In a Zawya exclusive interview , GEMINI, digital asset exchange founders expressed their interest in applying for a license in UAE. As per the article US crypto exchange Gemini, is interested in a license in UAE because of the hostility and lack of clarity in the USA. Several other global virtual asset service providers have already expressed their interest as well including Coinbase, Bittrex, IoTa, and Circle.  The license application is set to come after meetings in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are the founders of GEMINI. Tyler told zawya, “There is a lot of customers and amazing investors here.” As for the USA, Tyler told Zawya it as hard to get things done in the US. He added, “You don’t want the Wild West, but you also don’t want a wall or a gate to innovation, getting that balance right builds the healthiest markets. We have always believed that, and always tried to get that message across to the regulators to provide that clari...

  While Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was telling CNBC that the confusing regulation in the U.S. is pushing more crypto companies to the leave the country, Circle appointed its Vice President for Middle East and Africa, Miriam Kiwan. Kiwan on LinkedIn stated, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Vice President, MEA at Circle!” Earlier this month, the Circle team was present in Dubai UAE at a dinner hosted by Miriam Kiwan, the partner of Raiven Capital, now she is the VP for Middle East. Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle Internet Financial, during an interview with Bloomberg, blamed the shrunken value of the company’s stablecoin, USD Coin, on regulatory challenges in the United States and concerns about its banking system. Garlinghouse from Ripple, in his interview talked about the leadership qualities of Europe and UAE when it comes to the regulation of digital assets. But this is not the only company that is eyeing the UAE, in a tweet  , Blockchain IO...

    The exodus of Crypto and Blockchain startups from the United States seems to be intensifying and it looks like the MENA region, and UAE are the new preferred destinations for CoinBase, Circle and Bittrex.  Tim Draper, Founder of DFJ VC tweeted recently that Silicon Valley startups are relocating to Middle East, Asia, and Europe. He states, “CoinBase and Gemini are moving out of the US for regulatory reasons. Dubai, London and Singapore are eating into New York's blockchain leadership. This exodus is not good for US jobs, economy, and homelessness.” Additionally, in the last 24 hours CoinBase announced that its CEO and Co-Founder Brian Armstrong is currently in the UAE for a series of engagements with policymakers, regulators, partners, Web3 and crypto founders as well as clients. Armstrong is delivering a keynote address at the inaugural Dubai Fintech Summit, under the patronage of His Royal Highness, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First D...

  US based Poloniex, LLC, a Delaware company with its principal place of business in Boston, Massachusetts which previously operated an online trading and settlement platform previously doing business as Poloniex Inc. (hereinafter collectively “Poloniex”) has agreed to remit $7,591,630 to settle its potential civil liability for 65,942 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs with countries such as Syria, Sudan, Iran, and Crimea with U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC.)   As noted by OFAC, between January 2014 and November 2019, the Poloniex trading platform allowed customers apparently located in sanctioned jurisdictions to engage in online digital asset-related transactions consisting of trades, deposits, and withdrawals—with a combined value of $15,335,349, despite having reason to know their location based on both Know Your Customer information and internet protocol address data. As per the OFAC statement, the settlement...

  Unlike previous crypto winters, this time we are witnessing two weather fronts hitting crypto at the same time. One is sunny and warm and inviting, the other is cold, dreary and repellent. If you are in the UAE for example crypto is under a warm summer spell. I mean let us take the first drop of news where MENA based Trust Smart Solutions (TSS), a payment tech service provider just partnered with PayScript global company focusing on digital assets, to enable the Crypto Payment Acceptance on Point of Sales Terminals. This is huge, as Payscript is an all-inclusive Crypto Solutions-as-a-Service platform that aims at bridging the gap between the merchants’ accepting cryptocurrencies and the owners of cryptocurrencies. The platform will allow users to do crypto payment via different channels including sending and receiving payments, accepting payments on E-commerce stores and online websites, as well as physical Point-Of-Sale transactions in Retails Stores and Cafes. The platform...