Indirectly announcing their expansion into the UAE Digital Asset Solutions (DAS), a Swiss based crypto asset manager announced that they had hired Swiss financial professional Csaba Dekany on board as a strategic partner.
Dekany is already residing in Dubai UAE since 2023 has had a strong career at Credit Suisse, and Granite Gorup in Zurich.
DAS reports to the self-regulatory organization PolyReg in Switzerland, which underlines that compliance with the highest standards in terms of anti-money laundering (AML), customer protection, and transparency is a matter of course.
Dekany is expected to play a key role in the crypto specialist’s international expansion and leverage his extensive experience for his role as strategic advisor to management.
DAS on LinkedIn stated, “We’re thrilled to have Csaba Dekany join us in our expansion to Dubai! He will play a pivotal role in our first international push with his many years of experience in the financial sector and support DAS in identifying new opportunities in the Emirates.”
Csaba in a LinkedIn post stated, “Happy to be part of the journey to connect traditional finance with digital assets.”
Also on board with DAS is Zurich-based asset manager and CEO of VT Wealth Management, Sacha Fedier. He is taking a seat on the board of directors and noted that the UAE is «a market with great potential».
The UAE has been attracting an array of crypto and digital asset entities from across the globe, including crypto exchanges such as Crypto.com, OKX, Binance and many others.
It is no surprise that DAS is also setting its footprint in the UAE as well.
USA based Marvion Inc., (OTC:MVNC), a blockchain technology firm has announced the application of its blockchain Halal projects within the UAE utilizing their Digital Ownership Token (DOT) technology framework. The Halal solution includes artificial intelligent modules (AI) to enhance the security framework of the solution.
As per the press release, this initiative marks a major milestone in Marvion’s commitment to utilizing its proprietary technology to create new intangible assets, beginning with Halal certification.
Marvion signed an agreement with a prominent Halal certification provider, marking the first step in its ambitious plan to revolutionize the certification process through blockchain technology. This partnership aims to enhance the transparency, efficiency, and security of Halal certifications, ensuring authenticity and trustworthiness in the market. Halal, which means “permissible” or “lawful” in Arabic, refers to a broad range of regulations that specify what foods Muslims are allowed to eat. These regulations cover not just ingredient lists but also production processes and handling techniques. Certification agencies in this industry evaluate and certify that food items, ingredients, and production processes meet Halal requirements.
“We are thrilled to be breaking new grounds with our blockchain Halal projects,” said Dr Edmond Chan, CEO of Marvion Inc. “Our collaboration with a leading Halal certification provider is just the beginning. By leveraging our cutting-edge blockchain technology, we aim to create a robust and secure system for Halal certification that can be extended to various sectors beyond food. During the past year we have proven and ground tested our blockchain DOT technologies in practical business usage and applications within the movie media industry.”
The introduction of blockchain technology into Halal certification processes is poised to bring numerous benefits, including:
Enhanced Transparency: Blockchain’s immutable ledger ensures that all transactions and certifications are recorded transparently, reducing the risk of fraud and ensuring the integrity of Halal certifications.
Increased Efficiency: By automating certification processes and reducing the need for manual intervention, blockchain technology can significantly streamline operations, saving time and resources for certification bodies and businesses alike.
Improved Security: Blockchain technology provides a highly secure platform for storing and verifying certification data, protecting it from tampering and unauthorized access. By adding artificial intelligent module into our security layer, it can highly prevent anyone trying to breach through our Halal certification, ensuring the highest level of genuine certification provided.
“According to Verified Market Reports, Halal Food Certification Market size was valued at USD 2,339.3 Billion in 2023, and is projected to reach USD 5284.98 Billion by 2030.
As we continue to make inroads in the UAE region, our focus remains on expanding our Halal certification capabilities to include a wider range of businesses,” added Dr Chan. “Our proprietary technology will serve as a foundation for creating new intangible assets, fostering innovation, and driving growth in the Halal market.”
Recently the UAE Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA) issued an advisory to UAE farmers stating that crypto mining on farms could cause a sharp spike in electricity bills and cannot be carried out on UAE farm lands. For some this is confusing given that in many countries it is encouraged to utilize bitcoin mining for farming and agriculture.
