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Universal Digital and Canadian Aquanow receive several MVP licenses from Dubai’s virtual asset regulator

Universal Digital and Canadian Aquanow receive several MVP licenses from Dubai’s virtual asset regulator

Universal Digital AEDU and Canadian Aquanow have received MVP ( Minimum Viable Product) provisional license approvals for several virtual asset licenses from Dubai’s Virtual asset regulatory authority (VARA). Universal Digital (AEDU) has applied for advisory license, broker dealer services, virtual asset custodial license, crypto exchange license, crypto lending and borrowing license, as well as management and investment service license.

In addition Canadian headquartered, digital asset platform has also received MVP provisional approval for advisory license, broker dealer license, and management investment service license.

Aquanow is a privately funded, infrastructure and liquidity provider that enables institutional and enterprise use-cases for digital assets. The company currently has 200 institutional clients, serving customers in 30 plus countries with 70 asset pairings.

This is another representation of increased interest in the UAE as a center for virtual assets, blockchain and crypto. 

Circle appoints Vice President for Middle East and Africa while Blockchain IOTA eyes UAE

Circle appoints Vice President for Middle East and Africa while Blockchain IOTA eyes UAE

While Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse was telling CNBC that the confusing regulation in the U.S. is pushing more crypto companies to the leave the country, Circle appointed its Vice President for Middle East and Africa, Miriam Kiwan.

Kiwan on LinkedIn stated, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Vice President, MEA at Circle!”

Earlier this month, the Circle team was present in Dubai UAE at a dinner hosted by Miriam Kiwan, the partner of Raiven Capital, now she is the VP for Middle East.

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle Internet Financial, during an interview with Bloomberg, blamed the shrunken value of the company’s stablecoin, USD Coin, on regulatory challenges in the United States and concerns about its banking system.

Garlinghouse from Ripple, in his interview talked about the leadership qualities of Europe and UAE when it comes to the regulation of digital assets.

But this is not the only company that is eyeing the UAE, in a tweet , Blockchain IOTA Founder Dominik Schiener stated, “It was a pleasure to meet H.E. Abdulla Al Saleh and the team at the Ministry of Economy in UAE today. It’s impressive how they’re leading their digital transformation.”

He added, “We are looking forward to bring IOTA here and create value for the region and the world.”

In the comments it was noted, “Fingers crossed for an ongoing collaboration that propels IOTA to new heights!”

Bahrain welcomes digital asset banking services provider Whampoa

Bahrain welcomes digital asset banking services provider Whampoa

The Bahrain Economic Development Board announced that it has welcomed Singapore Based digital asset bank Whampoa Group to Bahrain. Whampoa will be setting up its new digital bank headquarters in Bahrain.

The digital bank, which offers integrated financial solutions to serve institutions, innovators, and sophisticated investors globally, including digital banking services and the trading, custody, and asset management of digital assets, will open its operations in Bahrain by the end of year.

In 2022, Whampoa Group had announced plans to raise $50 million for a crypto hedge fund and had announced plans to set up a venture capital fund to invest in digital assets.

“We are delighted that Whampoa Group intends to set up the headquarters of their new digital bank in Bahrain as they would benefit from Bahrain’s pro-innovation environment and forward-looking regulatory framework. The establishment of these types of institutions is vital to further strengthen the existing digital assets industry and this milestone opportunity directly aligns with Bahrain’s Economic Recovery Plan, which prioritizes digitization across the financial services sector,” Khalid Humaidan, EDB CEO, said.

“We were impressed by Bahrain’s solid reputation in the financial services sector, transparent regulatory framework, and ongoing pledge to collaborate and innovate. We are committed to providing secure and innovative digital financial solutions in line with global best practices and are confident that our digital bank will set a new benchmark for the industry. Whampoa is grateful for the support from the Bahrain EDB and the broader Team Bahrain ecosystem throughout the entire process.” Shawn Chan, Group Chief Executive Officer of Whampoa Group commented.

Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority to link data using Blockchain

Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority to link data using Blockchain

In a recent flurry of signing agreements between Dubai Civil Aviation Authority with Dubai Aviation City and Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZA), an agreement to link data of both DIEZA and Dubai Civil Aviation Authority was signed.

