R3 Blockchain Bolsters its presence in GCC with relocation of its Head of partnerships to Abu Dhabi

R3 Blockchain Bolsters its presence in GCC with relocation of its Head of partnerships to Abu Dhabi

R3 Blockchain is establishing itself more in the GCC and MENA region, with Bryan D’Souza announcing his move to Abu Dhabi as Business Development and Partnerships Manager in the Middle East.

As D’Souza noted on Linkedin, “I’m delighted to finally announce my move to Abu Dhabi with R3, where I will lead Business Development and Partnerships in the Middle East. After extensive travel between London and the GCC, the prospect of making Abu Dhabi my home is thrilling as I embark on this exciting new chapter.

He adds that he is excited to collaborate with GCC’s thriving financial services ecosystem. According to D’Souza, the GCC stands out as a forward-thinking hub of progress due to its dynamic blend of tradition and innovation, as well as a remarkable ability to execute on transformation.

He will be working to flourish digital economies and align with national visions of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Jordan, helping these countries to realize their financial sector developments including banking and capital markets transformation.

R3 will be working with Central banks, FMIs, commercial banks, FinTech, providing practical groundbreaking solutions for digital assets tokenization and regulated digital currencies, including CBDCs.

Last month Bryan D’Souza discussed his fruitful visit to Kuwait.

R3 has been a strong proponent in the Middle East and GCC region working with governments and enterprise on several projects, most prominently the CBDC projects in Saudi Arabia and UAE.

In addition the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and R3 signed an MOU to develop and grow Qatar’s fintech industry using technologies such as DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) back in April 2023.

D’Souza stated after his visit to Kuwait, “I am thrilled to have experienced my first trip to Kuwait over the last couple of days as part of a mini GCC tour. I am grateful for the warm welcome from our great partners and potential clients. The hospitality of the Kuwaiti people left a lasting impression; warm, friendly, and eager to collaborate.”

He added, “Exciting opportunities ahead and looking forward to returning back to Kuwait soon!”

OKX now has a General Manager for MENA based out of Dubai UAE

OKX now has a General Manager for MENA based out of Dubai UAE

OKX crypto exchange, with more than 50 million users, seeking a license in the UAE, has announced that it has appointed a General Manager for MENA region based out of Dubai.

Rifad Mahasneh, in his role as General Manager will be responsible for leading OKX’s operations and regulatory approach, and growing the company’s user base and market share in the region.

OKX President Hong Fang said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Rifad as OKX’s leader in MENA. With his extensive background in digital assets, finance and growth, and years of local leadership in the region, Rifad is a key strong addition to the team. With MENA being one of the fastest growing markets globally for digital assets and Web3 adoption, this appointment is a testament to our commitment to drive sustainable growth in this region.”

OKX MENA General Manager Rifad Mahasneh said: “I’m excited to join OKX and lead its MENA business – it’s a privilege to be a part of such a forward-thinking and innovative company. I look forward to contributing to the development of OKX in the UAE and across the MENA region, and to playing a role in helping to onboard the next billion users to Web3.”

Rifad has extensive experience in digital assets, strategy, and public policy in the UAE and is a board member of the Dubai Digital Asset Association (D2A2). Prior to joining OKX, Rifad held the position of Vice President with Rain, leading business and licensing efforts in the UAE. His earlier roles included leading Uber’s ride hailing business in the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Levant regions.

Everything Blockchain appoints UAE leading Cryptographic researcher as Board advisor for MENA

Everything Blockchain appoints UAE leading Cryptographic researcher as Board advisor for MENA

USA Everything Blockchain Inc., (EBI), a technology company that is blending blockchain, DBMS, and Zero Trust to deliver new ways to store, manage and protect data, has appointed Dr. Najwa Araj as new board member for MENA region. This makes the total number of board members five.

