar by increasing domestic and foreign investment as stated in the CRA Strategy 2021-2025, to support Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV) and Qatar National Development Strategy, as well as to enabling a seamless transition towards smart Qatar. The blueprint examin...

  This week Qatar made headlines in the Blockchain, crypto, NFT and metaverse scene on several fronts. While the CEO of Qatar   Sovereign Wealth Fund praised Blockchain but shunned crypto, Qatar’s Central Bank Governor stated that crypto assets are a technology innovation that will take us to a new era of fast accessible payments and financial services. Topping all this was Qatar Airways increased foray into the realm of the metaverse, and NFTs. It seems that while the government of Qatar has yet to make up its mind on whether it wants to enter the era of cryptocurrencies, or whether they agree that crypto will have to be dealt with at one point or another, they are taking steps towards integrating elements of blockchain and CBDC into their strategies. During the Qatar Economic Forum Qatar Central Bank Governor Bandar Bin Mohammed Bin Saoud Al Thani admitted that Qatar is in the foundation stage of investigating a central bank Digital Currency (CBDC). As he noted, “Many c...