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29 firms register in Qatar Financial Digital Assets Lab

29 firms register in Qatar Financial Digital Assets Lab

Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) recently published that it witnessed record growth in 2024, welcoming 836 new firms to its platform, a 156 percent growth compared to 2023 as well as 29 firms into its Qatar Digital Assets Lab.

The upsurge brought the total number of QFC firms to 2,489 and the combined assets under management to over USD 33 billion. It also enlarged the QFC community to over 11,700 employees, representing 153 nationalities.

The firms registered in 2024 represent 90 countries, with the largest number of firms coming from the United Kingdom, India, the United States, Jordan, Turkiye, France, Lebanon, and Qatar. These firms span a wide range of activities and industries, including fintech, consulting services, media, IT, and wealth management.

QFC also signed 24 memoranda of understanding in 2024, including agreements with prestigious financial institutions such as Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Masraf Al Rayan, Dukhan Bank, The Hashgraph Association, and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment. QFC established other significant partnerships during the year, including a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Media City and a collaboration agreement with Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), aimed at facilitating business setup in the State of Qatar

The Digital Assets Lab, which commenced activities with 29 participants, developing unique digital solutions and services based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). To support the program, QFC issued the Digital Assets Framework to regulate digital assets, which includes comprehensive and clear legal guidelines for digital assets creation and regulation, including processes related to tokenization, legal recognition of ownership rights of encryptions and underlying assets, custody arrangements, and transfer and exchange transactions. These initiatives align with the Qatar FinTech Strategy and reinforce the country’s position as a regional leader in financial innovation.

Commenting on the QFC 2024 performance, CEO of QFC Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida said, “The exceptional growth witnessed by the Qatar Financial Centre in 2024 reflects our commitment to provide a developed and attractive business environment for local and international companies. These achievements would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of all business units, along with close cooperation with our clients, key stakeholders in Qatar and our strategic local and global partners. Over the past year, we have continued to enhance innovation and support economic growth and diversification in Qatar, and we aim to achieve more successes in the coming years.”

At UAE AI and Blockchain Council meeting, Minister of AI says data is crucial to the future of UAE Economy

At UAE AI and Blockchain Council meeting, Minister of AI says data is crucial to the future of UAE Economy

In the 4th UAE AI and Blockchain Council meeting held in Ajman, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, stressed that the data sector will significantly contribute to the future of the UAE economy.

He believes that as the reliance on Artificial Intelligence, AI, technology increases, becoming a base for many vital activities of future societies. Promoting investment in this rapidly evolving global economic sector comes as part of UAE plans to celebrate the export of the last barrel of oil in 50 years.

“The Government of the UAE is working to achieve its future strategic objectives. It strives to employ the AI sector as the main source of a diversified and sustainable knowledge economy, through the development of innovative practices and scientific uses of AI technology tools and enhancing cooperation among all parties to employ them in the development of government services and private sector performance. This contributes to achieving the objectives of the UAE Vision 2021, and the establishment of the future model of the UAE 2071,” said Al Olama.

The Minister’s remarks came during the fourth meeting of the UAE Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Council, hosted by Ajman. The meeting was headed by Al Olama, in the presence of several officials and directors of federal and local government entities.

The meeting agenda covered key challenges and recommendations proposed to standardise data collection by the Data Committee within the Council. These included preparing qualified human resources, establishing a unified database, and defining data classification standards, as well the mechanism of coordination of efforts and the exchange of experiences between different entities by establishing a joint team. The participants also stressed the need to follow up the implementation of the recommendations of the Data Committee, by speeding up the development of data collection for AI technology and digital transactions, to promote the UAE as a leading center for data in the region.

UAE headquartered crypto exchange FreedX raises $50 million

UAE headquartered crypto exchange FreedX raises $50 million

Freedx, a cryptocurrency exchange with its headquarters noted to be in Dubai UAE, yet unregulated in the country till now, claims that it has raised $50 million in a funding round. The $50 million fundraising will enable Freedx to accelerate platform enhancements, expand global reach, and strengthen its customer support capabilities. While the crypto exchange notes that it has secured regulatory permission in Panama and a BTC license in El Salvador, it is taking steps to expand its compliance efforts globally.

As per the press release, the investment reflects investor confidence in Freedx’s approach to offering a platform designed with a focus on clarity, simplicity, and advanced trading tools.

