Binance invests more than $2 million to educate and mentor women on crypto and Web3

Binance invests more than $2 million to educate and mentor women on crypto and Web3

As part of Women’s Day, Binance cryptocurrency exchange, is investing more than $2 million in more than 10 countries globally to educate them and mentor them on crypto and Web3. Currently women comprise only 37% of crypto owners.

Binance Charity donated $2 million to fund over 36,000 dedicated Web3 scholarships for women in 2022, and will continue funding courses, programs and scholarships in 2023 with a focus on women and underrepresented communities.

The 2022 scholarships to study blockchain and crypto-related courses at universities, schools and nonprofits were awarded to women in Germany, Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil, France, South Africa, Australia, and Ukraine. 

For Women’s Day, Binance Charity will also make an additional donation of $100,000 to Georgia’s Innovation & Technology Agency (GITA) to support web3 education and training for women. Binance Academy will provide educational content for GITA web3 courses.

With the objective of supporting women’s participation in the blockchain and Web3 industry in the Middle East, Binance held a Woman in Crypto event in Dubai. The event aimed to empower women with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive in the crypto space and featured a diverse line-up of female experts in key fields such as entrepreneurship, personal branding, and Web3 career advice. 

The event also covered crucial topics, including how to select the right company to work with and ways to create an empowering platform for women interested in entering the crypto industry.

Binance was co-founded in 2017 by Yi He, making the company one of the few female-founder crypto companies in the world. Less than 5% of crypto founders at top crypto companies are women2.  As of 2022, the number of female-founded cryptocurrency companies was approximately 292, out of more than 10,000 companies3.

In order to further address the gender gap, Binance has created its first formal internship and graduate programs, which offer more access to careers in crypto for diverse talent, including women. The company also offers guidance and career advice to women through female mentorship programs, talent workshops, educational courses and lectures to share industry experience and insights on how to break into a career in Web3.

“As one of the few female leaders in the industry, I believe that we have a mission, through Binance Charity and Binance Academy, to help more women understand web3 and blockchain technology — our education and internship programs aim to empower young women with knowledge and skills ready for industry disruption,” said Yi He, Binance co-founder and chief marketing officer. “We believe that anyone with ideas can change the world, regardless of gender. We hope these commitments will result in more women on the front line of innovation and bring change to our industry.”

Binance Pay clients in UAE versus Bahrain, you win some you lose some

Binance Pay clients in UAE versus Bahrain, you win some you lose some

While Binance Pay with its partner in Bahrain is breaking records with new clients accepting crypto payments using the platform, in other places, like the UAE it is losing clients. The issue could be regulatory more than technical.

So last week, Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort became the first hotel in the region to accept crypto payments via EazyPay & Binance Pay, while UAE’s Dubai Canadian University seems to have changed its stance and is no longer willing to accept crypto payments. This also seems to be the same situation with UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services which has also announced a partnership, but no longer mentions this prominently on their website or in their tweets. While it still mentions it in their news section.

So back to Bahrain, Eazy Financial Services “EazyPay”, Bahrain’s payment services provider signed a payment services agreement with Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort, a luxury 4-star beachside hotel in Manama to offer crypto asset payments to its clients via Binance Pay application which is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Novotel Bahrain Al Dana Resort’s General Manager, Mr. Amid Yazji commented: “Keeping up with the development of technologies, and our constant desire to provide our valued guests with the highest levels of service, we are thrilled to announce that we are the first hotel in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region to use the latest digital payment technologies in partnership with Eazy Financial Services “EazyPay”

This is neither the first nor the last client in Bahrain to sign up. Over the past few months EazyPay has signed up an array of clients utilizing its partnership with Binance Pay. Bahrain real estate developer Bin Faqeeh Real estate Investment Company announced that clients could apartments or houses using cryptocurrencies using EazyPay’s POS terminals.

Even stc Bahrain has become the first telecom operator in Bahrain to accept cryptocurrencies through its partnership with Eazy Financial Services, a leading Bahraini Payment Services provider specializing in POS and online payment gateway. EazyPay uses BinancePay and wallet to offer this service to more than 5000 POS terminals in Bahrain.

While in the UAE, in January 2023, UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services announced it had partnered with Binance Pay, to accept crypto payments from the UAE start-up community, small and medium businesses (SMBs), Investors and Entrepreneurs who are planning to set up companies in the region. At the time, the service was prominently mentioned on the first page of their website and in their tweets. Yet now no tweet is visible on the matter and the only reference to the partnership is in their news section of their website.