According to the press release, these agreements aim to foster enhanced cooperation and integrated link using ‘Web Service’ technology for issuing commercial activity permits in the aviation sector, thereby enabling immediate approvals from DCAA for commercial licensing transactions in the Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai Airport Freezone. It also strengthens institutional information and data management cooperation, facilitating systematic integration.

On this remarkable milestone, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said: “This MoU is a strategic milestone in reshaping Dubai’s aviation industry and consolidates the emirate’s position as a global leader in digital transformation in the aviation industry. Integrating cutting-edge technology and digital solutions into Dubai’s aviation operations is not just a business strategy but a fundamental dedication to customers, partners, and the city’s future. By creating an environment that encourages the synergy of technology and human ingenuity, Dubai strives to achieve unprecedented efficiency and customer satisfaction.”

As per the news, the partnership agreement between the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority entails the integrated link of data and information through a fully-integrated and activated blockchain technology connection enhancing the speed and accuracy of service provision. 

Oman Crowd Funding platform to develop secondary token market after receiving license

Oman Crowd Funding platform to develop secondary token market after receiving license

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 fintech services. By combining their respective strengths and expertise, Mamun and Fasset strive to drive innovation, accessibility, and convenience in the financial industry.

“We are thrilled to have been granted the full crowdfunding license by the Capital Market Authority and the pre-approval for the PSP license from the Central Bank of Oman,” said Mohammed Al Tamami, Co-Founder  and Chief Commercial Officer at Mamun. “These licenses are a testament to our commitment to delivering state-of-the-art fintech infrastructure and comprehensive solutions. We are excited to expand our offerings and partner with industry leaders like Fasset to shape the future of finance.”

The global Tokenization Market size to grow from USD 2.3 billion in 2021 to USD 5.6 billion by 2026, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.0% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets published in May 2023. 

Singapore based crypto asset custodian applies for license in ADGM

Singapore based crypto asset custodian applies for license in ADGM

According to a recent news piece in Khaleej Times, Liminal, a crypto custodial wallet platform has applied for a license at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in an effort to offer regulated service in the region.

Liminal which claims to have processed crypto transactions worth $5.6 billion on its platform, with over $550 million worth of assets under protection, believes that people will use digital assets either as part of investment or a part of underlying fundamental technology.

Mahin Gupta, Founder, Liminal stated to Khaleej Times, “Regulation will become uniform across the globe. UAE has taken a first mover advantage in the field of digital asset regulation, with much clarity. They have a clear idea about how they want to look at Metaverse, how they want to look at trading, how they want to look at custody and how they want to look at blockchain as a service and blockchain as a platform for other applications.”

Liminal in the past month has advertised for the position of Finance Officer based out of Abu Dhabi ADGM.  Prior to that Liminal partnered with Dubai based payment gateway platform Magik Labs. Through this partnership, Liminal would empower Magik Labs to create a series of transit payment wallets to receive payments from their users. These payments will then be converted to desired tokens or NFTs via connectivity to other decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregators, over the counter (OTC) desks or trading platforms. Liminal’s MPC hot wallets will enable transit wallet addresses and provide automation of transaction flows.

At the time, Manan Vora, senior vice president, strategy and operations at Liminal had noted, “Our partnership with Magik Labs is a part of our continued efforts to strengthen Liminal’s position in the Mena region as the first choice of businesses for digital wallet infrastructure services.”

According to Gupta there are about 400 digital asset businesses in the UAE, and this number will cross 1000 by the end of 2023.

Liminal is focused on Asia-Pacific and Mena regions, and is running on an accelerated growth trajectory by growing aggressively in client acquisition, especially in markets like South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Africa (Nigeria), Indonesia, India and Dubai.

UAE Trade Connect Blockchain Trade Finance platform keen to expand into KSA

UAE Trade Connect Blockchain Trade Finance platform keen to expand into KSA

UAE Trade Connect Blockchain enabled trade finance platform looks to offer its solution to Saudi banking sector. Zul Javaid, CEO of UAE Trade Connect expressed his interest in expanding the Blockchain enabled KYC Trade Connect platform to KSA.