The exchange aims to fill a vital gap in the market by combining advanced capabilities—such as optimized order routing, real-time analytics, and frictionless execution—with a sleek, user-friendly interface. Since its inception, the Freedx team has grown to nearly 100 members dedicated to building a transparent, efficient, and secure trading environment.

“At Freedx, we believe that trading should be as seamless and transparent as possible. This fundraise validates our vision to build a platform that prioritizes traders’ needs above all else. We’re thrilled about the opportunity to continue developing innovations that empower our community and drive the industry forward.” said Jonathan Farnell, CEO, Freedx. 

The roster of executives include Anton Golub, as Chief Investment Officer. Anton is based in Dubai UAE, and is well known in the blockchain space and crypto space, yet on his own LinkedIn page he does not mention his affiliation to the crypto exchange.

UAE regulated GCEX partners with Fireblocks

UAE regulated GCEX partners with Fireblocks

GCEX a provider of digital assets and foreign exchange solutions regulated in Dubai UAE, has integrated with FireBlocks, an enterprise platform to manage digital asset operations and build innovative businesses on blockchain to enable its institutional clients to access Fireblocks’ digital asset platform and custody solutions.

This latest development enables GCEX’s institutional clients transacting through its Danish and Dubai entities to utilize Fireblocks’ robust Policy Engine and compliance toolkit, ensuring enhanced security and adherence to regulations. 

By accessing the Fireblocks Network, GCEX’s clients can connect and trade with over 2,000 liquidity partners, trading venues and counterparties, with the network facilitating instant settlement, rebalancing and payments.

Lars Holst, CEO at GCEX said, “By integrating Fireblocks’ world-leading technology, GCEX is reinforcing our commitment to providing institutional clients with a streamlined trading experience and the most secure, efficient and transparent trading environment in the digital asset space. As institutional adoption of digital securities accelerates and we continue to scale, Fireblocks’ multi-layer security protocols, regulatory toolkit and streamlined processes will support GCEX’s operations, underpinning our focus on ease of trading and asset protection.”

The announcements comes a week after GCEX launched its open API, created to give institutional and professional clients real-time access to their balances, trades, and positions. The open API will enable clients to integrate with the GCEX back office, which the company says will help make portfolio management and regulatory reporting more efficient as a result of automating manual processes.

Clients are also said to be able to integrate their data for tailored insights and compliance reporting. The launch comes as part of GCEX’s mission to enhance innovation and technology in the prime brokerage space.

At the time Lars Holst, CEO of GCEX, said, “The GCEX open API offers greater transparency, empowering clients to make more informed trading and portfolio decisions and respond on a timely basis to regulatory requirements. By providing instant access to key data through our open API, we are making it easier for our clients to optimize their trading operations and reporting capabilities.”

500 Global launches Saudi sovereign fund backed tech fund

500 Global launches Saudi sovereign fund backed tech fund

500 Global, a global venture capital firm, has launched the 500 MENA, L.P. (the “Fund”), a new fund dedicated to investing in high-growth technology startups across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region both from outside and inside the current 500 Global portfolio.

The Fund will invest primarily in startups with proven product-market fit and significant growth potential, addressing the critical funding gap MENA founders face, particularly in the expansion stage. 500 Global aims to actively support these companies through their extended international network and comprehensive platform, empowering them to build and scale innovative solutions regionally and globally.

Amjad Ahmad, managing partner, 500 Global MENA, and emerging market advisor, will lead the fund. A seasoned investor with over two decades of experience in emerging markets, Amjad has previously led venture and growth investments of over $1 billion in the MENA region in sectors ranging from technology and education to consumer products and financial services. He will be supported on the investment committee by Courtney Powell, chief operating officer and managing partner at 500 Global, who has been based in Riyadh since 2021.

“Amjad is a seasoned investor with a proven track record of helping founders scale their startups,” said Courtney Powell. “His leadership will be instrumental in driving the success of our Fund and portfolio companies.”

“We are thrilled to fuel the next wave of tech champions in the MENA region, driving innovation and economic growth as digital transformation accelerates across key economies,” said Amjad Ahmad. “Our partnership with talented founders aims to empower them to innovate, build, and scale.” The Fund is backed by prominent Saudi institutional investors, Jada Fund of Funds, a Public Investment Fund (PIF) company, and Saudi Venture Capital (SVC). It is also supported by Sanabil Investments alongside their ongoing strategic partnership with 500 Global.