Furthermore, another UAE client who had announced that they would be accepting cryptocurrencies with Binance Pay has since then retracted their statement. UAE’s Canadian University in Dubai had announced that it was accepting crypto payments through Binance Pay. In a twitter post the Canadian University Dubai announced that it had collaborated with Binance Pay to offer crypto as a payment method. According to the post students of Canadian University Dubai can use Binance Pay to pay their fees.

But then a few days later, in another tweet the Canadian University of Dubai stated, “Dear CUD Community, for technical reasons, CUD will not be accepting cryptocurrency as a method of payment, until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience.”

It seems weird to have technical issues after the fact, as most entities try and test the service and ensure there are no technical issues before making announcements.

Could there be another reason for the sudden retraction? Could there have been regulatory restraints perhaps? One person commented on the Dubai Canadian University tweet saying, “Lies, you backed down because of pressure from gov. Paying in USDC or crypto is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to send value across the world with perfect and complete settlement.” While other tweet replies bashed Binance.

Whatever the reason it would seem that Binance while winning many clients to its Binance Pay platform, has also lost some especially in the UAE!

LaraotheBlock  reached out to Binance spokesperson and is awaiting their comments. If comments are made this article will be updated. 

LaraontheBlock also tried calling Emirates Investment Zone services but to no avail.

Number one ranking University in Dubai UAE is accepting crypto payments with Binance Pay

Number one ranking University in Dubai UAE is accepting crypto payments with Binance Pay

UAE’s Canadian University in Dubai is accepting crypto payments through Binance. In a twitter post the Canadian University Dubai announced that it had collaborated with Binance Pay to offer crypto as a payment method.

According to the post Binance Pay is a contactless secure crypto payment technology.

Students of Canadian University Dubai can use Binance Pay to pay their fees. 

According to the QS World University Rankings 2022, Canadian University Dubai is ranked first in Dubai. There are more than 70 supported cryptocurrencies on Binance Pay, including Cardano (ADA), Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and others.

In February 2023 as well, Bahrain real estate developer Bin Faqeeh Real estate Investment Company announced that clients can buy apartments or houses using cryptocurrencies. Bin Faqeeh will be offering crypto payment services with Bahrain financial service provider EazyPay POS terminals, which is utilizing Binance Pay.

In late January 2023, UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services partnered with Binance Pay, to accept crypto payments from the UAE startup community, small and medium businesses (SMBs), Investors and Entrepreneurs who are planning to set up companies in the region.

In October 2022 in Chainalysis’s blog report, MENA based crypto users received $566 billion worth of cryptocurrency in one year from July 2021 to June 2022. As per the news, this is a 48 percent increase from 2020-2021.

UAE Music Festival to incorporate NFT tickets by BNB Chain and Fellaz

UAE Music Festival to incorporate NFT tickets by BNB Chain and Fellaz

The Ultra-Abu Dhabi, the premier EDM music festival taking place on March 4th and 5th 2023 will be powered by NFT (Non fungible token) tickets developed by BNB Chain, smart contract blockchain and  Fellaz, a Web3 entertainment ecosystem.

The cutting edge ticketing solution powered by BNB Chain will verify the authenticity of tickets, ensuring legitimacy. The collaboration will allow for a more seamless and secure ticketing experience for Ultra Abu Dhabi fans using NFT ticketing while providing a new blueprint for Web3 fan engagement specializing in the music industry.

BNB Chain was originally initiated by Binance but has since grown to become a community-driven, permissionless, and decentralized blockchain ecosystem. Binance is now  one of the many contributors operating within the BNB Chain ecosystem rather than some kind of dominant force wielding unilateral power over it. 

Alvin Kan, Director of Growth and Ops at BNB Chain said, “The new NFT ticketing solution will allow the use of NFTs to provide a secure and tamper-proof way to verify the authenticity of tickets and offer a convenient and seamless experience for the fans. We believe that this collaboration represents a major step forward in the use of mainstream blockchain technology in the entertainment industry, and we are confident that it will set a new standard for Web3 fan engagement and entertainment applications in both IRL and Metaverse environments.”

