Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre in Abu Dhabi, announced that its financial regulator, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), has published Guiding Principles on its approach to virtual asset regulation and supervision as a way to outline its expectations for the asset class and service providers in the sector. The principles state the FSRA’s risk appetite and priorities for the sector, with each principle covering one of the key pillars of ADGM’s holistic approach, which includes a robust and transparent regulatory framework; high standards of authorization; preventing money laundering and other financial crimes; risk-sensitive supervision; enforcement powers for regulatory breaches; and its commitment to international cooperation. They will therefore be of particular relevance to potential applicants to ADGM and other regulators with an interest in this area. As per the document, The FSRA’s risk appetite for VA activities is such that

  Blockchain.com announced on twitter that it has signed an MOU with Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority ( VARA)which they say means that soon both retail and institutional clients will be able to access Blockchain.com through Dubai UAE. The post goes on to add that crypto investors in Dubai and its surrounding regions will soon be able to experience Blockchain.com’s full suite of retail and institutional brokerage tools including custodial services, an exchange, and OTC crypto brokerage services for institutional clients. Blockchain.com also noted that they are opening a local office and will be hiring in the region. As they stated, “We are also actively pursuing a local Minimum Viable Product license, followed by a full license as soon as it becomes available.” Already Blockchain.com is licensed in the U.S. and several other European jurisdictions, and is actively pursuing a license in Germany, Netherlands, France, Spain and Ireland. Blockchain.com is valued at $14 billio

  True Global Ventures 4 plus, (TGV-4 Plus) Fund with a presence in the UAE and TGV 4 Plus Follow On Fund (TGV 4 Plus FoF) have invested a $17.2m convertible note investment into Animoca Brands out of a total raise of US$110m.   The current investment further supports Animoca Brands’ mission to deliver digital property rights to the world's gamers and Internet  users,  thereby  creating  a  new  asset  class,  play-to-earn  economies,  and  a  more equitable digital framework contributing to the building of the open metaverse. Other investors included Boyu Capital, Singapore’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Temasek and GGV Capital. The investment comes after Animoca Brands’ second closing at a valuation of US$5.9 billion (based on Australian dollar exchange rates at the time),   announced on July 12, 2022. The company is a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, gamification, and digital property rights in open metaverse.     TGV is a distributed fund with a presence in over 20 c

  Dubai ultra-luxury Hotel Palazzo Versace is now accepting crypto payments through Binance. The hotel will allow guests to pay for dining, stays, and spa experiences using cryptocurrencies. The hotel located in Jaddaf Waterfront has partnered with Binance, cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, to offer the guests the possibility to settle payments in various cryptocurrencies such as BNB, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. These transactions will take place through Binance payment gateway. Starting from 7th September, the hotel will accept crypto for room stays, restaurants, meetings, and events, all the guests will have the option to pay at the property using the Binance application. The next phase, online payment integration, will go live soon after. Palazzo Versace Dubai will also accept cryptocurrency payments on their eCommerce platforms, which include Gift Vouchers and Flower Shop. The Managing Director of Palazzo Versace Dubai and founder of Palazzo Hospitality, Monther Darwish comm

  UAE ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) has granted Klickl, a virtual asset service provider with offices in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, an in principle Approval license to operate as a digital asset broker and custodian. Michael Zhao, Co-Founder and CEO at Klickl said “The regulated route is the only route for any crypto company’s growth if it wants to be a serious player for the long run.   Long gone are the days where digital asset players enjoy early-mover advantage benefiting from fast growing bull market. Recent crypto market turbulence and big selloff caused by greed-led FOMO driven sentiment is just another example to show why the market needs proper risk control and compliance.” Formerly known as IDCM, the digital asset exchange group recently rebranded to Klickl representing the sound coins make when clicking in harmony and prosperity. Klickl aims to deliver that All-in One crypto super app which serves all crypto needs in the ever-evolving digital era. ADGM has approved li