The MENA region has witnessed a significant surge in startup activity in recent years. Funding in startups has soared from $990 million in 2019 to over $2.6 billion in 2023. 500 Global believes the growth is further evidenced by the return of international funds leading mega-rounds and successful tech IPOs in Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. However, that expansion capital beyond the seed stage remains challenging, with Series B funding at a 5-year low accounting for only 2% of deals. As regional governments continue to invest in the venture ecosystem, especially in the GCC, we think the MENA region is on track to achieve venture capital penetration levels comparable to robust economies like the U.S.

DIFC Julius Baer and Euroclear prepare whitepaper on tokenization in wealth transfer

DIFC Julius Baer and Euroclear prepare whitepaper on tokenization in wealth transfer

DIFC Innovation Hub, the start-up and innovation hub operating out of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a global financial centre in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, is collaborating with global Swiss wealth management firm, Julius Baer, and the Financial Market Infrastructure Euroclear, to lead on tackling challenges in the digital asset estate planning space with tokenization of assets being studied for wealth transfer.

The collaborative innovation project, organised by DIFC Innovation Hub, will bring together innovators, investors, and subject matter experts from across the wealth management value chain to explore how families can best use technology to manage rapidly expanding portfolios of tokenized and digital assets.

DIFC’s Innovation Hub experts will work closely with Julius Baer’s global innovation team and Euroclear’s innovation centre of excellence for a three-month sprint that will result in a white paper detailing a future-oriented solution for succession planning relating tokenization applied to multi-generational inheritance. The analysis and subsequent findings will serve as a blueprint for other geographies looking to turn similar challenges into opportunities.

It is estimated that AED 3.67trn (USD 1trn) in assets will be transferred to the next generation in the Middle East over the coming decade. However, only 24 per cent of High-Net-Worth Individuals have a full estate plan in place. Fast adoption of various digital asset classes by individuals and businesses also poses potential complexities to a seamless execution of estate plans currently in place. The DIFC Innovation Hub, Julius Baer and Euroclear collaboration will help bring tangible solutions to this global challenge.

Mohammad Alblooshi, Chief Executive Officer, DIFC Innovation Hub, commented: “The region is witnessing a trend of generational wealth being deployed across a variety of digital asset classes to diversify and future-proof their portfolios. By bringing together global leading entities across wealth management, financial services providers, tech disruptors and regulators, this newly launched innovation project will help transform one of the largest, underserved markets in the region and open doors to a more inclusive and tech enabled future for family businesses and the wealth management industry.”

Alireza Valizadeh, CEO, Julius Baer (Middle East) Ltd, said, “Generational wealth transfer is gaining momentum in the UAE, and we, as Julius Baer, are in a unique position to advise our clients having had our origins as a family business. On the occasion of Julius Baer’s 20-year anniversary in Dubai, I am hoping that this innovation project will showcase how we can work together to stay relevant to our future clients and provide a vision highlighting the evolution of the private banking industry especially with the onset of digital assets.”

Philippe Laurensy, Head of Group Strategy, Product Management and Innovation at Euroclear, added, “As a trusted financial market infrastructure we have a strong commitment to collaborate with the market providing innovative solutions to our clients. We are extremely pleased to be working with DIFC Innovation Hub and Julius Baer on what we see as a transformative journey to address market gaps and create efficiencies by harnessing the power of tokenization. By validating and unlocking the benefits of smart contracts we have the potential to redefine the narrative of wealth management, creating solutions that could span generations.”

In October 2024, The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts in partnership with The Hashgraph Association and its partner in the UAE Deca4 Consultancy launched a DLT Hedera enabled Digital Assets Will solution.

The Digital Assets Will empowers individuals to distribute their digital assets using a non-custodial DIFC Courts wallet. A non-custodial wallet also allows an individual the freedom to reallocate the assets to the desired beneficiaries within their wallet, and for full control to mobilize in and out of the wallet in their lifetime, with assets finally distributed as ‘specific gifts’.