As per the announcement published in Khaleej Times, “This activity is considered a misuse of the farm for purposes other than its intended use.” Those caught mining crypto on farms shall face fines of up to Dh10,000, it added.
Bitcoin Mining and High energy, water costs
This is not the first time Bitcoin or crypto mining is associated with high energy usage and costs. In a research paper entitled,” The Environmental Footprint of Bitcoin Mining Across the Globe: Call for Urgent Action. Earth’s Future, 2023” the authors used energy, carbon, water and land use data from 2020 to 2021 to calculate country-specific environmental impacts for 76 countries known to mine bitcoin. They focused on bitcoin because it’s older, popular and more well-established/widely used than other cryptocurrencies.
As per the research if bitcoin mining were a country, it would be ranked 27th in energy use globally. Overall, bitcoin mining consumed about 173 terawatt hours of electricity in the two years from January 2020 to December 2021, about 60% more than the energy used for bitcoin mining in 2018-2019, the study found. Bitcoin mining emitted about 86 megatons of carbon, largely because of the dominance of fossil fuel-based energy in bitcoin-mining countries.
In terms of water, global Bitcoin mining used 1.65 million liters (about 426,000 gallons) of water in 2020-2021, enough to fill more than 660,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools. China, the U.S. and Canada had the largest water footprints. Kazakhstan and Iran, which along with the U.S. and China have suffered from water shortages, were also in the top-10 list for water footprint.
“These are very, very worrying numbers,” Madani said. “Even hydropower, which some countries consider a clean source of renewable energy, has a huge footprint.”
Yet in terms of land use, the study analysed land use by considering the area of land affected to produce energy for mining. The land footprint of server farms is negligible, Kaveh said. The global land use footprint of bitcoin mining is 1,870 square kilometres (722 square miles), with China’s footprint alone taking up 913 square kilometres (353 square miles). The U.S.’ land footprint is 303 square kilometres (117 square miles), and likely growing while China’s is shrinking.
ADAFSA Justified in its decision
Mohamed El Masri, Founder and CEO of Permianchain, a blockchain start-up based in Toronto, Canada, that operates a permissioned blockchain platform to unlock liquidity from unused or underutilized natural resources reserves offering a mechanism for funding and energy creation for bitcoin mining and other sectors, explains, “I believe the recent warning by ADAFSA is justifiable and should have come way sooner. In my opinion, the AED 10,000 fine is a good warning fine, but if those miners do not comply, they should be fined a full year of bitcoin production (revenue) and be banned from ever conducting bitcoin mining business in the country.”
According to El Masri it is necessary to impose good practice and a sound regulatory compliant environment to maintain the UAE’s leading crypto stance. He notes, “Bitcoin mining is meant to be a social and economic practice that improves the livelihood of communities where energy and natural resources are underutilized, wasted or require commercial viability to bring to market. By hoarding power on agriculture land where it’s intended purpose is to bring much needed food security to the nation, I find that quite a waste of much needed resources.”
He explains that mining on agricultural land is not scalable anyway, and will not last. He states, “It was always a temporary fix for small-time retail mining managers to make a quick buck… the intention of these operators is money and not community or to build a circular economy for new wealth.”
He offers a solution which entails utilizing bitcoin mining in greenhouses and agribusiness to make use of the heat by-product for water heating, greenhouse crop production and other innovations are already being put to practice in various parts of the world.
Utilizing Bitcoin mining for sustainable Farming
This is true, other countries have opted for using excess energy, such as the methane waste on farms to use for Bitcoin mining. The mining of Bitcoin, requiring substantial energy input for the computational processes, can effectively harness this surplus methane, mitigating its impact as a potent greenhouse gas while simultaneously transforming waste into wealth.
The AmityAge Mining Farm in Slovakia exemplifies this fusion, transforming human and animal waste into biogas, consequently powering their Bitcoin mining rigs. This dual benefit fosters sustainability while offering a robust business model that mitigates greenhouse gas emissions.
