Recently a press release came out discussing the launch of the Gulf Crypto bank which is espoused to be an integrated banking system for both fiat currencies and digital currencies.
As per the release users can withdraw, deposit, swap, do external and internal transfers immediately, securely and with minimal fees. Users will also be provided with a visa or mastercard that can be used at any ATM or online. Another noteworthy feature is the ability to withdraw crypto assets to any external wallet by creating a wallet inside your bank account. The Bank will also offer personal and corporate loans based on the Islamic laws.
They state that they are participating in the Fintech Crypto Summit in Bahrain as a diamond sponsor and are seeking investment for their coin, GulfCoin. The only summit being mentioned in Bahrain on February 15th is the Fintech and Crypto Summit. Their website doesn’t mention any speakers or sponsors and the event is supposedly only two weeks away!
Looking further into their whitepaper they claim that they are licensed and registered in England, Georgia, Estonia, UAE and Singapore! As they state “Indeed, it is an actual bank project with all the licenses and capital officially registered in England. The Gulf Crypto Bank is registered and licensed in all countries that allow the exchange and circulation of cryptocurrency, such as Georgia, Estonia, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.”
Red signs, first they are definitely not regulated in the UAE because the UAE has not regulated crypto banks as of yet! Secondly in their whitepaper and on their website there are no mentioning of who the team members are which is a big red flag! Finally they don’t have any social media channels! But most importantly where are their financials for this project!?
There is another GulfCoin project that also seems iffy. The CEO of that project is Hani Asfar. Yet even this project has the last dated press release as March 2022. In an interview he notes that GulfCoin is being used in 500 locations in the UAE! As stated in the article Asfar says, “Speaking specifically of Dubai, there will be more than 500 locations where token holders can spend Gulf Coin. Plans are underway to make Gulf Coin available in other countries very soon.”
Always do your research because scammers are everywhere! Just because they can pay for a press release or a story on a media outlet does not mean they are legit. Plus just because they say they are licensed in certain countries does not mean they are. Check the licensing authorities ask around.