Another employee at UAE crypto exchange Midchains leaves

Another employee at UAE crypto exchange Midchains leaves

Another Midchains employee has left for other opportunities in the UAE. Yesterday Scintilla announced that it had appointed the former compliance officer from Midchains to lead their compliance operations, while OKX has also appointed former Midchain’s Head of Operations as Head of Trading in Dubai. Liam Birch joins OKX after serving as Head of Operations at Midchain, previously also working with Rain crypto broker.

For those unfamiliar with Midchains, is a fully regulated virtual asset trading platform and custodian, backed by investors including Mubadala, ADQ, MIAX Exchange Group, and more.

Liam in a LinkedIn post stated, “I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined OKX as the new Head of Trading in Dubai! I’m beyond excited to be part of such an innovative and dynamic team at one of the world’s leading virtual asset platforms. October marked a major milestone for OKX with the receipt of their VARA license, reinforcing the commitment to regulatory compliance and setting new standards in the industry. Additionally, they became the first global cryptocurrency exchange to launch AED pairs, further solidifying the dedication to bringing secure, accessible, and regulated solutions to the market.”

This comes after Scintilla, an institutional-grade tokenization solution provider, which recently acquired UAE regulated TOKO a crypto exchange appointed the previous head of compliance at Midchains, Janey Schueller, as Chief Compliance Officer. Scintilla viewed this key leadership addition as the company continues to expand its innovative digital asset creation platform and strengthen its compliance framework.

The last time Midchains had a major announcement was in 2022. At the time UAE Midchain’s, crypto exchange partnered with UAE Al Maryah Community Bank, a digital bank to provide a secure channel for investing and trading cryptocurrencies and digital assets through the bank’s establishment of escrow accounts in UAE dirhams to protect investors’ funds on cryptocurrency trading platforms and boost their trust.

On LinkedIn, Midchains has been posting job opportunities that include the hiring of a Cloud & IT Administrator in Dubai, as well as a Director of Operations.

It is interesting to see that as the crypto exchange market becomes more competitive in the UAE, we will see more talents moving from one operation to another. Could this lead to consolidations amidst the crypto trading ecosystem, it might!

UAE Scintilla for tokenization appoints ex compliance officer of Midchains

UAE Scintilla for tokenization appoints ex compliance officer of Midchains

Scintilla, an institutional-grade tokenization solution provider, which recently acquired UAE regulated TOKO a crypto exchange has appointed the previous head of compliance at Midchains, Janey Schueller, as Chief Compliance Officer. Scintilla views this key leadership addition as the company continues to expand its innovative digital asset creation platform and strengthen its compliance framework.

Janey Schueller brings over 18 years of senior banking, wealth management, and regulatory compliance experience to her new role, with a specialization in fintech and RegTech. Her career includes leadership positions at global financial institutions such as UBS AG, where she managed wealth planning, compliance, and dispute resolution teams across Asia and the UAE. Most recently, Janey served as Head of Compliance at MidChains, where she implemented fintech-driven compliance frameworks and ensured regulatory alignment with authorities like the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

“Janey’s appointment is an exciting next step in Scintilla’s onward and upward journey to transform RWA tokenization,” commented Tim Popplewell, CEO of Scintilla. “Her extensive background in compliance and regulatory matters will be instrumental as we advance our mission of providing innovative, compliant digital asset solutions. Her leadership will help us navigate the evolving landscape of digital assets, ensuring we remain at the forefront of this dynamic industry.”

“Joining Scintilla feels like a natural step as they redefine compliance and innovation in finance,” shares Janey Schueller, Head of Compliance. “As regulatory frameworks evolve, the need for robust compliance is more critical than ever. I’m eager to contribute to Scintilla’s mission by ensuring our offerings meet the highest standards of compliance, paving the way for trusted and innovative tokenization solutions that empower our clients and support the future of finance.”

KPMG in India and The Hashgraph Group join forces to bring DLT solution to enterprises

KPMG in India and The Hashgraph Group join forces to bring DLT solution to enterprises

KPMG in India, a professional services firm, and The Hashgraph Group (THG), a Swiss-based international business, venture capital, and technology company operating exclusively within the Hedera ecosystem, have joined forces to accelerate the impact and enterprise adoption of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) across industry sectors, leveraging Hedera’s platform capabilities and its enterprise-grade DLT network.

