When I decided in May 2022 to go on my own and start LaraontheBlock, I didn’t know where it would take me or how I would be able to succeed, but what I did know is that I had gained a lot of experience from my life and my career, and I was living in an age the digital one that not only democratized information and value but also gave individuals the freedom to be able to chase their dreams, work from anywhere in the world, and have their talents and voice heard! Today a year and half later, thankful for all the positive responses I receive for the articles I write, for the news I post, and for the sharing of information that helps to grow the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the GCC and MENA region, I am moving the LaraontheBlock dream from blogger.com to my own full-fledged website www.LaraontheBlock.com  The success of LaraontheBlock blog was fantastic, and this couldnt have been done without the strong community of readers, followers, startups, partners, and community...

    As Taurus, digital asset infrastructure provider, offer digital custody and tokenization services, partners with Deutsche Bank, it plans to expand into the UAE among other countries. Founded in 2018, Taurus offers enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure for the issuance, safeguarding, and trading of various digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, NFTs, and digital currencies. The company’s product portfolio includes Taurus-Protect, a secure storage solution used by over 25 financial institutions and corporations in Europe, and Taurus-Capital, which facilitates the issuance and management of NFTs and tokenized assets on public and private blockchains. Deutsche Bank’s partnership with Taurus builds on the bank’s recent initiatives in the digital asset space. By leveraging Taurus’ technology, the bank aims to meet the evolving needs of its clients in the digital asset ecosystem. Paul Maley, the global head of securities services at Deutsche B...

  Dubai regulated virtual asset broker and exchange TOKO FZE a creation of international law firm DLA Piper, has partnered with   Virtuzone, a pioneer in business solutions and corporate services for the region. The partnership will include the establishment of a tokenized equity crowd funding platform will further cement Dubai’s standing at the forefront of financial innovative and as a destination for early stage and fast growth companies seeking a supportive business environment. TOKO has just received a fully operational license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The partnership with Virtuzone is set to transform early-stage private equity fund raising using blockchain technology to bring enhanced transparency, accessibility, and opportunity for both investors and the businesses seeking to raise funds. Across a variety of compelling businesses, investors will have greater insight, information and access to private equities for their portfolio and ...

  Out of over 100 plus applications, UAE based Aurus, which tokenizes precious metals including gold, silver and platinum using blockchain technology, has been selected as one of the 25 companies that will be joining Dubai’s DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) and TDeFi accelerator program. The accelerator program is aimed towards Web3 and Blockchain companies based out of Dubai offering mentorship, support, and business scaling opportunities.   The acceleration program kicks off on September 5th, 2023, with a range of mentor sessions covering legal and compliance, web3 marketing, fundraising, and token economics. Participants are able to gain practical experience by using their own projects as case studies during workshops on token economics and token markets management. The program culminates in a Demo and Pitch Day, with 20+ venture capitalists and investors serving as judges, representing over $IBn in cumulative AUM. The program’s conclusion is more than just a pit...

  UAE-based social networking and content monetization platform Lyvely,   that provides an integrated multimedia e-commerce and payments solution, has successfully raised an undisclosed amount from UAE based Cypher Capital, an early strategy venture firm. Lyvely soft launched early this month (August) and is already experiencing rapid growth and user adoption.   Led by experienced cofounders, Farah Zafar and Dave Catudal, Lyvely aims to compete with Big Tech global giants and revolutionize the current social networking and social e-commerce landscape.   “We are the world’s first social networking profile that pays,” says Zafar, who is Lyvely’s Co-Founder and CEO. Every time you post content on Big Tech platforms, they make money. When was the last time you got a cheque or received a payment from Instagram? It just doesn’t work that way in Big Tech because it’s a biased and broken system. Lyvely’s doing it differently. We’re the Platform for the People. Our commit...

    In a recent LinkedIn post , Henk Jan Hoogendoorn , Chief Financial Sector Officer at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority revealed that the digital assets framework that the authority has been working on will soon be launched along with the digital asset lab. As noted, QFC is working with Price Waterhouse Cooper ( PWC) to finalize the digital assets framework and the launch of the digital assets lab. As Hoogendoorn noted, “ We are working on digitalassets framework together with Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) supported by the expertise of PwC .We are making good progress on preparation of Digital Asset Lab to be launched soon.” Prior to this Qatar Financial Authority had taken several inititiatves towards advancing DLT, Blockchain and digital assets within the financial sector. In May speaking to LaraontheBlock, Hoogendoorn stated , “We are developing our digital assets framework to allow for public tokenization of assets, including securit...