  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, “

  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 the top 10 meta

    UAE based start-up Urbie, is purifying indoor air using blockchain, bio-tech, and crypto. Inspired by NASA, Urbie leverages plant evolution and technology to absorb and neutralize common pollutants found in enclosed areas. The start-up utilizes biological air purifiers and green wall purifiers with self-watering systems. These are connected to mobile apps so users can not only monitor their indoor air quality but also keep track using blockchain. Users are able to earn green crypto coins based on the number of hours of purification. These coins can be used to plant trees, build water wells in an effort to curb the negative impact of climate change. As per the news, Urbie’s goal is to attach a carbon credit to their coins so users can trade their coins in crypto exchanges around the world. Urbie’s products utilize the natural filtering power of plants and manmade filters using naturally occurring materials to safely filter out harmful chemicals, viruses and bacteria found in

UAE Telecommunication and Digital Government Regulatory Authority has released is Digital Lifestyle 2022 report where it confirms that more than 10 percent of UAE residents have invested in cryptocurrencies. As per the report 11.4 percent of UAE residents have had exposure to cryptocurrencies. This means that the UAE comes in at 10 th globally in terms of investments in cryptocurrencies. Around 11.4 per cent of the UAE residents have invested in cryptocurrencies said the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA). The UAE is set to become the global hub for cryptocurrencies and experts have lauded the country’s role in promoting and adopting virtual currencies as a number of digital asset exchanges and crypto firms have launched their operations in the country. This has been spurred by the activities of Dubai Virtual Asset regulatory and ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market). This is set to grow as more crypto and blockchain companies as well as metaverse

    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

  On August 23 rd  2022,  Michael Miebach the CEO of MasterCard posted  on LinkedIn,   “We can unlock the full potential of blockchain technology when we make it easier to access and easier to use. One way we do that is by bringing crypto to everyday purchases. To make that a reality, we’re working with Binance to let people use their crypto to make purchases at 90 million stores that accept MasterCard. We are launching this work in Argentina with plans to expand from there.”  It seems that the expansion will be in the MENA region and come very soon. So as mentioned, MasterCard and Binance will start offering customers the opportunity to pay for items with their Bitcoin and BNB, using a Binance Card. A prepaid card, that bridges crypto and fiat currencies, in Argentina. The plan is to then roll out this offer to include 90 million stores worldwide. The Binance Card can be used by anyone with a valid national ID to pay bills and make purchases with the card, using their Bitcoin and

  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 seg

Abu Dhabi has launched the Abu Dhabi blockchain and virtual assets committee. The Abu Dhabi Blockchain and Virtual Assets Committee is comprised of representatives of major entities and stakeholders active in this field including Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Registration Authority, Wai Lum Kwok, Senior Executive Director Authorization at ADGM, Mohammed Kaissi, Director of Strategic Projects at ADQ, Faisal Al Hammadi, Executive Director Incubation at ADQ, H.E. Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi , CEO of Masdar, Dr. Nikolas Meitanis , Advisor at Masdar CEO Office,   Ibrahim Ajami, Head of Ventures and Growth at Mubadala, Eng. Abdulla Al Shamsi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), and   H.E. Dr. Maryam Buti Al Suwaidi, CEO of Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). During the first meeting of the committee, under the chairmanship of H.E Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Cha

UAE Cyber Security Council, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), and UAE Department of government support have launched the 1 st   annual global Capture the Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition. Crypto is one of the themes included in the competition.  Established in November 2020, the UAE Cyber Security Council is tasked with developing and overseeing a cyber security strategy for the UAE, and creating a safe and strong cyber infrastructure, while Abu Dhabi Digital Authority was established to enable, support and deliver a digital government that is proactive, personalized, collaborative and secure. Both have come together with the support of UAE Department of government support to organize the first CTF cybersecurity competition. The CTF competition will be held at Gitex 2022 which will take place from 10-14 October 2022 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. The aim of the knowledge based challenge is to create a safer digital world. Challenges fall under severa

  F2o Designs Shop and F2o Studio founded by Kuwaiti national Fatima Fawzi Alothman launches the idea of bringing the GCC Arab cultural element of Dewaniya to the NFT (Non Fungible Token) Web3 world Fatima, who currently resides in UAE, is a freelance illustrator specializing in character design, children's books illustration editorial and advertisement illustrations. She also offers traditional animation services. She holds bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the American University of Sharjah and a Master’s degree in fine arts from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, USA. For those unfamiliar with both the Arabic term and the cultural social aspect of Dewaniya here is a small explanation. A   Dewaniya is a place where friends and people from the community gather to discusses ideas and spread messages related to both local and international issues, and even circulate jokes. It’s where voices are heard, echoed, and taken to further places. It is the wei