In Canada a Manitoba company is using waste heat from bitcoin miners to heat their Greenhouse and fish farm business. In addition Myera Group in Canada is merging the worlds of Bitcoin mining and sustainable agriculture. Within the walls of a former car museum, Bruce Hardy, president of Myera Group, orchestrates a unique operation where more than 30 miners hash away on the second floor, quietly mining bitcoin while generating heat that serves a dual purpose, powering the ASIC miners and nurturing nearby plants in a greenhouse.
Even Iceland which boasts of an abundant supply of renewable energy, making it attractive hub for bitcoin miners, but is plagued with a large gap in food trade balance, depending on imports for basic necessities, is considering utilizing the synergy between bitcoin mining and use of renewable energy to offer a heating solution for businesses and greenhouses.
UAE Bitcoin Mining
In Conclusion the issue might not be Bitcoin mining on farms per say, but on what energy resources are used for Bitcoin mining, and how the excess heat from Bitcoin mining can be used for something useful allowing for a sustainable process, with less effect on the environment while enabling food sustainability.
This is especially important given that Abu Dhabi in particular has become of a hub for Bitcoin mining in the MENA region. In 2023 Zero Two, and Marathon Digital Holdings, Joint entity based out of ADGM for crypto mining inaugurated a 200 MW Bitcoin mining facility at Masdar Abu Dhabi.
As per Marathon digital website, Marathon digital is currently using UAE electricity grid to power the Bitcoin mining farm in Abu Dhabi, with 8,500 operational miners with a hashrate of 1.2 EH/s. ( They note on their website that *Data only represents Marathon’s share of the joint venture and not the total scope of operations). Marathon Digital own 20% of the joint venture.
Many in the ecosystem have noted that in the future, the UAE plans to use solar energy and nuclear energy as sustainable resources for energy production, until then whether Bitcoin is being mined on farms or elsewhere, the energy cost remains high.
Crypto Futures have risen in popularity over the years, being considered as one of the most sought out cryptocurrency derivatives offering. In the past weeks, on news that Ethereum Spot approvals from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, might be approved, ETH Futures traded funds hit an all time high, The Ethereum futures ETFs generated $47.75 million in trading volume on May 21st 2024, 40% more than the prior $34.18 million peak set on March 5th 2024. Then the Ethereum ETFs were approved.
According to Bitget MENA, a Web3 cryptocurrency exchange, crypto traders in the region have become savvier, Bitget has witnessed a 52% increase in crypto futures trading from January 2024 until April 2024. Usually crypto trader beginners start with what is called spot trading, it is easier, and quicker. Yet to see that Bitget has witnessed this increase in crypto futures means that MENA crypto traders are gaining expertise.
This comes at the heels of Bitget’s Q1 2024 report where it highlighted more than 100% growth in crypto futures trading volume. Crypto futures trading volume was approximately US$ 1.4 trillion, representing a 146% increase, while Bitget Spot trading volume increased by 113% to over US$ 160 billion.
Bitget Global also witnessed substantial growth in the volume of Bitcoin Future trades on its platform from May 2023 compared to April 2024. In April 2024 the volume of Bitcoin Futures on Bitget crypto exchange reached $437.38 billion out of a total market of $1.9 trillion. In May 2023 this figure stood at $124.54 billion out of a market of $923.29 billion. (Source The Block)
The crypto exchange saw the highest increase in derivatives market share, with a growth of 2.4% in March 2024.
The enthusiasm for crypto futures comes at just the right time, with Bitget, a Web3 and crypto currency exchange, announcing that its 5th edition of the King’s Cup Global Invitational (KCGI) annual trading competition will include a crypto futures competition.
Sam Spiers, Regional Director at Bitget MENA explains, “Bitget MENA and our global operations have continuously offered our clients diverse choices for trading and benefiting from the crypto market. This is reflected in the growth of crypto futures trading in the MENA region and globally. It also showcases the maturity that most crypto traders have gained both in MENA and internationally, given that crypto futures trading is more complex than just spot trading.”
