The doubtful nature of Islamic Coin and the Haqq Blockchain network and Association

The doubtful nature of Islamic Coin and the Haqq Blockchain network and Association

For almost a year now, as a blockchain and crypto blogger I have been reading about the Haqq Blockchain network through their press releases, and this has raised doubts about the entity and its activities. 

First doubt came with  the announcement of the large investment they claim to have raised. First it was $200 million dollars raised in August 2022 in a private sale where none of the HNWI investors were mentioned. Then almost a year later in July 2023, Haqq Blockchain/Islamic Coin announced another $200 million investment, this time stating it was from ABO Digital, a subsidiary of multi-family office Alpha Blue Ocean Group.

Looking closer at this announcement of the $200 million from ABO Digital, the information states, “The latest partnership will entail introducing Islamic Coin to the ABO network of investors and helping the team structure innovative Shariah-compliant financial products that could be used in the digital asset space to raise alternative funding. The deal provides access to a maximum of $200 million as and when required and ensures Islamic Coin has a long and stable runway.”

So the investment is available as and when required and is part of a Shariah compliant financial products offering. In the announcement, ABO Digital CEO Amine Naedjai commented, “ABO Digital is thrilled to collaborate with Islamic Coin as an alternative finance provider. This ambitious project, supported by a stellar team, is revolutionizing the Shariah-compliant market by introducing digitization. We are honored to have been selected as a partner.”

So it is an investment or a partnership to launch a product?

But what is HAQQ Blockchain? It is an EVM-equivalent chain, based on Cosmos SDK. The creators state that its Islamic Coin is a Shariah-compliant, ethics-first Islamic Coin.  They also state that the Haqq Blockchain is supervised by the HAQQ Association a Swiss based (non-profit) association funded via donations.

As for their partnership announcements they also have a lot of grandeur words and PR but nothing really practical on the ground. In April 2023, they published a press release announcing  what they called a “Significant Partnership for the Global Islamic Market” with London based DDCAP Group. In a closer look it is not a partnership yet, or even an alliance. It is an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to explore the “potential opportunities of working together”. Till now August 2023 nothing further on this front has been announced.

Then on August 10th 2023, Islamic Coin Haqq Blockchain announced what they call four significant MOUs with what they call are leading private and government affiliated services in the UAE in immigration, medical wellness and travel industries.

Looking closer at these 4 entities the significance of the MOUs fade. The first entity is MB, Speciality Medical Center, with their website showcasing exactly three doctors. As for 24 Seven Government transactions Center for immigration services, the company doesn’t even have a website and its twitter page has 74 followers!

Still two to go, the IV Wellness Lounge Clinic, is a boutique beauty clinic, and finally Middle East Holiday no information could be found on it!

So in Haqq Blockchain latest press release on these four MOUs where none of the partners are even quoted, the press release states, “MBM Specialty Medical Center, 24 Seven Government Transactions Center, IV Wellness Lounge Clinic and Middle East Holiday, in total serving millions of customers all over the world every year, have joined the Islamic Coin – Haqq partnership network.”

First look at the wording, these 4 entities serve millions of customers all over the world!!! Second they have joined Islamic Coin! It is an MOU when did MOUs become partnerships?

As for the quote in the release, “I am incredibly pleased and honored to be working together with our four incredible new partners. Today, we have brought Islamic Coin to the industries that form the core of everyone’s consumption patterns – from travel to medical care – and we look forward to continuing on the path to adoption, in the Muslim world and beyond,” commented Islamic Coin founder Mohammed AlKaff Al Hashmi.

But let us not stop just there, on reading the white paper, there are no financials, no segmentation of tokens, and no roadmap information.

Finally on the Haqq Network website it showcases 15 partners in its ecosystem of those only five are live! Yet Haqq network states on its website that it has 520,060 mainnet accounts with 10,000 transactions in last 24 hours.

Haqq Blockchain has stated that it will launch its Islamic Coin (ISLM) on the 1st of September 2023 on centralized and decentralized exchanges.

So be ready….. or Not!

Gayo Aviation accepts crypto payments using UAE based HAYVN Pay

Gayo Aviation accepts crypto payments using UAE based HAYVN Pay

Swedish and UAE based Gayo aviation, a luxury travel company that offers aircraft management, consulting services, aircraft purchase and sales and flight deck services is now offering crypto payments utilizing UAE HAYVN Pay.

