WOW Summit has announced the launched of its WEB3 Summit Dubai, widely hailed as the WOW SUMMIT Dubai to be held on October 8th and 9th 2023.  Following its successful events in Lisbon and Hong Kong, WOW Summit Dubai 2023 emerges to unite distinguished industry titans, esteemed government officials, visionary funds, enterprising venture capitalists, boundary-pushing NFT and digital artists, trailblazing entrepreneurs, and influential multinational corporations.  The event will unfold at the  Atlantis the Royal, The Palm—a sanctuary of innovation where dreams transform into reality. The Summit aims to drive the innovative trajectory of Web3, covering cutting-edge trends and innovations in technology. Through carefully selected programs, attendees will explore topics including the Web2 - Web3 transition, CBDC, regulations, asset tokenization, and the social impact and applications of blockchain and DLT technologies for real-life applications.  Blockchain visionar...

  World Economic Forum report entitled “   Pathways to the Regulation of Crypto-Assets”   says UAE crypto asset regulatory framework is an agile one,   defining it as flexible, iterative and proactive which is beneficial because it is flexible, appreciate market maturity and ecosystem development. According to the WEF report, regulators that fall under this model include the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority. FINMA’s token classification prescribes three simple categories: payment tokens, utility tokens and asset tokens. The framework acknowledges hybrid tokens and that a token’s classification may change over time. Following the first classification, FINMA later also published further guidance in Also included as per the report are the regulatory sandboxes in the EU and India in addition to the UAE.  Instead of prescribing and enforcing rules, agile regulation adopts a responsive, iterative approach, acknowledging that policy and regulatory de...

  Sygnum, a global digital asset bank, has opened its Middle East hub in the Abu Dhabi Global Market international financial center to provide a portfolio of Swiss-regulated crypto banking services after receiving its license from UAE ADGM.  Sygnum Bank Middle East has received a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), following its in-principle approval in October 2022. Seasoned Middle East Executive, Giulia Finkbeiner-Bertoni, leads Sygnum’s operations across the region and opens the office in the ADGM International Financial Centre. Sygnum Bank Middle East will offer personal, concierge-style client service, enabling convenient local client access to a portfolio of Swiss-regulated digital asset banking, asset management, tokenization and B2B banking services. With regional demand for regulated crypto services on the rise, clients will be drawn from a diverse range of sectors, ranging fro...

  During a discussion panel at the Youth Center in Muscat Oman, the Oman Central Bank governor Tahir Bin Salim Al Amri stated that the Central Bank of Oman along with many other central banks globally do not recognize crypto as currencies. He stated, “It is not a means of payment it is a commodity or an asset of some sort that is being traded mainly for capital gains.” He also noted that while the Central Bank of Oman is keeping an open mind while maintaining caution because of the risky nature of crypto assets. This month the Oman Capital Authority announced that it would be launching its virtual asset framework. Commenting on this the governor Al Amri stated that they were part of the creation of the framework.   He also noted that the Central Bank of Oman was in the process of developing its CBDC ( Central Bank Digital Currency), with a final decision expected to be announced at the end of 2023. The proposed new regulatory framework is envisaged to cover activities s...

  UK based Blockchain company Valereum has received consent from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”) to complete the acquisition of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (“GSX”). Valereum will utilize GSX to expand access of early stage and small cap companies in the Middle East, India and Africa to European Capital. In early 2022, Valereum stated that it would be purchasing 90% of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) to create the world's first bourse where shares and crypto assets can be traded Valereum at the time stated that GSX would the first fully regulated bridge that links the fiat and crypto markets. As they noted at the time, "This will give listed instruments on the GSX access to a regulated pool of crypto capital that is not available anywhere else, and it will give cryptocurrency holders the ability to have a direct, verifiable holding in fiat securities." The recent press release notes that there is a significant gap in the available small cap m...

  Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), with the commencement of its Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Phase, has announced Regulatory Guidelines on Marketing, Advertising and Promotions of VA across the Emirate of Dubai. The new VARA regulations specifically address marketing and communications activities, ahead of operationalizing the MVP licensees so that any mass-market information dissemination and consumer solicitation are designed to safeguard community interests. Regulations on Marketing, Advertising and Promotions of Virtual Assets cover all forms of outreach, communications and advertising, including publication of information, awareness building, customer engagement, and/or investor solicitation. VARA rules extend to VA related communications by any entity leveraging Dubai-based media sites, search platforms, and online or off-line publishing channels that explicitly target customers within the Dubai market, establishing guardrails on permissible audience...