This came as UAE Trade Connect participated at the Global Trade Review conference in Riyadh KSA in May of this year.

As per Javaid, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a robust banking market, and we are very keen to bring our unique blockchain and AI based engine into the country to help banks de risk their trade finance lending.”

Javaid met with several leading Saudi banks at the event. Also present at the event in KSA was First Abu Dhabi Bank and Emirates Bank who are members of Blockchain enable UAE Trade Connect platform.

In February 2023, UAE Trade Connect added its 11th bank to the platform, the United Arab Bank. Prior to that Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) became the 10th bank to join Blockchain trade finance platform.

UTC, the fintech blockchain platform of e& enterprise, is the UAE’s first commercialized solution to combat fraud in the trade finance space built on advanced technologies, namely blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI). UTC is a collaborative project of the banking industry and co-created with e& enterprise.

UAE Trade Connect is a cloud-native solution that detects suspicious transactions, prevents fraud and duplication, and supports a wide range of trade-related documents that is validated and inspected in real time.

At the time, Shirish Bhide, Chief Executive Officer at United Arab Bank, stated, “We wholeheartedly support UTC’s mission of driving digital transformation and reducing fraud risks. This strategic partnership aligns with UAB’s mission to accelerate growth through digitization and to build a secure and transparent trade finance ecosystem. UTC’s benefits will not only protect UAB’s customers and the wider banking system but will also boost global trade. It is a pivotal event in the digitization space, with the potential to make trade financing more accessible, affordable, and equitable.”

UAE based Enjinstarter is supporting the Next Sustainable and climate friendly Metaverse Experience

UAE based Enjinstarter is supporting the Next Sustainable and climate friendly Metaverse Experience

The engine that will ignite a sustainable future starts with Web3, its associated technologies, and UAE based Enjinstarter. Enjinstarter, launched in 2021 is a Launchpad, incubator, crowd funding, and advisory platform for Web3 metaverse, gaming, entertainment and impact and sustainable projects.

At the beginning of 2023, Enjinstarter appointed Vasseh Ahmed as the new Managing Director to lead the Web3 efforts in the MENA region. Vasseh spoke with LaraontheBlock to discuss Enjinstarter’s plans to help companies reach their Web3 ambitions while positioning Enjinstarter as the go to provider for impact and sustainability projects.

Ahmed, speaking with Lara on the Block, stated, “Before I joined Enjinstarter I was working in the UAE for four years on a digital bank project. I had been in the blockchain and crypto space for over 6 years, so when I met Prakash Somosundram, [Enjinstarter’s] CEO and Co-Founder, and we discussed the launch of an impact and sustainability track, I was all in.”

Enjinstarter in MENA

According to Ahmed, “We have supported 70 projects since inception, helping them raise a total of $10 million. Since the middle of 2022 we have focused on investing in founders who can demonstrate clear utility in their projects. This has worked really well so far, and we continue to onboard more projects each month.”

As for the MENA region, Ahmed believes that UAE has its allure not just because of the investments and capital being deployed in Web3, but also because of its very good regulatory environment and its strategy to build an innovative infrastructure. He explains, “The UAE has become a hotbed for Web3 projects. We are seeing an increasing number of start-ups and companies moving to the region. Enjinstarter is one of them, and we are the first Launchpad globally to apply for the appropriate license in Dubai. We have already received initial approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) and are now in the process of obtaining a full license to operate.”

He explains, “We appreciate VARA’s progressive approach to regulation. It has been instrumental in helping us at every step of the licensing process. We have a few more steps to complete in order to obtain the full license, then we can begin operations. Singapore has not shown the same commitment to virtual asset regulation, whichis one of the reasons we chose to expand to MENA and run Enjinstarter in a regulated manner.”

Enjinstarter and a Sustainable Future

The climate emergency is becoming a pressing issue. Temperatures are expected to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050 which will raise sea levels and lead to huge climate changes and extinctions of many animals, and plants.