HAYVN Pay is a part of HAYVN, a digital asset-focused financial institution regulated in Australia (AUSTRAC), Lithuania (FNTT), Abu Dhabi (ADGM), the Cayman Islands (CIMA) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). HAYVN Pay aims to drive cryptocurrency payment adoption by providing accessible, trusted crypto payment solutions.

Christopher Flinos, Chief Executive Officer at HAYVN said: “The interest in paying in cryptocurrency extends across all major asset industries including gold, jewellery, watches, exotic cars, boats, real estate, and handbags. HAYVN Pay aims to bring cryptocurrency payment solutions to 75% of the world’s merchants by 2024. Cryptocurrency accounts for 20% of total luxury sales in 2023. I welcome Gayo Aviation to the HAYVN Pay ecosystem and look forward to providing its customers with a safe, seamless cryptocurrency payment option.”

Ravi Dueland, Business Development Director at Gayo Aviation said: “We are proud to enable our customers with another payment method through HAYVN Pay and have already performed our first flight using HAYVN Pay. In today’s evolving new economy it’s important to provide your customers with multiple options to enable payments. We have noticed an increase in the demand for payments using digital assets and are delighted to be able to offer this to our clients through this partnership. We look forward to continuing enhancing our customers’ experiences through innovation.”

Qatar Financial Centre Authority to launch digital assets lab soon with support of PwC

Qatar Financial Centre Authority to launch digital assets lab soon with support of PwC

In a recent LinkedIn post, Henk Jan Hoogendoorn , Chief Financial Sector Officer at Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority revealed that the digital assets framework that the authority has been working on will soon be launched along with the digital asset lab.

As noted, QFC is working with Price Waterhouse Cooper ( PWC) to finalize the digital assets framework and the launch of the digital assets lab.

As Hoogendoorn noted, “ We are working on digitalassets framework together with Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) supported by the expertise of PwC .We are making good progress on preparation of Digital Asset Lab to be launched soon.”

Prior to this Qatar Financial Authority had taken several inititiatves towards advancing DLT, Blockchain and digital assets within the financial sector.

In May speaking to LaraontheBlock, Hoogendoorn stated, “We are developing our digital assets framework to allow for public tokenization of assets, including securities, bonds, and real-estate.” He emphasized that they will not go into crypto, NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) or commodities at this time.

In addition Qatar Financial Centre Authority and Blockchain solution provider R3 signed an MOU to develop and grow Qatar’s fintech industry using technologies such as DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology), as well as an MOU with Blockchain entity Settlemint.

In August 2022 Qatar had released 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. The final version was released in March 2023.

Again it seems countries across the GCC and MENA region are embracing blockchain, digital assets, and to some degree virtual assets, the future is looking crypto bright.

EMURGO Middle East and Africa venture arm invests $250K in blockchain carbon market tech entity

EMURGO Middle East and Africa venture arm invests $250K in blockchain carbon market tech entity

Cardano blockchain suppored venture capitalist, EMURGO Africa and Middle East, has invested $250K in African blockchain carbon market tech company, ChangeBlock.

Changeblock, a carbon market technology company, aims to revolutionize the carbon trading landscape by leveraging the power of blockchain technology. With this investment, EMURGO Africa aims to foster sustainable development and environmental responsibility while driving transformative change within the carbon market.

“Our investment in ChangeBlock is in line with our commitment to foster the development of climate change reversal technologies and impactful solutions on Cardano’s third-generation and environmentally-sustainable blockchain.” Said Ahmed M. Amer, CEO of EMURGO Africa and Executive Director of EMURGO MEA.

“Together with ChangeBlock, we hope to bring the world’s regulators, business leaders, and global changemakers to foster and double down on their commitment to a global net zero strategy that is both economically viable and monetizable” Amer added.

“Our shared vision with EMURGO Africa is to turn sustainable action into a valuable, tradeable asset for Africa. By leveraging the power of blockchain, we’re creating a transparent and efficient market that incentivizes sustainable practices and attracts climate-focused investments.” said Billy Richards, CEO of Changeblock

According to the news, this investment aligns with EMURGO Africa’s overarching vision of advancing blockchain adoption and fostering economic growth and social progress in Africa and the Middle East.

This comes as the UAE based Venom Blockchain has signed an MOU ( Memorandum of Understanding) with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and environment to launch the first blockchain enabled national system for carbon credits.

