Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), announced graduation of its first metaverse cohort of 10 regional and global start-ups as part of its ‘DIFC Metaverse Accelerator Programme, which included blockchain Web3 Social ecosystem platform startup Daoversal.  The news follows the launch of DIFC’s Metaverse Platform earlier this year, in line with the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to add USD 4bn to Dubai's GDP, support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030, and attract 1,000 companies specialised in blockchain and metaverse technologies. At the time DIFC had noted it would choose 50 startups, yet it seems that only 10 have graduated.  The inaugural ‘DIFC Metaverse Accelerator Programme’ was the first initiative announced under the ‘DIFC Metaverse Platform’ umbrella, and attracted over 160 applicants from the UAE, UK, US, India and France, with a focus on primarily Metaverse, AI, Web3, AR/VR and Blockchain sectors. The ‘DIFC Metaverse Accelerator Programme’, backe...

   BECO Capital is now part of the Dubai AI and Web3 Campus based out of DIFC ( Dubai International Financial Center). BECO capital VC firm manages more than $450 million in assets. According to Dubai AI and Web3 campus, BECO capital will supercharge their ecosystem. In a LinkedIn post Dubai AI and Web3 Campus stated, “ With BECO Capital onboard, we're introducing dynamic initiatives like demo days, offering startups a platform to showcase their innovations, and office hours, providing direct access to industry experts.” BECO Capital's impressive track record places them consistently in the top 10% globally for fund performance. They've played a pivotal role in nurturing regional unicorns like Careem and Property Finder, and we're eager to see what future successes this partnership will bring. Prior to this, the Dubai AI and Web 3.0 Campus, announced that it will be issuing artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3 licenses supporting activities ranging from Dist...

  The Dubai AI and Web 3.0 Campus , situated in Dubai International Financia Centre, announced that it will be issuing artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3 licenses supporting activities ranging from Distributed Ledger Technology Services (DLT), specialised Artificial Intelligence Research & consultancies, IT infrastructure builders, Technology Research and Development and Public Networking Services. Licenses will be issued by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, which is currently home to an established ecosystem of tech enablers and start-ups at the DIFC Innovation Hub. The Dubai AI and Web 3.0 Campus is a dedicated campus for AI and Web3 innovation and will provide state-of-the-art physical and digital infrastructure within the DIFC Innovation One new premises, including R&D facilities, accelerator programmes and collaborative workspaces, to attract, build and scale...

  UAE based Crypto Oasis Ventures has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC),   to support the DIFC Innovation Hub with subject matter expertise for their ongoing and upcoming start-up accelerator programmes. This coincides with Crypto Oasis Ventures official opening of its second office in the DIFC Innovation Hub for its Venture Studio. "We are thrilled to partner with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a renowned financial hub known for its regulatory excellence and commitment to fostering innovation," said Faisal Zaidi, Co-Founder and CMO of Crypto Oasis Ventures. "By establishing our office within the DIFC Innovation Hub, we aim to leverage The Centre's vibrant ecosystem, collaborate with like-minded organisations, and explore new opportunities for growth." DIFC is a leading global international financial centre that plays a pivotal role in driving economic diversification and innovation in...

  In a recent news piece, UAE based 10 Leaves consultancy firms has announced that it is accepting crypto payments. According to the announcement, 10 Leaves, through it’s technology arm Tenl Technologies, has built up excellent capabilities in the blockchain, DeFi and crypto sectors. From fintech advisory, regulatory sandbox consulting to tokenization and legalities of smart contracts, the 10 Leaves Group is poised to advise   clients on blockchain-related implementations and regulatory licensing across DIFC, ADGM, DWTC, DMCC, Bahrain and Europe (Luxembourg and Lithuania). “Dubai has demonstrated it’s vision by focusing on new technologies, and as a consultancy with over 17 years in the business, we aim to complement the leadership’s efforts in supporting entrepreneurs and visionaries who will shape our lives in the years and decades to come”, said Rohit Ghai, Founder of 10 Leaves. “Our crypto-related solutions will help startups and established players in this niche spa...

  Swiss private Bank Julius Baer in a recent Bloomberg article announced that it will be expanding its crypto wealth management services in Dubai UAE. This will be the first digital assets service offering outside of Swtizerland by the bank. As per the article, Julius Baer’s subsidiary JBME will apply for a digital assets license variation on top of its existing permissions in the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DIFC). This would allow the entity to arrange and provide advice and custodial services on digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. This is not surprising given that in Julius Baer’s recent global wealth and Lifestyle report, it published that Dubai had risen to the seventh position demonstrating its remarkable success a a destination for the wealthy. The city has emerged as the preferred choice for companies and entrepreneurs seeking a foothold in the Middle East and is highly favoured by expatriates. By providing an attractive tax fr...