Yet to date nothing has seemed to incentivize people to do something about it even with the creation of carbon credits. The challenge with carbon credits is that they are only available to corporations and governments. Individuals don’t have much access other than through carbon offset schemes.

For this reason, Enjinstarter is looking to add more projects that focus on impact and sustainability replicating the success of their existing launchpad while complementing it with UAE’s outlook towards building a sustainable future.

Ahmed states, “Web3 has a major role to play in addressing the climate crisis. Carbon credits, in particular, can benefit from Web3’s underlying technology to increase transparency and accessibility. We want to support projects that are looking for ways to shift incentives away from exploitation and toward preservation and regeneration.”

He adds, “Corporate demand for emission reduction strategies is clear. Microsoft, for example, has taken the lead in offsetting its carbon footprint by buying carbon credits. The UAE government has also signalled its desire to be the first carbon-neutral country in MENA. What we need are more initiatives looking to fulfill this demand. Our climate launchpad is designed to scale these initiatives and, ultimately, climate impact.”

Enjinstarter is already working with large scale projects that will be announced in due time, but also wants to focus on grassroots projects. Ahmed explains, “Major projects aren’t the only way to effectively combat climate change. If there is a project making demonstrable climate impact, we want to incubate, accelerate, and match them with interested investors.” 

Ahmed also believes AI (Artificial Intelligence) will be part of Web3 climate solutions. He explains, “As a scuba diver I have seen firsthand how ocean species are either extinct or very close to extinction. Putting these species in the metaverse and allowing users to interact with them can help us build awareness around the importance of preserving them. We can work directly with marine conservations to build the kind of metaverse experiences that maximize engagement with people. Today’s youth, for example, already spend a lot of time gaming. Why not give them the opportunity to play for a good cause?”

Web3 is changing Business models

Enjinstarter has been working with corporations to help them transition seamlessly from their Web2 past  to a Web3 future. Web3 is changing business models and inevitable outcome of digitization and the metaverse sits at the center of it all.

The company is a strong partner with Web3 giant Animoca Brands, the holding company of The Sandbox metaverse. Enjinstarter and Animoca not only have in common their belief in the metaverse but they also have common investors. True Global Ventures 4 Plus has invested both entities. Enjinstarter raised US$5 million in their Series-A round from True Global Ventures 4 Plus.

According to Ahmed, ”True Global Ventures is a very hands-on VC and we love having them as our only VC investor so far. They were instrumental in developing our UAE expansion strategy.”

Both Enjinstarter and Animoca Brands believe that the future of the metaverse hinges on interoperability. The two partnered together for OMA3™, a collaboration of Web3 metaverse platform creators whose goal is to ensure virtual land, digital assets, ideas, and services are highly interoperable between platforms and transparent to all communities. OMA3™ is open to all Web3 metaverse builders.

With this in mind Enjinstarter has developed its Web3 Innovation consulting practice that works with brands, large corporations, and Web2 companies to help them develop Web3 strategies.

Ahmed explains, “In the UAE and GCC there is a lot of excitement towards and experimentation with Web3.. Part of our mission is to help clients jump into Web3 and the metaverse. We’ve developed a playbook for success comprising 30 core skills and actvities. The most important is to take a community-first approach, meaning that you build your community first, then your product. ”

Utilizing a holistic multi-disciplinary approach and a portfolio of partners, Enjinstarter has been able to help replicate its successes with previous projects and build loyalty based metaverse experiences, NFTs, and more.

This is just the beginning; Ahmed believes that there is a lot happening in the region on a government and corporate level and that the future will see AI and Web3 come together as the masses adopt Web3 and metaverse experiences.

Reef Labs launches $10 million accelerator program for Web3 projects in MENA

Reef Labs launches $10 million accelerator program for Web3 projects in MENA

Reef Labs has announced the launch of a $10 million accelerator program for Web3 projects building on the Reef Chain in the Middle East region.

The program, managed by Reef Labs, aims to support, incubate, and invest in promising Middle East-based Web3 developers, teams, and projects building on the Reef Chain.