Blockchain technology enabled 95% of UAE court cases to be conducted remotely

Blockchain technology enabled 95% of UAE court cases to be conducted remotely

The UAE Ministry of Justice announced in its 2023 digitization report that utilizing blockchain technologies and video communications, 95% of court cases were conducted remotely. In addition all marriage services were completed digitally. The ministry introduced a digital system that can issue powers of attorney in less than 10 minutes without any human involvement. 

As per the news, this achievement aligns with the UAE’s digital agenda, reflects the ministry’s commitment to its digital transformation journey, and aligns with the UAE’s 2025 Digital Government Strategy.

The ministry developed a comprehensive and innovative digital system, which allowed the remote completion of marriage services in the first quarter of this year, facilitating users’ dealings and reducing paperwork. The Ministry of Justice also announced that in the first quarter of the year, the Notary Public used video conferencing and blockchain technology to generate 99 percent of powers of attorney in a digital format. 

Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice, said that this achievement underscores the ministry’s keenness to provide a wide range of comprehensive e-services to save customers time and enhance their user experience, in line with the directives of the UAE’s leadership and the UAE Government’s objectives.

The ministry introduced a digital system that can issue powers of attorney in less than 10 minutes without any human involvement. The first phase of the system only covered lawyers’ powers of attorney, but it has now been extended to other types of powers of attorney, such as those for cars, stocks, real estate, disputes, licencing and cases.

Samsung launches its new devices on UAE’s e& universe metaverse

Samsung launches its new devices on UAE’s e& universe metaverse

Samsung Gulf Electronics has hosted its Galaxy Unpacke event in UAE’s e& metaverse. The event will allow users to pre order their favourite Galaxy devices in the virtual space and take advantage of the exciting pre-order offers on the new devices as well as exciting pre-order offers Samsung is rolling out on the new devices across UAE and the wider GCC. These include free storage capacity upgrades, free Samsung Care+ support service, trade-in benefits, Samsung Rewards as well as free mobile accessories.

At the Galaxy Unpacked event that took place in Korea for the first time, Samsung unveiled a slew of new devices that included the Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy Tab S9 Series and the Galaxy Watch6 Series. This was the first time Samsung took to the metaverse and partnered with a global technology group such as e& to host a unique activation.

Commenting on the occasion, Khaled Elkhouly, Chief Consumer Officer, etisalat by e&, said: “At e&, we are committed to fostering partnerships that drive innovation. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Samsung and host its global Unpacked event in the e& universe, showcasing the full potential of our revolutionary metaverse. Bringing together various zones of boundless possibilities, the launch of e& universe is set to reshape the way we interact, explore and create, offering all our users a truly immersive experience. With our shared commitment to redefining possibilities, we are excited to embark on this journey and shape the future of the metaverse.”

DooHee Lee, President, Samsung Gulf Electronics, said: “The unwavering support from our technology partners, such as e&, especially during flagship product launches is truly encouraging. At Samsung, we constantly strive to challenge boundaries, foster forward-looking thinking, and encourage open collaboration with industry leaders. Hosting our global Galaxy Unpacked event in the e& universe has truly been a milestone; we look forward to more of such exciting collaborations and bringing the best of technology to our users.”

Hosted virtually in Arcadia Planitia, a virtual place on Mars, e& universe is a strategic and ambitious tribute to the UAE’s national space strategy and the success of the Hope Probe mission, the first mission led by an Arab country. e& universe invites users into a vibrant and dynamic digital realm, offering a multitude of exciting areas to explore and enjoy including e& universe Virtual Home, e& universe Shop and e& universe Arena & Stadium.

UAE government to launch first Blockchain enabled national system for carbon credits

UAE government to launch first Blockchain enabled national system for carbon credits

UAE based Venom Blockchain has signed an MOU ( Memorandum of Understanding) with the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and environment to launch the first blockchain enabled national system for carbon credits.

The collaboration aims to reduce emissions and enhance sustainable agriculture, environmental health, and biodiversity in the UAE. This will be achieved by providing the highest levels of transparency, reliability, efficiency, and security in managing the issuance, transfer, calculation, and accurate tracking of carbon credits, as well as facilitating the digitisation process.

The MoU was signed by Mohammed Said Al Nuaimi, Acting Under-Secretary of MoCCAE, Taryam Matar Taryam, CEO of Industrial Innovation Group, and Peter Knez, Chair of the Foundation Council at Venom Foundation, at the Ministry’s office in Dubai.