    As the Blockchain ecosystem grows in the MENA region, Blockchain Hashgraph Association, an independent non-profit organization focused on building a vibrant innovative ecosystem for startups, enterprises, and government institutions leveraging the capabilities of Hedera Hashgraph   will be expanding into the UAE and launching Hashgraph Ventures out of Abu Dhabi’s ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market) with several important large enterprise collaborations within the UAE.  In an article in Khaleej Times, Kamal Youssefi, president of the board of The Hashgraph Association, emphasized UAE's appeal for blockchain companies, citing its innovative regulatory framework, strong talent base and diverse community. He states in the article,   “I have just returned from the governing council meetings held at Google’s campus in San Francisco, and there was a consensus that the UAE’s innovative regulatory framework, strong talent base and diverse community make it an attracti...

  Al Masraf bank has become the 10 th bank to join the Norbloc KYC Blockchain platform developed under the initiative with Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Al Masraf has announced the launch of a project that will see it connecting to the norbloc Fides platform, a blockchain-based solution that allows for the secure sharing of eKYC data. The network, which has been live since 2020, connects licensing authorities, free zones and financial institutions across the emirates in an ecosystem, where a single version of each customer KYC file is maintained and shared, ensuring that financial institutions always have access to the latest and most up-to-date KYC data. Graham FitzGerald, CEO Al Masraf stated, “Becoming part of the Fides ecosystem allows us to obtain all of these objectives, as well as join other leading financial institutions in making use of this innovative technology. It is an important step with in line with a broader effort to digitize and streamline our cust...

  Subject to regulatory approval, UAE based Standard Chartered has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to collaborate on digital assets, including digital asset custody through its Zodia Custody entity. Standard Chartered plans to launch digital asset custody services, starting in DIFC and to cater to institutional clients worldwide. Standard Chartered is an early mover in developing services to provide custody of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies. Drawing on its international expertise in traditional custody, its new services will be powered by its subsidiary Zodia Custody, which has best-in-class operational and technical capabilities suited to needs of institutional clients. The MOU was signed during the latest   Dubai FinTech Summit by Essa Kazim, Governor of DIFC, and Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered. Winters said, “We see digital assets as an important part of the fu...

    In a recent article published by Arabian Gulf Business Insight, Nexo Co-Founder and MD Antoni Trenchev announced that the UK entity would be opening its offices in the UAE as it expands into the MENA region. The MENA region will grow to account for 30 percent of its total global operations. NEXO as per the article which currently has 5 million users across 200 jurisdictions will set up under Dubai’s VARA regulations as well as DIFC. As per comments made by Trenchev 150 people will be recruited. In the article he states, “We are seeking two lines of regulation,” Trenchev said. “One is for the crypto-related activities which will be at VARA, while DIFC will be for more traditional offerings associated with wealth management. “There appears to be a political will to create a blockchain fintech financial hub in the region but more specifically Dubai and Abu Dhabi, which is always welcoming,” he said. “In the Middle East the rules are being developed as we go, but t...

  UAE Egyptian based Singularity Innovations Limited a Fintech Blockchain infrastructure provider, with a license out of DIFC ( Dubai International Financial Centre), has partnered with Red Date Technology, a Hong Kong based enterprise blockchain infrastructure company, to promote and build a global public IT system infrastructure based on non-cryptocurrency public chain technologies.   Singularity will act as an infrastructure provider for the BSN Spartan Network in the Middle East and Africa; offering blockchain infrastructure to corporate and governmental entities.   The BSN Spartan Network is a public infrastructure network based on the lightweight BSN Spartan data center software, which is open source, free, and anonymous for anyone to install. Within the data center, the nodes of several Non-Cryptocurrency Public Chains can be installed and accessed. By removing the cryptocurrencies from public chains‘ layer one, the BSN Spartan Network‘s mission is to provide Non-C...

  UAE based International Financial Centre (DIFC), has launched its “DIFC Metaverse Platform” and the first phase is a metaverse accelerator program where it will choose 50 metaverse projects to help develop the metaverse sector in UAE. The platform is part of a comprehensive strategy being developed by Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to accelerate Dubai’s status as a global metaverse leader. The DIFC Metaverse Platform is aligned with the Dubai Metaverse Strategy, which aims to add $4 billion to Dubai's GDP, support 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030 and attract 1,000 companies specialized in blockchain and metaverse technologies. The platform also supports the objective of the recently launched Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to generate economic value worth AED100 billion from digital transformation annually. The Metaverse Accelerator Program, the first initiative to be launched under the umbrella of the platform, will start accepting applications this month. In the coming ...