The Accelerator Program seeks to drive Reef’s vision for growth, making it the de-facto blockchain in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region. Ideas selected as part of this initiative will benefit from the financial support provided by Reef’s venture partners, along with mentorship, marketing, and business development assistance from Reef Labs. Additionally, these ecosystem projects can leverage Reef’s global community to promote their ideas and achievements to other Web3 developers and blockchain enthusiasts.

Denko Mancheski, CEO of Reef, said about this new initiative, “We’re launching the Reef Accelerator Program with the aim of welcoming the brightest minds in the Web3.0 industry. The Reef team has been working with Web3 developers in the Middle East region for some time now, and is extremely excited by the talent and innovation we witness. Through our recently conceptualized Reef Labs initiative, we will choose the best Middle Eastern projects, empower them to realize their full potential and integrate them into the current Reef ecosystem of NFT, DeFi, Metaverse, and GameFi projects. It will also enable us to drive the growth of the Web3 industry in the Middle East and emerge as this region’s de-facto blockchain”.

The Reef Accelerator Program is poised to solidify Reef Chain’s position as the most developer-friendly blockchain solution for web2 businesses transitioning into the web3 space in the MENA region, ultimately propelling the upcoming wave of innovation and Web3 adoption.

This program amount of $10 million will be part of the $20 million developer support fund that Reef had announced earlier.

UAE based Cypher Capital invests $60 million of its $100 million Blockchain Fund in 40 blockchain startups

UAE based Cypher Capital invests $60 million of its $100 million Blockchain Fund in 40 blockchain startups

In a recent LinkedIn post for Vineet Budki, Managing Partner and CEO for Cypher Capital he announced that in one year since the launch of Cypher Capital the $100 million fund has invested $60 million in 40 + blockchain startups.

According to Vineet the first fund had invested in over 100+ blockchain startups that included KILT Protocol, Casper Labs, Cross the ages and others. As for the $60 million, part of the $100 million fund, it was invested in blockchain startups that included Mysten Labs, zkLink, Karate Combat Revolving games, bitsCrunch Cymbal and many others.

As per Budki, Cypher Capital invests in 4-5 startups each month as they continue to support the Web3 ecosystem with capital, knowledge and the CyberHub in Dubai UAE.

This comes as Cypher Capital announced that it was part of the strategic funding round for zkLink, a pioneering multi-chain ZK-Rollup trading infrastructure. The startup raised $10 million  from a group of high-profile investors, including Coinbase Ventures, UAE Cypher Capital, Ascensive Assets, SIG DTI, BigBrain Holdings, Efficient Frontier, Csquared Ventures, and others.

This latest round brings the total funding to $18.5 million. The funds raised will be used to further the zkLink mission of providing crypto traders with a seamless multi-chain experience through our cutting-edge decentralized trading layer.

This technology is based on a multi-chain ZK-Rollup, a cryptographic technique that enables scalable, cost-effective, and secure transactions across multiple blockchains. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the way traders execute transactions.

Prior to this Cypher Capital also announced its partnership and $1 million seed investment with Saudi and Singapore based AI Avatar company BuzzAR to create disruptive AI+LBS Web3 location-based game projects, the BuzzAR LBS metaverse project DSpace.

The partnership will allow the companies to leverage proprietary generative AI technologies on its Metaport, a portal that turns human faces to avatars in real-time, to create a decentralized social graph. With leading retail holdings, hospitality partners, and tourism government collaborations in Singapore and Saudi Arabia, BuzzAR is poised to reshape the gaming landscape.

Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital Group: the lead investor on ‘DSpace’ said: “We are thrilled to support this ground-breaking joint initiative by BuzzAR and some of our gaming portfolios. As the lead investor in this project, we believe that ‘DSpace’ has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry and pave the way for new opportunities in the AI+LBS Web3 Metaverse. I am more confident than ever before that our commitment to creating an immersive and culturally diverse Metaverse will not only bolster tourism and economic growth in the Middle East but also foster global connectivity and collaboration. We stand at the forefront of this exciting new era, and I eagerly anticipate the transformative impact Dspace will have on our world.”