    Saudi Arabia is moving forward with Blockchain and Web3 with partnerships such as the one between Indian Beyond Imagination technologies, a blockchain Web3 tech company and Saudi Aba’ad Alkhayal software company Co-founded by Princess Hesah Al Saud. With this partnership Beyond Imagination technologies will expand into the Middle East. Aba'ad Alkhayal is a Saudi-based software company that leverages the latest technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence to help businesses thrive in the digital age. The partnership aims   to ideate, develop, and deploy solutions that will help Middle East clients with blockchain. The move comes as part of the company's commitment to fostering blockchain adoption and innovation across various industries in the region. "We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey, committed to reshaping the future of technology," said Princess Hesah Al Saud, Co-Founder, Aba’ad Alkhayal. "With this partnership, we en...

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...

  In Ripple’s latest report entitled “ 2023 New Value report, Crypto Trends in Business and Beyond” which covered topics such as cryptocurrencies, tokenization, DeFi, and crypto custody, financial decision makers from MENA ( Middle East and North Africa) are more bullish than their counterparts in other regions when it comes to cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and Blockchain. As per the report findings, 72% of finance leaders surveyed expressed increased confidence in the crypto industry over the last 6 months, the number is even higher for those in the MENA region, reaching 87%. 90% of global finance leaders anticipate big impacts on business from blockchain and digital assets in the next three years. In terms of tokenization,they see the most massive impact in public stock trading and private share trading. This was especially expressed by finance decision makers with cryptocurrency experience in MENA. In addition, global finance decision makers predict CBDCs and stableco...

  If you are a GCC or MENA based family office that has a portfolio that includes precious metals such as gold, silver or others, or you intend to in the near future, but are hesitant because in the past you were unable to make revenues from the purchase, you now can. With the advent of blockchain, Web3 technologies and tokenization a sweet spot is upon us.   Precious metal owners can generate earnings on their gold and make it work for them just by holding it in tokenized form. Aurus Technologies, headquartered in the UAE with offices in the UK is offering family offices the opportunity to tokenize real world assets through its sustainable tokenization as a service solution (TAAS) platform. The GCC and MENA region has all the ingredients to make gold work for family offices. First the region itself is a hot bed for investors, secondly precious metals especially gold are well revered and invested in and third Web3 technologies including tokenization on the blockchain is re...

  During the Qatar Economic Forum organized by Bloomberg, Ola Doudin, Co-Founder and CEO of UAE based BitOasis participated in a panel alongside Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands to discuss “Harnessing the Power of Blockchain” Doudin uncovered during the panel that BitOasis would be the first regulated virtual asset platform in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). She stated, “We are working with regulators in KSA to be the first regulated platform in Saudi and other larger markets.” She also mentioned that BitOasis is in discussions with regulators in Egypt and Morocco. She discussed how in both Egypt and Morocco, citizens are interested in access to tokenized dollars, better known as stablecoins especially in countries with high inflation rates and easy access to these stablecoins. According to her, this is a challenge to regulators and is something they will have to seriously look at. This comes after BitOasis became the first crypto broker to receive...

  While Qatar has not opened up to the crypto scene, its financial center is opening up to digital assets enabling them to tokenize asset classes to facilitate the needs of qualified investors with its digital assets framework. Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Chief Financial Sector Officer, at Qatar Financial Center Authority speaking to Lara on the Block, stated, “ We are developing our digital assets framework to allow for public tokenization of assets, including securities, bonds, and real-estate.” He emphasizes that they will not go into crypto, NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) or commodities at this time. Hoogendoorn had discussed digitization in the financial sector in Qatar as well as their digital assets project and the new Fintech strategy of QCB (Qatar Central Bank) during a fireside chat on Digitizing the Financial Sector in Qatar, moderated by Robert Wigley OStJ, BSc, Hon DBA. Furthermore, Aleksander Biesaga, Acting Project Manager, Roland Berger in a recent LinkedIn post not...

