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 successful an

  UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA ) publishes the Cabinet Resolution No. (111)of 2022 regarding the regulation of virtual assets and their service providers and has noted which entities it will regulate and the penalties that can reach $2.7 million.  As per the resolution, the regulation of virtual assets and their providers will be overseen in the UAE by the Securities and Commodities Authority, as well as the Central Bank of the UAE. It will also include local licensing authorities that include free zones, and financial free zones.  As per the resolution virtual assets are defined as a digital representation of the value that can be traded or transferred digitally, can be used for investment purposes, and does not include digital representations of paper currencies, securities or other funds. The activities that fall under virtual assets include the provision of virtual asset services in the UAE.  As for virtual assets service providers , they are any legal person pra

  During the World Economic Forum’s session ’ Financial Institutions innovating under pressure’ The Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan stated that while CBDCs have privacy issues they are a fantastic tool in developing countries. While the panel discussed the risks that crypto and new technologies were posing especially given that crypto losses were over $1 trillion in 2022, most agreed that the regulation was a key element in mitigating these risks. Saudi Finance Minister Al Jadaan also believes that the real risks of these innovations haven’t even been seen yet, and the one incident with the loss of 12 zeros has triggered a lot of thinking of what needs to be done. He believes that Central Banks, traditional financial institutions and even innovators in Fintech need to discuss how to deal with Anti Money laundering issues, terrorism financing and entities that use these technologies to circumvent the regulatory framework. When discussing CBDC (Central Bank Digital C

  UAE Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank secured 130 deals valuing over $128 million from 11 banks in Bangladesh using Blockchain trade finance platform TradeAssets. TradeAssets is powered by blockchain technology for digital origination and the distribution of trade assets. As a result UAE based Blockchain trade finance e marketplace TradeAssets has awarded Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), e-Marketplace Champion Award for its excellence in digital adoption from blockchain-powered e-Marketplace  ADIB has been constantly embracing new and emerging technologies, with the strategic partnership signed last year with TradeAssets further strengthening the efficiency and productivity of businesses.  Commenting on the recognition, Abdulla Shehhi , Global Head International Business Group (IBG), at ADIB, stated, “ADIB is at the cutting-edge of global transaction banking offering end-to-end Sharia’a-compliant trade financing through digital channels. Through the successful implementation of TradeAssets, ADIB

  The Dubai based Q9 Capital, which had announced a month ago unilaterally announced that they had received a provisional virtual asset approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) are now listed on Dubai VARA ( Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority) website under Native crypto content/ DLT platform. Q9 is listed along with Calvin Cheng Web 3.0 Holding and Woonkly Labs. This had taken some time, as Q9 Capital had announced that they had received a provisional approval in October 2022. But looking at VARA website, it seems Q9 has received a DLT or crypto content preliminary approval.  As per Q9 press release the company is a crypto investment management platform offering capabilities to crypto and TradFi firms. Q9 had stated that this approval came as it expanded into the UAE and applied for a full operating license in accordance with VARA requirements.   As per the release, Q9 products and strategies can be created and executed on Q9’s platform, such as systematic i

  UAE Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (Mubadala) has acquired a majority stake in Abu Dhabi based blockchain enabled AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), the global exchange revolutionizing the voluntary carbon market. ACX is building the first fully regulated carbon trading exchange and carbon clearing house in Abu Dhabi. This comes after Mubadala Capital led a Series B funding round of $70 million for Ramp Network, whose mission is to make Web3 a reality by enabling mainstream adoption of products and services offered by pioneering blockchain ventures. Mubadala did not disclose the value and size of the deal, but according to earlier reports, the sovereign fund was looking to acquire at least a 20% stake. ACX is a global environmental commodities exchange that uses distributed ledger technology within a traditional commodity trading construct. It leverages blockchain architecture to create securitized carbon credits. This framework allows corporates to trade and finance carbon credits lik

