Oman’s National Real Estate Development and Investment SAOC (OSOS) and Blockchain development company Chainsense have signed an MoU to set up   a Blockchain Valley within the Sultanate of Oman. OSOS offers a variety of services that meet the requirements of the real estate market efficiently, through a specialized management team and its strong backing from the major shareholders such as Royal Oman Police (ROP) Pension Fund (PF), Ministry of Defence PF, Diwan PF, Public Authority of Social Insurance, Bank Muscat, MB Holdings, Al Madina Investments and Al Rayan Bank Qatar. Activities of OSOS include the real estate development, management, operations, and valuations of real estate, along with special focus on investments in lucrative and value-added opportunities in the region which synchronized with the Oman Vision 2040. Chainsense Ltd is a Tech MNC headquartered in London with its presence in four countries including the UAE. It offers its services to over 429 clients and has

  Oman Ministry of Transport, Communications, and IT in partnership with Green Data City (GDC) the next generation data blockchain ecosystem, have launched the first licensed sustainable crypto mining datacenter in Oman, and the GCC.   The delegation witnessed the first Bitcoin officially mined in Oman using immersive cooling technology which will reduce electricity consumption. The crypto mining datacenter is based in Mirbat   Salalah Oman because of its cooler climate. Under this license, industrial mining companies can now register directly with GDC Mining and operate within the development. H.E. Said bin Hamoud al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, inaugurated the Sultanate of Oman’s first crypto mining data center, set up by Green Data City. Al Maawali was joined by Dr. Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Communication and Information Technology, Shaikh Suh

  Oman based, cryptocurrency broker, Easy Coins announced on twitter that it had launched its trial of Tether USDT on the Tron Blockchain. Accordingly Easy Coin users in Oman can now purchase TRC20 USDT. At the end of 2021 there were 43 thousand registered crypto wallet addresses in Oman.  LaraontheBlock spoke with Dr. Khalid M.W. Tahhan, Co-Founder, Easy Coins ME on the recent Tether trial. According to Tahhan the reason for choosing to trial tether is that it is the largest stablecoin and there is a huge demand for it in the Omani market. He adds, “Easy Coins is also in the process of launching its own Omani Riyal backed stablecoin which will be backed 1:1 with Omani Riyals, ensuring a better peg than USDT.” While most consider the crypto market to be falling and bearish, Tahhan feels otherwise. He states, “We at Easy Coins believe that Bitcoin will remain competing as a reserve asset. We also believe a lot of the tokens produced from thin air will lose their value. Finally and

    It is not surprising that a Blockchain Fintech startup such as Abu Dhabi based Pyypl would raise $20 million in its Series B round from new and existing investors. Since its inception UAE based Pyypl with offices out of Hub71, has not only advocated financial inclusion but has built its technology to ensure it. It was name the one of the top 37 crypto startups to watch in 2022 by Techround UK. About 22 per cent of the GCC's population is unbanked, compared with 60 per cent in North Africa, according to a report by consultancy Strategy&. Blockchain enabled Pyypl provides digital payments and financial services for all smartphone users to carry out online transactions, without the need for a bank account or credit card.   Pyypl uses advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for regulatory compliance, Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF). They are a full blockchain-native financial services backend-platform, having dev

  Crypto mining is an integral part of the development of crypto economies. As the MENA region opens up its economy to digitization and crypto-related activities and as the world is challenged by an ongoing energy crisis, MENA is probing to become an attractive destination for crypto mining. While the biggest crypto mining markets are currently in the USA, China, Kazakhstan and Canada, the energy crisis and the crypto bear market could help the GCC become a leading crypto mining hub. Mohamed El Masri, founder and CEO of Permianchain, which operates Bitcoin mining data centers in Canada using wasted energy, states, “The adoption and implementation of blockchain data center infrastructure can support the digital stability and financial security of the GCC region. Hypothetically, the GCC has the opportunity to attract close to $1.0 trillion in economic growth by laying the groundwork for powering the digital economy.” El Masri confirms the main challenge is calling out the financial regul

  More and more Arab females are starting to enter the blockchain ecosystem, and are being recognized for their Blockchain projects. This month both in Oman as well as Saudi Arabia, young women developed blockchain projects that will add value to their economies and societies.  Oman in its efforts to support SMEs (Small Medium Sized), has accepted and will be funding a project developed by Egyptian engineer Mirna Mohamed. The blockchain enabled project looks to oversee the value added tax system that is being utilized in the Oman today. In an interview Mirna Mohamed states, “My father is a credit manager and for him this was an important topic so he assisted me in developing an accounting budget system using latest technologies which included new value added tax system in Oman. I chose Blockchain because it is one of the best technologies that allow the Oman government to review and oversee the accounting procedures of different companies including their VAT disclosures.” One o

  KSA’s Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Developer will drop a limited number of utility NFTs ( Non   fungible tokens) for its Oman AIDA project. The comments were made in an interview with AGBI media. The $1.6 billion project AIDA, is the largest premium, mixed-use urban developments in Oman. It is a partnership between Dar Al Arkan and the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group) to drive the development of the Gulf state’s property market and support the growth of Oman’s real estate sector as part of Oman Vision 2040. Ziad El Chaar, vice chairman of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development, said in the interview , “We are dropping 500 NFTs in the middle of October, which are utility tokens for our project AIDA in Oman.   If you are a holder of that NFT, you have a priority in booking in any launch of the project. This has a lot of value. He added that those who booked in Dar Al Arkan Pagani project in December made 25 percent profit as prices went up. The NFT will also give holde