He adds, “We are happy to encourage crypto futures trading further with the launch of Futures trading team competition part of our yearly KCGI competition. The total prize pool of KCGI will reach 5,000,000 USDT.”
Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget added, “As we embark on the fifth edition of KCGI, we are excited to provide traders with an unparalleled opportunity to test their skills, challenge themselves, and compete for incredible prizes. KCGI represents more than just a trading tournament, it is a celebration of the passion, dedication, and talent of our global trading community.”
Earlier this year, Bitget, announced a record all-time high in trading volumes in the MENA region while witnessing a growth of 500% in trading volumes since it started serving the MENA region in November 2023. Bitget now boasts of 2.5 million users from the MENA region, making up 10% of its total global user base which is 25 million.
In 2023 Bitget announced its expansion into the Middle East region with plans to establish its regional hub in the UAE and hire 60 employees as part of its global scaling strategy. Bitget has already begun exploring license applications to operate in target Middle East markets
BIM Ventures, the Saudi Venture Studio, which has invested in Saudi Web3 startups such as TakaDAO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SBI Holdings to establish a $100 million joint investment fund dedicated to nurting startups and investing in the Saudi market. The collaboration was facilitated in partnership with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA).
The MoU was officially signed during the Saudi Japan Vision 2030 Business Forum in the presence of their excellencies from Saudi Arabia; the Minister of Energy, HRH Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Culture, HH Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the Minister of Investment, HE Eng. Khalid Al-Falih, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, HE Eng. Abdullah Alswaha and from Japan, Ken Saito, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. In addition to representatives from the Ministry of Investment and both companies.
SBI Holdings has set up in the region and has been investing in digital asset ventures and startups. SBI Holdings entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Saudi Arabian Aramco, one of the leading energy and Chemicals Company, after SBI Holding established a digital asset venture in UAE with Standard Chartered.
In a statement to Argaam media, the company said this strategic partnership underscores the mutual commitment of Saudi Arabia and Japan to reinforce bilateral economic relations. The primary objective is to support innovative startups in the Saudi market by providing essential financial and logistical support to foster sustainable growth in this vital sector.
The fund is designed to assist startups by offering crucial funding during their establishment and growth phases. Additionally, it will provide expert guidance and mentoring to ensure the success of these emerging companies. The fund also aims to attract foreign investments into the Saudi market, creating a supportive and innovative investment environment.
Mohamed Amine Merah, Managing Partner and CEO of BIM Ventures, commented on the agreement, saying, “The partnership with SBI Holdings reflects our dedication to enhancing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Kingdom. We aim to provide opportunities for startups to achieve growth and innovation, fostering bilateral relationships between Saudi Arabia and Japan. Our primary goal is to work with the Ministry of Investment to attract local and international partnerships, thereby positively impacting the Kingdom’s economy.”
Yoshitaka Kitao, Representative Director, Chairman, President & CEO of SBI Holdings added, “SBI Group positions the Middle East as a strategically important region and plans to strengthen deployment of management resources in this region. Together with MISA and BIM, SBI Group is honored to support venture companies in Saudi Arabia and contribute to the economic growth of the Kingdom by leveraging the global network and experience in venture investment accumulated since its establishment in 1999.”
RWA Inc. a tokenization platform, which according to its website has six trade licenses in the UAE, has partnered with L1 blockchain solution HYBRID. As per the medium post, the partnership will streamline the tokenization process and enable users to leverage advanced AI features. It is noted that RWA is neither licensed by FSRA in ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market) nor by VARA ( Dubai Virtual asset regulatory authority).
In their website they claim to have licenses to buy and sell real estate, commodities, collectibles, private equity, and DePin ( Decentralized Physical Networks)
One of the primary features of RWA is its Launchpad. This unique marketplace includes everything needed to bring Real World Assets onto a blockchain.