Almheiri said, “As the UAE prepares to host COP28 in November, the country is striving to double its efforts and showcase its inspiring experience to the world in addressing climate change by reducing carbon emissions across different sectors. The UAE believes in its ability to make a difference in this field and has pledged, through the Third Update of its second Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to reduce its emissions by 40 percent compared to a business-as-usual scenario, an increase of 9 percent over its previous pledge.”

She added, “This requires working according to a scientific approach based on modern technology and the highest levels of transparency to monitor carbon credits to work according to realistic data, achieve tangible results on the ground, and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The collaboration with the Industrial Innovation Group and Venom Foundation to establish the national system for carbon credits using blockchain is an important step in this field and reflects our determination to enhance the UAE’s climate action for a more sustainable future for us and future generations.”

Taryam Matar Taryam, CEO of Industrial Innovation Group, said, “We are honoured to contribute to the establishment of the UAE’s first national carbon credits registration system. The Industrial Innovation Group, with more than 30 years of experience, is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and endeavours to reduce the environmental impact through decarbonisation, as global climate change is closely linked to the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.”

He added that the Group has a long history of creating large-scale national records and excels in developing sustainable pathways for different business sectors, conceptualising decarbonisation initiatives, establishing project documents for various carbon stock records, and effectively managing, monitoring, and reporting carbon use projects.

Peter Knez, Chair of the Foundation Council at Venom Foundation, stated, “Venom Foundation has provided an unparalleled solution, acting as a key infrastructure for a global ecosystem for Web3 applications, with superfast transaction speeds and unlimited scalability to meet governments’ needs.” Knez added that the Foundation is “the first company in the UAE to develop and licence its blockchain technology and shape the future of national decentralised systems and digitise operations in corporate and government enterprises”.

The MoU aims to achieve four strategic objectives related to reducing and cutting greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality, developing agribusiness, and promoting responsible investment in agriculture and sustainable food systems, enhancing the economic value of the Environmental Health Programme and conserving biodiversity to enhance the use of ecosystem services for sustainable development.

The main areas of cooperation between the three parties are in developing basic approaches and specific technological solutions for the project of a global platform for registering and issuing carbon credits in the UAE, within the regulatory frameworks of government decisions related to the project of the national system for issuing and registering carbon credits, and providing a blockchain-based solution for safe and effective management of the national system for issuing and registering carbon credits, and identifying and selecting projects related to reducing or removing carbon emissions.

The collaboration also aims to develop a legislative and regulatory framework by the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment to establish a national system for issuing and registering carbon credits. This includes creating of a licenced platform and leveraging blockchain technology to ensure the safe and efficient production of carbon credit registration system documents. The cooperation also ensures system integration to meet all requirements for establishing and developing business operations and the comprehensive process of issuing and registering carbon credits. Furthermore, it includes evaluating projects to reduce carbon emissions and remove carbon to ensure process transparency and environmental integration. This collaboration ultimately aims to contribute to achieving the UAE’s NDCs.

Highest salaries for Blockchain developers are in KSA, followed by Oman, Bahrain and Qatar

Highest salaries for Blockchain developers are in KSA, followed by Oman, Bahrain and Qatar


The Blockchain related job market in the GCC MENA region is growing, and salaries differ between varying GCC countries depending on need, and availability.

According to Salary Explorer 2023 reports, the average blockchain developer salary in the UAE per month is $3348 ( 12,300 AED), in Oman $3922 (1,510 OMR), in KSA $3945 (14,800 SAR), in Qatar $3597 (13,100 QAR), in Bahrain $3630  ( 1,370 BHD), while in Egypt and Morocco the average salary is $266 ( 8,230 EGP), and $1810 ( 17,500 MAD).

Interestingly others have noted that the average crypto salary per month in Dubai is $6582. As per their report salary estimates are based on anonymous submissions by cryptos, website users collected in Dubai from past and present job posts.

Concurringly a number of entities in the UAE are requesting job positions. One example is Crypto.com that is hiring a Web3 senior regulatory reporting analyst, in Dubai.

Recently as wel the Commercial Bank of Dubai was searching for Head of CBDC digital technology with yearly salary of $350,000.

Emagine Solutions FZE in Abu Dhabi was also requesting a job as it has been retained on a CBDC project within the UAE. The candidate could have experience as Head of Digital Banking, Head of Technology, EVP or SVP level.