  UAE Central Bank officials have called for a comprehensive regulatory framework for central digital currencies that would facilitate, accelerate and reduce the cost of cross border monetary operations. The call came during UAE's Central Bank participation at the fifth International Financial Architecture (IFA) Working Group meeting within the G20 Finance Track for 2022, which was held in a hybrid format on 22nd and 23rd September 2022. Thiscomes after The Innovation Hub of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, BIS (Bank of International Settlements) and the Central Bank of the UAE announced on twitter the completion of the first CBDC pilot involving real value transactions and four jurisdictions, using mBridge, custom developed DLT platform. As per the tweet, 20 banks participated in the final CBDC pilot, with over 160 transfers and FX exchanges carried out, totaling $171 million HK dollars ( $22 million)  in transfers and FX exchanges and $91 HK million in issuances equivalent

  Saudi Arabian Taajeer Group, the exclusive agent for MG cars in the Kingdom has utilized the Blockchain enabled Contour platform in its importing of cars from China. HSBC, Chinese SAIC Motor, and KSA Taajeer group executed a successful blockchain enabled trade finance transaction on the Contour platform. As per the news this is a regional first for the automotive sector and a first in KSA. Contour is a digital trade finance network that is building a global standard for trade by bringing together the world's banks, corporates and ecosystem partners, onto a common, digital, and trusted network. The Contour platform enabled end-to-end digitisation of the credit documentation required for Taajeer to import a shipment of cars from SAIC in a process that is up to 10 times faster than using physical documents.   Chaker Zeraiki, Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance for HSBC UAE, said: “Our digitising at scale means making customers’ lives easier and, with Contour it me

  Well know Lebanese media figure Wissam Breidy embraces crypto and partners with UAE’s Crypto Oasis ecosystem to help educate the region on Blockchain and Web3 which will increase adoption and engagement. Breidy will use his credibility as a popular and accomplished celebrity to help publicize the inherent potential of these disruptive products. As an Arab cultural icon, Breidy is the new ambassador for blockchain and Web3 for Crypto Oasis, the fastest-growing blockchain ecosystem in the world. As one of the most entertaining Arab TV show hosts in the recent era, Wissam Breidy will bring relevance and relatability as Crypto Oasis looks to scale blockchain and Web3 adoption in the region. Wissam is very passionate about decentralized technology and is committed to creating awareness within the Arab World. "The Future of the Internet has arrived. Web3, NFTs, and Metaverse are our tools for Universal State Layers with Open Gates. Embrace it --don't be late!," Breidy say

  For the fourth time since 2019, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco has participated in an investment round in Data Gumbo, the blockchain enabled smart contract provider. This time Data Gumbo raised 4 million USD in its Series C round led by Saudi Aramco Ventures and Equinor, Norway’s energy operator. In 2019, Data Gumbo the Houston based blockchain Technology Company which had developed a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform to streamline smart contracts management for industrial customers, completed a 6 million USD Series A equity funding round co-led by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, and Equinor. Then in 2020, Data Gumbo, closed its Series B funding round of 4 million USD led by new investor L37, a Bay Area and Houston-based venture capital company, with Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures as a participant in the round. In 2021 once more Data Gumbo closed a Series B funding round totaling 7.7 million USD with follow-on investments led by Equinor Venture

  VARA has made public all the entities that are currently licensed under its authority. The entities fall under various categories including crypto exchanges, DeFi custodians, DeFi asset managers, DeFi service providers, and DLT platforms.   As per VARA website in terms of native crypto exchanges, 13 crypto asset exchanges hold licenses. They include both international and regional players such as Binance, BitOasis, ByBit, CoinMENA, CoinMetro, Crypto.com, FTX (fully regulated with MVP license), GCEX Huobi, Midchains, Rain and OKx. In terms of DeFi custodians, VARA has registered Hex Trust, Komainu, Monstera and ZampFi Labs . Hex Trust as one example is a fully-licensed and insured provider of bank-grade custody for digital assets. Through their proprietary platform Hex Safe™, they deliver custody, DeFi, brokerage, and financing solutions for financial institutions, digital asset organizations, corporate and private clients. While ZampFi, is founded by: Amit Jain who was previou

  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 (DLT) to

  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 project “Abe