  Oman based Mamun to develop secondary token crowd funding market after receiving license from Oman Capital Market Authority Oman based Mamun, has been awarded a full crowd funding license by Oman’s Capital Market Authority, with plans to offer a crowd funding token based secondary market utilizing its recent partnership with Fasset token exchange platform. The recent license is also a pre-approval for a PSP (Payment Service Provider) license by the Central Bank of Oman. As a fintech infrastructure-as-a-service provider, Mamun offers a proprietary technology platform that empowers telecommunication companies, banks, and large startups with the tools and capabilities necessary to roll out fintech services and products, including popular solutions like Foodics. Excitingly, Mamun has recently announced a strategic partnership with Fasset, a renowned innovator in the field. This collaboration aims to co-create advanced products that further enhance Mamun's holistic approach to ...

      During DACOM (The Digital Asset Compliance and Market Integrity Summit ) hosted by Solidus Labs, a crypto-native market surveillance and risk monitoring hub tailored for digital assets, in Abu Dhabi on May 4 th 2023, Dubai’s virtual asset regulator CEO stated that only 50 percent of Dubai’s legacy VASPs (those who were operating before VARA was set up) applying for license at VARA will need to be regulated. He also talked about the opportunity to launch regulation and compliance as a service for small business and entrepreneurs. Henson Orser , CEO of Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, VARA, discussing VARA’s licensing journey with strong legal risk compliance, stated, “Currently we have three cohorts that are passing through several processes and routes to being fully licensed, the Minimum Viable product cohort that includes global operators who were with us from day one.   There are also legacy VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers), several...

  Unilaterally, Fasset, a digital asset exchange platform with a vision to offer affordable and frictionless gateway for people in emerging markets to own and grow their wealth in digital assets has announced  that it has been granted an Initial Approval for a Full Market Product (FMP) license by the Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in UAE. As per the announcement , “Though the initial approval does not yet allow any virtual asset activity in or from Dubai, this initial stage indicates progress in obtaining full permission to operate in Dubai. This crucial step forward allows Fasset to lead the digital assets market, as one of the first exchanges to provide regulatory protection to consumers in Dubai, as the MENA region has been identified as the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency market.” Raafi Hossain, CEO and Co-Founder of Fasset stated, “This is an incredibly exciting time to be leading the way in democratizing access to digital assets. As the wor...

  UAE based Chalhoub Group’s SOL3MATES future sneakers NFTs pre sale will be launched today on  May 4 th while MasterCard has   launched its Music Pass NFT Web3 training program for emerging musical artists and Music fans in the MENA region and Healthvarsity  has  launched the biggest GCC online learning platform for health professionals, using AI and NFT certificates built on blockchain technology. Rijal Hikmatullah Co -Founder of SOL3MATES part of Chalhoub Group announced on LinkediN, “In just 3 days, SOL3MATES by Chalhoub Group is releasing a one-of-a-kind NFT that will be a game changer for the Industry. The NFTs are not just a digital asset, but an access pass to enter the SOL3MATES ecosystem that empowers sneaker designers, a community-centric platform and exclusive perks. Yes... we are releasing a physical sneaker with perks.” The perks include access to SOL3MATES sneakers, free shipping, lifetime discounts, etc, in addition to partner perks which al...

  UAE Helion Ventures investment, is heading to Beirut Lebanon for a round table meeting on May 11th at Beirut Digital District. Helion launched its operations in Dubai’s DIFC in September 2022 focusing on four major sectors, banking 3.0, healthcare, tokenization of real world assets, green technology, gaming, and fintech in projects across the GCC and African region. The founders, Oliver von Wolff and Bojan al Pinto Brkic, have long-term experience in venture capital and regulated products. Oliver von Wolff, Founder and CEO, at launch stated, “Our products and services perfectly complement the ecosystem for Dubai start-ups, we are a classic equity provider and venture builder with focus on institutional investors”, to which Bojan added “we intend to capitalize on our experience, bringing the investment management know-how to new industries, such are blockchain and fintech, and even gaming and crypto.” It is not surprising to see Helion Ventures off to Beirut, given that they a...