As per the job description, the candidate will  work within a specialist business unit focused on developing the the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which will be responsible for analysing the opportunities and challenges presented by CBDC and developing the design of a CBDC. The candidate will be expected to offer input to and be the principal source of technological advice on other forms of digital assets (e.g., stablecoin). The monthly salary range is set anywhere between $30,000- $50,0000.

These job postings for blockchain, CBDC, and other crypto related opportunities are increasing in the region. Prior to this, there were requests for blockchain developers in UAE, for example at FuCoin, Swisstronic, Deriv, Storm2, as well as digital assets custody professional for Binance UAE.

A CoinJournal crypto job research published in November 2022 stated that the UAE has 137 crypto career listings or 14.51 jobs per one million people, which is the ninth highest globally, the research showed. There are more crypto-related jobs in the UAE than in other markets like Australia, Canada, France or Germany

The growth of the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in the region is pushing the growth of jobs in the field. We should see more of these postings in the future especially in KSA, Oman, and Qatar, as well as the UAE.

Bahrain licensed CoinMENA crypto exchange has 250,000 users and intends to grow its base

Bahrain licensed CoinMENA crypto exchange has 250,000 users and intends to grow its base

In a recent LinkedInpost, MENA crypto exchange CoinMENA fully regulated in Bahrain came out with a new marketing campaign announcing that as a licensed exchange it is serving more than 250,000 users across 8 countries including Bahrain, UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Iraq and Egypt.

Basing their marketing campaign on the concept of trading on a licensed exchange, CoinMENA is calling crypto traders to trade with them given they unlike other unlicensed exchanges are licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, with a category 3 license.

This campaign comes weeks after UAE’s BitOasis lost its active status for its MVP operational license after VARA, Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory authority, issued a market notificiation stating that it had taken enforcement actions against BitOasis and advised investors and consumers that BitOasis’s MVP operational license is under review for not meeting mandated conditions.

BitOasis had been the first crypto exchange to receive an MVP operational license but was then quick to lose it. Binance now holds this status with Dubai’s VARA authority. BitOasis had applied for a license in Bahrain as well. Additionally CoinMENA is also seeking a license with VARA. 

It would seem that the new marketing campaign by CoinMENA is partly rubbing it in that others have lost their licenses and are unlicensed anywhere, while they have one. Qudos to CoinMENA for making lemonade from the lemons of others!

Bankrupt FTX crypto exchange requests to remove FTX Dubai from Chapter 11 proceedings

Bankrupt FTX crypto exchange requests to remove FTX Dubai from Chapter 11 proceedings

FTX in the USA, sent a motion dismissing Chapter 11 case for its Dubai’s operation regulated under Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory authority (VARA) in UAE. 

FTX VARA holds $4 million as security for the license of the total of $.45 million held by FTX Dubai in several accounts. As per Cointelegraph article, on July 25, VARA confirmed to FTX Dubai management that such restricted cash would be released in the context of the liquidation of FTX Dubai, according to United Arab Emirates law:

As stated in the motion, FTX Dubai established on February 11, 2022 under the laws of the United Arab Emirates to operate a crypto exchange. FTX Dubai is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Debtor FTX Europe AG. Then on July 12, 2022, FTX Dubai was granted a virtual asset service provider license (the “License”) from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (“VARA”). Notwithstanding the grant of the License, FTX Dubai did not offer any crypto-related services to investors in the United Arab Emirates or operate a crypto exchange prior to the Petition Date. On November 10, 2022, VARA suspended the License and, on July 12, 2023, the License expired.”

FTX claims that given the absence of any historical business or resources to commence any business in the future, FTX Dubai has no reasonable likelihood of rehabilitating its operations. Additionally, FTX Dubai is balance sheet solvent. Therefore, the Debtors believe that a solvent voluntary liquidation procedure in accordance with the laws of the United Arab Emirates would allow a timely distribution of the positive cash balance after payment of all outstanding liabilities and liquidation of all assets. To the extent that any creditors filed claims against FTX Dubai in the Chapter 11 Cases, the dismissal of the Chapter 11 Case of FTX Dubai will not impact such claims and will not prejudice any creditor’s ability to pursue such claims directly against FTX Dubai in its local liquidation proceeding.

FTX adds, “  Accordingly, the Debtors believe it is in the best interests of the Debtors and their stakeholders to dismiss the Chapter 11 Case of FTX Dubai at this time.