  UAE based La Boulangerie, a French bakery whose goal is to bring quality standards that will revolutionize the food delivery industry, is raising capital for its venture through Blockchain enabled P2P Security token investment platform STOKR. STOKR based in Luxumborg, is regulated under EU MiFID II law. The issuance of securities is governed by EU regulations and is available in a number of European countries. Both individuals and legal entities can invest on STOKR. Investors with just 100 USD can invest in La Boulangerie, as the token price is 1 USD, but a minimum investment of 100 USD is required. Investors can invest using Euro, USDT (ERC20), Bitcoin USDT liquid and other cryptocurrencies. As per Stokr website , the bakery will initially set up shop in the city of Dubai in the UAE but plans to expand across the UAE and GCC region. The food and beverage market in the UAE, particularly in Dubai, is already sizable with more than 11,000 businesses. Prominent established player

  According to a recent report by FDI markets published in FDI Intelligence, UAE topped the list of countries with most crypto related FDI projects. UAE had a whopping 15 projects making it number one. It was followed by the USA which attracted 11 crypto projects; Brazil came in third with 7 projects, followed by UK, Lithuania at 4th place with 5 crypto projects, then Singapore in fifth place with 4 projects, followed by Canada, Australia, ( 3 projects each) and France, Sweden with 2 projects  Some 98 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects were announced in crypto related activities in the first half of 2022, an increase of 145% from the same period in 2021. This number was higher than any pre-recorded database since 2016. It was also double the figure for the whole of 2021. Most of the companies who announced FDI projects in H1 of 2022 were those that involve crypto services, such as crypto exchanges, who set up new physical presence in foreign countries. This is true of UAE w

  Qatar has finally started to truly embrace blockchain. The Communications Regulatory Authority has launched a national consultation paper about the “National Blockchain Blueprint for Qatar”. The paper was collaboratively developed by CRA, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Qatar University. Qatar university recently announced its foray into the metaverse. The consultation paper will establish the blueprint for the blockchain framework in Qatar. It identifies key elements such as regulations, adoption, innovation and creativity. It also identifies the key blockchain requirements. The National Blockchain Blueprint highlights how blockchain technology can contribute to building an innovative and growing IT sector in Qatar by increasing domestic and foreign investment as stated in the CRA Strategy 2021-2025, to support Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV) and Qatar National Development Strategy, as well as to enabling a seamless transition towards smart Qatar. The blueprint examines t

  21Shares, one of the largest issuers of cryptocurrency exchange traded products (ETPs), has expanded to the Middle East and hired Sherif El-Haddad, to Head the Middle East office from Dubai UAE. As per the announcement,  Sherif El-Haddad Crypto ETP issuer sets up MENA base in UAE joins 21Shares  in Dubai, where he will lead 21Shares’ market expansion in the region.  El-Haddad previously served as Head of Asset Management at Al Mal Capital. Before that, he was the Managing Partner of Pearl Capital Management and led the asset management division of EFG Hermes for over 13 years. El-Haddad has extensive experience in the financial services sector across the Middle East and a broad set of capabilities and networks. El-Haddad holds an accounting degree from The American University in Cairo. "In addition to Switzerland, where 21Shares is based, Dubai is one of the most exciting and favorable locations for crypto and blockchain businesses. As 21Shares embarks on its Middle East expansi

  Qatar University has signed an MOU with Metavisionaries, a community of change makers, thought leaders and industry experts who are committed to providing access to the space economy and frontier technologies to build socially inclusive competency and human capacity required to meet immediate and future sustainability challenges. Metavisionaries is offering MetaEduVersity and space campus the Metaship which utilizes web3 and the metaverse combined with our physical SPACE INNOVATION LABS with our partners ICE Cubes. Qatar University while espousing to be the first university in the metaverse, will actually be joining 10 other US based universities who will be offering metaverse experience in the fall of 2022. Prior to Qatar University announcement, ten universities are getting set to launch their own metaversities this fall to provide students and professors with a “digital twin” replica campus in which to attend courses, using a Meta Quest 2 virtual reality headset provided throu