  UAE ADGM courts have launched the first ever introduction of blockchain technology for the global enforcement of commercial judgements during the Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) witnessed during its Fintech Abu Dhabi Festival. The blockchain solution will result in substantial time and cost savings for parties in the enforcement of their commercial judgments. Secure, immutable judgments will be immediately available to parties and enforcing courts, via ADGM’s website, an API or directly on the blockchain for member courts. Parties will no longer need to wait for a certified copy of the judgment to start the process in the enforcing jurisdiction. This is a major development for international trade and commerce. Commenting on this transformational development, Linda Fitz-Alan, Registrar and CEO of ADGM Courts states, “Our vision has always been to massively transform the delivery of judicial services through technology. Our focus has now turned to enforcement to respond to the pr...

    UAE Crypto Oasis ecosystem published its first annual report entitled the “Crypto Ecosystem in the UAE” with the collaboration of Roland Berger. The report highlighted the growth that the UAE has witnessed in its blockchain crypto ecosystem which has resulted in the employment of 7000 people across 1400 blockchain crypto entities currently operating in the country. As per the report the number of blockchain crypto organizations is more than 1400 in total where 66 percent are native organizations and 34 percent are non-native. Saqr Ereiqat, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Crypto Oasis Sentio, the investment arm of Crypto Oasis, told LaraontheBlock, “Based on the information we have the blockchain crypto ecosystem in UAE has employed approximately 7000 people.” These 1,400 plus ventures are leveraging distributed ledger technologies and related technologies to build and provide new value propositions with Blockchain innovation. Interestingly the report confirms that...

  WadzPay,  blockchain payments provider operating in the UAE, has teamed up with DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) Fintech Hive and Emirates NBD accelerator program, to offer payment features in the metaverse. This is a huge undertaking given that the metaverse economy is predicated to hit $13 trillion by 2030.   Moreover this is especially significant in the UAE given that Dubai announced its metaverse strategy in July 2022. As per the strategy Dubai wants to attract 5000 blockchain and metaverse companies to the city by 2027. DIFC has been working through its regulatory arm DFSA to ensure the proper regulatory environment for crypto tokens, security tokens, and is considered by VARA as one of the entities that can house regulated companies in this sphere. Raja Al Mazrouei, Executive VP of DIFC Fintech Hive was quoted saying, “The 10-week global accelerator programme for metaverse start-ups reaffirms our commitment to support Dubai’s ambition to be among t...

  Blockchain provider Belfrics, part of Life Clips Group has set up its operation in the UAE after being admitted to DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre) under Innovation business category. It is seeking a license for digital assets trading As per the news, this is part of Belfrics expansion plans into the MENA region especially given that the UAE is at the forefront of blockchain and crypto adoption in the region. Belfric’s will implement its proprietary blockchain Belrium identity and document management solution. Belfrics will be focusing on deploying decentralized applications for the government and non-government sectors in the health, education and human resource sectors. Belfrics office is located in the Central Park Towers, one of the most prestigious business towers in the UAE. Belfrics will further proceed to apply for the newly launched ITL (innovation testing license) for digital assets trading by DIFC. Through this new expansion, Belfrics Technologies Li...

  ChainTech Labs, the first Reward Bearing tokens marketplace, with custom smart contracts and vaulting technologies that will enable startups and SMEs to get funded utilizing a novel token issuing framework, has launched out of UAE specifically out of DIFC (Dubai International Financial Center). On its twitter page it states that it is the first DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) out DIFC in UAE. As per their website, ChainTech builds next generation Dapps for government agencies, global conglomerates and companies operating in over 40 different industries. The company also manages NFT communities. They state that the “total token market cap under their command reached 100,000,000 USD in June 2022. They have developed BAPESCLAN which is a metavestor NFT DAO with a total market cap of 60,000,000. Minting officially started today. They also have developed BLOODLINES™, the first decentralized animated series, created and owned by its holders, that bridges the gap bet...

    UAE Sarwa, hybrid automated investment platform regulated by DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) has now added crypto to its trading platform. Sarwa Crypto, a product of Sarwa Digital Wealth Capital Limited regulated by ADGM FSRA,  will offer four major cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin. The statement on LinkedIn says, “We are super proud to announce that Sarwa is launching Crypto in our trading platform for clients. This latest product release comes after months of hard work.   Sarwa Crypto will allow users to trade crypto coins such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Litecoin, and more to come in the future. In addition there is no account minimum and no transfer fees for local AED accounts.” Co-Founder, Nadine Mezher commented , “People might ask, in this volatile market? Yes, absolutely. Our product offering is not tied to booms and drops. It's about understanding the needs of our community and how we can provide them wi...