RWA Inc has partnered with HYBRID is a layer 1 programmable blockchain focused on the growing AI agent sector. AI agents continue to be popular due to their capabilities and autonomininty. HYBRID combines these benefits with blockchain security and efficiency to elevate the UX and drive innovation
Users can leverage HYBRID’s unique features such as the Atlas AI agent to reduce their workload and enhance their blockchain analysis results. In this way, HYBRID enables anyone to conduct real-time analysis and create powerful data layers to power effective future AI solutions. RWA Inc. and HYBRID seek to introduce a new era of convenience and efficiency via AI integrations. In the future, the RWA community will gain access to the most advanced AI tools via HYBRID features. In addition, HYBRID Users will gain the ability to create powerful AI tokenization protocols that empower anyone to convert regulated assets securely.
Prior to its announcement of partnership with HYBRID, RWA announced its partnership with Mantra Chain another Layer 1 blockchain, seeking to be licensed in the UAE.
The Co Founder of Mysten Labs, Kostas Kryptos, the creators of the Sui Blockchain has announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he is in the midst of creating a modern cryptography and AI Innovation hub in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
As he noted, ” The aim is to intellectually grow the whole UAE community with deep tech education and brainstorming meetups. So deep that some hackathons will run non stop 24/7 for a whole week, with support from local hotel and office-desk owners for accommodation.”
He adds,”My goal is to gradually advance the whole MENA region in a unique tech excellence level + see technologically competitive startups to emerge. There is already a plan to publish some unique ideas around ZKP, MPC, FHE, Differential Privacy, Web3 UX, Anon Credentials, AI on chain, AI for audits, DePIN data compression and parallelisation, Novel Key Management, Identity, Voting and Verifiable Execution.”
When asked by followers why the UAE, he explained, ” UAE has a strong community and economy, crypto and AI friendly, compared to EU it invests aggressively in innovation and takes more risks. Everyone speaks English, and it is in close proximity to both India and Europe, making it a meeting place for international deals. There are incentives from free zones to relocate there educational advancements for the government is top priority as well as critical mass of audience and media coverage which helps on publishing and advertising your work.”
He notes that the other benefit will be the access to USA and EU hubs.
He ends noting “It’s a big project. Hopefully with some local help, in the future we could also economically support selected research ideas relocating to the region.”
In November 2023, Abu Dhabi Technology incubator Hub71, partnered with Mysten Labs to support new projects on Sui. The partnership gave builders accepted to the incubator access to Mysten Labs’ technical expertise and support, and Hub71’s mentorship, resources, and global network of connections.
The founders of Sui have been working on educational projects in the region, specifically the UAE. Sui, a Blockchain Layer 1 platform partnered with UAE American University of Sharjah (AUS) to establish the AUS-Sui Blockchain Academy, a blockchain academy creating opportunities for hundreds of aspiring developers to learn about and ultimately advance the state of the art of the technology.
In addition UAE based blockchain startups such as Pravica and DRIFE have both partnered and integrated on the Sui Blockchain. Less than two months after publicizing the launch of S3.Money on the Sui Blockchain, The S3 testnet is now up and running, welcoming developers and financial community to start building tokenized money whether CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) or stablecoins.
Even UAE based is leveraging the Sui platform to track carbon credits. Thecollaboration leverages blockchain technology to serve use cases in line with the ESG goals that modern businesses are seeking.
KSA based Tokenizerly, a Blockchain enabled fintech startup in asset tokenization, has partnered with Funding Turkey, a leader in real estate marketing and development to revolutionize the fund and real estate market through blockchain technology. As per the agreement tokenizerly will integrate its advance tokenization platform with Funding Turkey’s extensive real estate portfolio, creating a new paradigm in property investment and ownership.
As per the press release, Tokenizerly will provide its state-of-the-art tokenization technology and technical expertise to tokenize Funding Turkey’s fund and real estate assets.
Both parties will work to obtain the necessary licenses for issuing security tokens for funding real estate units not only in Turkey but across Funding Turkey’s global operations.
Haiyan Alsaiyed stated, “We are thrilled to partner with Funding Turkey, a company that shares our vision for innovation in real estate investment. Our technology will enable investors to engage with fund and real estate like never before, making investments more fractional, accessible, and efficient.”
Serkan Topktas remarked, “This partnership with Tokenizerly marks a significant milestone in our mission to embrace emerging technologies. By tokenizing our assets, we’re not just transforming the way people invest in fund and real estate but also ensuring a more secure and accessible market for investors worldwide.”