Dr. Aaraj has 15 years of experience at global cybersecurity and consulting firms bringing critical industry knowledge and expertise to the company’s leadership team. A premier technical expert, Dr. Aaraj earned a Ph.D. with highest distinction in applied cryptography and embedded systems security from Princeton University.

“The addition of Dr. Aaraj to the board is another critical step forward for the direction of the company,” said Michael Hawkins, Chairman of the Board at EBI. “Her invaluable knowledge and industry experience will undoubtedly contribute to our continued growth, product development, and education of the industry on the importance of next-generation database and security solutions.”

In addition to her role at EBI, Dr. Aaraj is the Chief Researcher of the Cryptography Research Center and the Autonomous Robotics Center at the Technology Innovation Institute, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Currently, she leads the research and development of cryptographic and quantum communication technologies, as well as the advancement of autonomous robotics and self-navigating vehicles.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the EBI leadership team,” said Dr. Aaraj. “The company’s innovative approach to data storage and security is addressing major industry challenges, changing the way businesses operate. I look forward to contributing my insights to further propel EBI’s success and drive its strategic growth.”

EBI’s suite of solutions includes BuildDB, a next-generation database solution that delivers superior performance, reduced latency, zero trust, and unmatched resilience – backed by a private blockchain architecture. It provides enterprises with a new and disruptive way to store, manage and protect data even as customers deploy applications that produce and consume ever larger datasets. BuildDB is offered as a SaaS application managed in a continuous delivery model and is available for deployment from AWS Marketplace.

In April 2023 USA based Everything Blockchain Inc partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rushaid Technologies (ART) IT subsidiary of Al Rushaid Group. ART became a non-exclusive reseller of BuildDB, EBI’s next-generation database powered by a advanced private blockchain architecture that delivers superior performance, reduced latency, zero trust and unmatched resilience.

Chief Technology Officer of IBM a blockchain, AI expert joins Saudi Central Bank

Chief Technology Officer of IBM a blockchain, AI expert joins Saudi Central Bank

Anthony Butler, the Chief Technology Officer for IBM MENA region who was based out of KSA, and is a blockchain, AI, metaverse expert has joined Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) as a senior advisor.

He announced the new position on LinkedIn saying, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Senior Advisor at Saudi Central Bank – SAMA! As a senior advisor to SAMA I will be focused on  first of a kind applications of emerging technology, such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies, quantum, and advanced cryptography in support of payments innovations (such as CBDC, stable coins, and tokenization), transformation of Suptech/Regtech, green finance,  open finance, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cybersecurity.

Anthony Butler had spent 15 years as chief technology officer for IBM in the Middle East and Africa working in emerging technologies, with a specific focus on the application of artificial intelligence, blockchain and metaverse technologies.

Anthony is well versed speaker and writer on emerging technologies. On his Blog page he talked about the impact of emerging technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, on societies and economies. 

He also notes on his page, that he lives in and supports the development of one of the most exciting and future-oriented places in the world, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

In one of his articles he discusses the collapse of FTX currency exchange, and believes there is a need to evolve new models of decentralized finance that will mitigate risks. He adds that if a person does not own their keys they cannot own their digital tokens.

He notes, “Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is likely to hold the long term answer to much of this: decentralized exchanges will use blockchain technologies to remove the need for trust.  They will provide permissionless, transparent, exchange services where users will have self-sovereign custody of their digital assets without the need to transfer control to a centralized authority to manage on their behalf.”

Anthony Butler had also been involved in KSA Central Bank’s ABER CBDC project with the UAE Central Bank. At the time he noted in a tweet, “What is new and challenging is we are designing it so that it can be issued by two central banks simultaneously.  Many hard problems being solved and lots of lessons to be learned but exciting times ahead; and great example of the visionary leadership of both @SAMA_GOV and CBUAE.”

This is not the first major appointment of an expert in the digital asset, blockchain space by SAMA, prior to this they had appointed Mr. Mohsen AlZahrani, Virtual Assets (VA) and CBDC program Lead, who was recently discussing KSA’s wholesale CBDC project at R3 Corda Day in UAE.