  Ahmed al Marjeby and Mahmood al Lawati have developed a blockchain enabled digital identity platform out of Oman. Nashid, the blockchain enabled digital identity platform is aimed to mitigate the risks of identity fraud. Nashid has  also secured a pre-seed investment as part of the Techween program from Oman Technology Fund As per the news, Oman based Nashid will allow users to access services digitally without visiting any service provider ever again. In 2020 alone, identity theft and fraud cost over $700 billion in losses worldwide The platform will allow the creation of a secure digital version of one’s identity and their attributes. The need for in-person verifications will cease, usernames and passwords will disappear, and a frictionless, online-only user journey will take place. Nashid is powered by the Blockchain to maintain the truth of all digital interactions with high levels of online security and credibility. It also is fueled by encryption models of hash function

  Oman Al Shawamikh Oil Services Company will cooperate with Oman Frontech , a government entity established by both Omantel and Ethcha (Oman Investment Authority) to implement Blockchain to ensure sustainable management of its energy solutions.  Frontech launched the National Blockchain Platform to accelerate the digital innovation efforts in the Sultanate of Oman, in line with the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The platform offers two services: Blockchain Factory as a sandbox environment, Blockchain as a Service (BaaS), and Blockchain as a Service (BaaS). Oman’s Energy entity, Al Shawamikh Oil Services Company, will work with Frontech to develop a sustainable energy management system built on blockchain technology. Frontech will utilize blockchain to represent the production units in the sustainable energy network, as well as track and manage these units. During the signing ceremony, Dr Aflah bin Said Al Hadhrami, CEO of Al Shawamikh Oil services, said, “

    The Oman Water and Waste Water Services Company ( OWWSC), member of Nama Group, to trial a stablecoin linked to the Oman Riyal. The company signed an MOU with Oman based Digital Digits, the creators of Easy coins and Connected Chains to trial “ Hasalah” a stablecoin Wallet. The companies have agreed to trial a cryptographic stablecoin pegged to the Omani Riyal to be utilized as payment from subscribers in select OWWSC customer halls as well as on Easy Coin. Payments will be made using Hasalah Digital Wallet. HH Sayyid Azzan Bin Qais Al Said, Co-Founder of Digital Digits states, “We are proud to empower such a trial within the Sultanate of Oman which in turn will improve Easy Coins’ service competitiveness to match global players in this space. Easy Coins customers will significantly benefit from the reduced cost of payment processor fees to use our service with Hasalah”. Qais Al Zakwani, CEO of the Oman Water and Wastewater Services Company, adds: “In line with the company

News spread in May 2022 that Central African President Faustin Archange Touadera was travelling to the UAE to oversee the launch the crypto mining company. This came after Central Africa affirmed Bitcoin as a legal tender in the country. The website African Intelligence was the news platform that mentioned the President’s visit to UAE on May 12 th 2022. LeMonde News platform stated that due to lack of infrastructure in Central African state, the mining company for Bitcoin would be located in Dubai.   Nothing else was reported on this, and no official comments were made on this by UAE officials.  This comes at a time when VARA (Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority) in Dubai UAE, stated that it would be regulating crypto mining operations. Already a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi is building one of the world’s biggest crypto mining farms with strategic advisors, Roland Berger.  In addition US Crusoe Energy, which mines Bitcoin using wasted natural gas expanded into the Middle

  Oman Capital Market Authority recently issued its new Securities Law (46/2022 ) which  stipulates that the authority can “Agree to application of technologies, virtual digital investments or any products or services in the areas related to the provisions of this law, as set out in the Regulation.” In an article in Oman Observer, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Salim Al Salmi, Executive President of the   Oman Capital Market Authority states, “ The law will contribute to the growth of FinTech based services as the law authorizes the authority to regulate innovative financing, approval of FinTech based apps and virtual investments. The law also allows expanding the financing options by regulating new products and services.” In March of 2022, Oman Capital Markets Authority (CMA), invited companies interested in helping it set up a regulatory framework for virtual assets to participate in a tender process. According to sources, the regulatory framework should be finalized by Q3 of 2022. The

The Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman, Mr. Tahir Salim Al Amri, commented during the 7t Edition of the new Age Banking Summit on the topic of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) As per a tweet from Oman News Agency stated, “The Central Bank of Oman is working to issue its own CBDC. Many central banks are studying the possibility of issuing their own CBDCs and the Central Bank of Oman is committed to supporting innovation in the financial sector." He also mentioned that work was underway to open banking API services and overcoming challenges that face the digitization sector, and stressed the importance of cyber security. In April 2022, Oman Capital Market Authority announced that it would incorporate real estate tokenization within its virtual assets regulation as well as license crypto exchanges. The Oman virtual asset regulation will be finalized by Q3 of 2022. Kemal Rizadi, Advisor at the Oman Capital Market Authority made these comments during the

  Qatar will witness a blockchain revolution summit on the 26 th of May 2022 at St. Regis Doha Qatar, with the participation of Dr. Don Tapscott , Executive Chairman of the Blockchain Research Institute, and well known as a leading Blockchain expert. The summit is being organized by the Blockchain Research Institute Middle East, the first regional branch of Blockchain Research Institute based out of Qatar. The event is set to discuss opportunities to create industry solution frameworks and guidelines leveraging blockchain technologies to secure data, reduce costs and improve timelines. The interesting highlights of this summit are the speakers and sponsors. Aside from Don Tapscott, speakers include Fadi Nasser, Chief Commercial Officer of Meeza Qatar. Meeza is also sponsoring the event. Nebil Ben Aissa, Chief Executive officer for Nexxo, a private equity investment network dedicated to FinTech is also participating. In addition Khalid Al Ansari a Doctor of Law (JD) and a Ph.D.