This is the second partnership Tokenizerly signs within the month of May. The first was with ParisAline, a global leader in invisible orthodontic treatments. The collaboration aims to revolutionize funding mechanisms in the healthcare sector through the use of advanced blockchain technologies.
UAE regulated Laser Digital, Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary has strategically invested in MANTRA Chain, a Layer 1 blockchain solution for Real World Assets (RWA).
In March 2024 MANTRA Chain raised $11 million led by UAE based Shorooq Partners with investors including Three-point capital, Forte Securities, VirtuZone, Hex Trust and GameFi Ventures. At the time it was noted that Mantra Chain was in the final stages of receiving licenses from Dubai’s crypto regulator, VARA.
As per the press release, “This new investment aims to accelerate MANTRA towards its goal of becoming the de-facto RWA tokenization Layer 1 blockchain for Middle East and Asian markets and marks a collaboration with Laser Digital, bringing their complementary expertise and pertinent experience of RWA tokenization to the partnership.”
Jez Mohideen, CEO of Laser Digital, stated, ” We are excited to support MANTRA’s journey as it pioneers new frontiers in RWA and digital finance.”
John Patrick Mullin, CEO and Co-Founder of MANTRA, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership, “We are incredibly excited to welcome Laser Digital as a strategic partner. Laser Digital’s investment is not just financial but an endorsement of our mission to make RWA accessible and operable through blockchain technology. Laser’s expertise and network in the financial sectors will be invaluable as we expand our technological footprint.”
Serenity Shield, a fully decentralized multi-chain data storage solution, has launched its inaugural DEPIN ( Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network), a decentralized storage facility in Oman. As per the press release, it will be the first facility of many to go live for testing across a global network of interconnected points at pivotal locations in India, Portugal, Netherlands, USA and Australia.
Serenity Shield is a fully decentralized multi-chain solution dedicated to privacy and security. It empowers individuals and businesses to interact securely and confidently in the digital world by leveraging the power of blockchain to safeguard and protect user data.
The operation seeks to liberate individuals and corporations from their current dependence on centralized cloud services for data storage.
With this robust infrastructure, Serenity Shield will allow individuals, businesses and government institutions to access a completely new form of data storage that gives redundancy, security and decentralisation by design. The vast array of global data centers will help to mitigate the centralised risks that currently threaten the widespread adoption of blockchain technology.
Venket Naga, CEO of Serenity Shield, explained, “The self-custodial narrative of decentralization hasn’t been able to stand up amidst the continued dependence on centralized cloud services to store data. We’ve been focused on addressing this for a long time and are finally able to deploy a remarkable solution in getting our DePIN facilities off the ground. In building and launching these state-of-the-art physical facilities, we’re able to fully support a Web3 ecosystem beyond the outlining of conceptual plans in a whitepaper.”
As per the press release, individuals who participate as node operators within the globally distributed network are set to benefit from incentive mechanisms such as token rewards and utility cost settlements. As the operations evolve, tokenized energy rewards will be distributed to users based on their specific locations and requirements, bringing an unparalleled aspect to a project of this kind with the convergence of DePIN and RWA.
The operation is also set to be funded through Green Hydrogen initiatives for renewable energy by governments across the selected locations, with the DePIN architecture already aligning with several sustainability initiatives.
In addition commercial blockchain projects will also be encouraged to contribute resources to the network and foster a collaborative ecosystem. Small and medium enterprises will experience advantages to supply chain management, data synchronization and content distribution; and governmental institutions will be able to better preserve public records and sensitive information.
Venket concluded, “By embracing the values of Web 3.0 and building upon the foundations laid by Web 2.0, we are forging a path towards a fine-tuned decentralised, resilient, and inclusive digital future. We are in the middle of an exciting digital transformation where the paradigm is shifting from centralized to decentralized systems, redistributing power and control in unprecedented ways.
At the forefront of this revolution stands the opportunity for an innovative Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network to redefine how we conceive, construct, and manage physical infrastructure. It makes sense to start with the data.”