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!”

Former CEO of Bahrain Fintech Bay joins Fasset digital asset exchange for MENA

Former CEO of Bahrain Fintech Bay joins Fasset digital asset exchange for MENA

Fasset digital asset exchange has appointed the former CEO of Bahrain Fintech Bay as General Manager for MENA region. Fasset digital asset exchange seeks to empower the next billion with new ways to own connect and share digital assets.

Khalid brings a track record of success as the former CEO and board member of Bahrain FinTech Bay, where he led the development and growth of Bahrain FinTech Bay into a leading fintech hub in the Middle East. Prior to his appointment, Khalid held various leadership positions in the financial services industry, focused on investment banking, market risk management and technology, where he was previously Vice President at J.P. Morgan and Barclays Capital in London.

Fasset announced a partnership with Mastercard, which has chosen the company for its Start Path program to promote the adoption of crypto and blockchain technology, the firm announced on Nov. 3.

“We are thrilled to welcome Khalid to the Fasset team and are confident that his experience and leadership will be invaluable as we continue to drive innovation and growth in the digital asset space” said Daniel Ahmed, COO, Fasset.

Khalid added, “I am thrilled to be joining Fasset at this pivotal time in the evolution of finance through digital assets. I look forward to driving our vision and building out the web3 ecosystem by creating opportunities for digital asset ownership, utilization, and ultimately empowering the region..”

Saudi Central Bank Moves forward with virtual assets and CBDC program

Saudi Central Bank Moves forward with virtual assets and CBDC program

The Saudi Central Bank, better known as SAMA, has appointed Mohsen AlZahrani, former Managing Director of Financial Services at Accenture KSA as Virtual Assets and CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) program Lead. AlZahrani recently announced this on his LinkedIn profile.

This is a significant announcement given that KSA Central Bank has been working on its CBDC project since it announced its Aber project with UAE back in 2019. At the time both The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) and the United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB) clarified in a joint statement that one of the objectives of launching the common digital currency project ” Aber” is for use in financial settlements between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and UAE through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies.

 It was known that IBM was one of the vendors working on the project.

In addition six commercial banks, three from UAE and three from KSA participated in the joint digital currency project “Aber”. The banks were AL Rajhi, Alinma ,Riyadh Bank, FAB , Emirates NBD , Dubai Islamic bank.

 In 2020 both Central Banks released their final report on Aber Pilot. As per the report Aber project identified further areas that need to be explored in the future if the approach of a single digital currency is to be implemented. The key amongst these was the need to understand impacts to the monetary policy of participating states and to address, in particular, the means by which interest is calculated and disbursed to the commercial banks in each jurisdiction and how this can be applied with a single digital currency.

The report also noted that in terms of future work, there were many directions that could evolve. Firstly, it could provide the basis for a backup to domestic and regional RTGS; providing a more distributed and potentially resilient alternative to the centralized systems that are implemented or being implemented today. Secondly, by offering DLT-based payments rails,  the possibility to expand to Delivery versus Payment (DvP) scenarios such as using the Aber network as a means of settlement for other forms of transaction, such as the sale of bonds or other dematerialized assets. Thirdly, there was the possibility of extending it geographically to include regional or other international central banks or linking heterogeneous networks together.

In 2021 Saudi’s Central Bank in a statement to Iqtissadiah news entity stated that were making efforts to support innovation by looking at various technologies including CBDCs mostly built on DLT and Blockchain platforms.

Then in 2022 Price Water house Coopers published their 2022 Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Index and stablecoin overview. In the PWC report when showcasing the progress of Central Banks in terms of wholesale CBDC front, both the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) were among the top 10 globally.

As conclusion the recent appointment showcases the commitment the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia has towards not only CBDC but virtual currencies as well. We will just have to wait and see!