Both entities are expected to collaborate to enable and advance blockchain adoption, thereby aiming to deliver transformative benefits to enterprise clients globally and across various sectors. The strategic alliance is expected to offer co-branded and joint go-to-market solutions, leveraging THG’s Hashgraph for Enterprise (H4E) product suite to enable businesses to benefit from secure enterprise-grade solutions built on the Hedera with service level agreements (SLAs).

Blockchain/DLT implementations are rapidly transitioning from nice-to-have to must-have decisions as we further advance into the future of a decentralized and interconnected Web3 economy. The growing adoption of blockchain/DLT is expected to continue to gain traction for enterprises, with this technology now empowering many industries through its distributed ledger system. The evolution of blockchain/DLT as a technology, to a complete digital infrastructure, showcases its unique abilities to boost security, reduce costs, and enable everyday transactions to be more efficient, affordable, and convenient, while saving energy and meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria and reporting requirements.

Speaking on the alliance, Chaitanya Gogineni, Partner, Digital Lighthouse, KPMG in India, said, “We are excited to join forces with The Hashgraph Group to build innovative Digital Ledger Technology (DLT) led tools and enable digital transformation for our clients. This alliance is built on a shared vision of empowering businesses to harness the power of DLT, unlocking new opportunities and creating lasting value.”

The alliance seeks to address critical challenges and enterprise needs in areas such as digital identity (DID), digital product passport (DPP), sustainability, supply chain management, asset tokenization, and more.

Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder & CEO of The Hashgraph Group, stated, “This strategic alliance with KPMG in India represents a pivotal moment in combining the strengths of a leading professional services firm with the technological power of Hedera as the world’s leading layer-1 protocol to enable organizations with Hedera-powered post-quantum enterprise solutions. We are excited to embark on this joint go-to-market journey with KPMG in India and look forward to empowering businesses to compete in the Web3 economy.”

Additionally, the structured collaboration in the productization and commercialization of blockchain/DLT for enterprises, might enable KPMG in India and THG to pool engineering resources, advisory expertise, investments, and strategic Web3 capabilities to serve the growing demand for enterprise ready blockchain-powered solutions, with the achieved synergy expected to strengthen both KPMG in India and THG’s global market presence, while increasing client reach and enhancing service delivery through a joint go to market strategy and unified project execution.

Krishna Tyagi, Head of Web3 at KPMG in India, added, “Today blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize various sectors by providing secure, transparent, and efficient solutions. Our alliance with The Hashgraph Group is expected to enable us to offer our clients immense value and drive innovation in the digital economy enabled by blockchain technology.”

Anindya Roychowdhury, Head of Global Partnerships at The Hashgraph Group, said: “Having spent a large part of my professional career with KPMG in India, I am delighted to have facilitated this important collaboration. India is emerging as the world’s #1 destination for Web3, and this strategic alliance will establish Hedera as the preferred DLT protocol for governments and enterprises; we have already made significant inroads through our local presence in India and expect to scale massively over the coming years.”

Recently the Hashgraph Group partnered with Taurus to bring tokenization solutions to the MENA region specifically to KSA and UAE.

IOTA selected for Blockchain Digital identity use case with UAE and World Economic Forum

IOTA selected for Blockchain Digital identity use case with UAE and World Economic Forum

IOTA Foundation has been selected for the UAE Ministry of Economy, ADDED, and World Economic Forum TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox.

IOTA Foundation was selected to be part of the well-known TradeTech Regulatory Sandbox jointly organized by the World Economic Forum, the UAE Ministry of Economy, and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED). The initiative focuses on several key use cases within trade finance involving Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and digital identity.

IOTA announced this on X, stating, ” We are excited to participate in a use case focusing on KYC and Digital Identity for Trade Finance.”


The use case will be presented during the plenary session at the TradeTech Forum in Abu Dhabi on April 8th 2025.

The WEF for Trade and Investment chose eight participants who will be working closely with UAE regulators to test and refine solutions that address challenges in the global trade finance space. The entities other than IOTA include Credore, Enigio, Jetstream, Empeiria blockchain offering self sovereign identity solutions based out of the UAE, Haifan as well.

Regulatory partners include ADGM, Central Bank of the UAE, DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) and UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs’s RegLab