Bobby Bhatia, CEO of Fellaz, said, “We are excited to partner with BNB Chain to bring our NFT ticketing to this global EDM music festival. Fellaz NFT Tickets powered by BNB Chain will provide a more secure and engaging ticketing experience for fans. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this technology in the entertainment industry with global brands like Ultra.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Fellaz on this groundbreaking initiative,” said Dudley Chou, Managing Partner of UC Global, the organizer behind many Ultra events in Asia, including Ultra Abu Dhabi. “The use of NFTs for event ticketing is a growing trend in the entertainment industry, and our partnership with Fellaz and BNB Chain is a major step forward in bringing this technology to the mainstream. With its seamless integration and unmatched security, Fellaz’s NFT ticketing solution will provide a new level of convenience and engagement for fans and event organizers alike.”

Integrating NFTs into the ticketing process offers several advantages over traditional ticketing systems. NFTs offer a reliable and secure means of verifying ticket authenticity, guaranteeing entry access exclusively to those with legitimate tickets. This helps to combat the issue of ticket fraud, which has long been a problem in the music industry.

Also, it allows for greater flexibility and convenience in the ticket-purchasing process. Ticket holders can easily transfer their tickets to friends or resell them on the secondary market without paying a fee to a reseller. This allows for a more seamless and hassle-free experience for music fans. Furthermore, the use of NFTs in the ticketing process enables the implementation of innovative features such as personalized and interactive festival experiences.

The Crypto ecosystem grows in Bahrain after entrance of Binance

The Crypto ecosystem grows in Bahrain after entrance of Binance

In January 2023 Binance celebrated its official entrance into Bahrain. Bahrain’s crypto ecosystem has flourished with the entrance of Binance. Bahrain has witnessed a growth on all fronts, crypto exchange users, crypto payments, crypto jobs and competitive crypto offerings. Binance received its official license in October 2022.

Growth of crypto exchange users

The official license and launch of Binance in Bahrain has added to Binance’s crypto exchange users.

Binance announced that it witnessed a 34% growth in institutional business clients in MENA in Q4 2022, the highest growth for a region where Binance operates, Nadeem Ladki, Executive Director Head of BD & Partnerships, Europe & MENA at Binance told LaraontheBlock, “While I cannot go into the specific growth in Bahrain, I can confirm that we have seen a growth in users since we officially launched in October 2022.”

Even Bahrain based CoinMENA; crypto broker also saw an increase in its user base in 2022 including the period since Binance made its foray into the country. Talal Tabaa CEO and Founder of CoinMENA explained to LaraontheBlock, “Year on Year from December 2021 until December 2022, the verified users of CoinMENA from Bahrain grew by 143 percent. In specific since the entrance of Binance in October 2022, CoinMENA witnessed 5.6 percent growth up until January 2023.”

Growth Crypto vis vie Banking services

In addition to the increase in the number of newly on boarded crypto exchange clients, the country has seen more robust competitive marketing campaigns, with lower fees aimed at attracting a bigger user base as well as enhanced banking crypto relationships.

Binance holds a Category 4 license as a crypto asset service provider (CASP) and was the first exchange in the country to be granted a category four license.  This meant that users could access Binance’s full range of crypto asset exchange services, including direct deposits and withdrawals in local currencies.

Yet this did not faze CoinMENA which despite being a crypto broker still espouses good relationships with liquidity partners and banks. Talal Tabbaa, CEO of CoinMENA told LaraontheBlock, “Compared to other regions, the MENA market is one of the smallest. CoinMENA, Rain & BitOasis are technically all brokerage firms. We all have to work with global liquidity partners to place trades on behalf of our users. CoinMENA can list tokens at its own discretion following the Board of Directors’ approval, but they must comply with CBB guidelines.”

After Binance entered Bahrain and in early 2023, CoinMENA announced that users could now easily deposit and withdraw crypto through bank transfers or cards in just 24 hours. CoinMENA CEO explains, “We maintain good banking relationships which is crucial to ensure the on-ramp and off-ramp services are as frictionless as possible for our users.”

RAIN crypto broker which similar to CoinMENA has a category three license in Bahrain has on some occasions compared its offering with Binance. In a tweet by one of its founders AJ Nelson in late October in reply to a comment from a client stated, “Yes we are well aware of the problems with bank transfers. We are working directly with regulators to solve. In good time we will have a solution regarding fees, have you used Rain Pro? It has 0 maker fees and tight spreads. Lower fees and pricing than Binance.”

More Competitive Marketing Campaigns lower fees

In terms of marketing campaigns to introduce better services at lower cost, Binance for its launch campaign offered 25% discount on all trading fees for Bahrain users through a link ‘ BHLive’. 

In addition Binance offered the Binance Bahrain Card allowing Bahrain clients to spend cryptocurrencies in over 60 million online and physical stores. 

Furthermore in December as part of its Christmas offering, Binance offered its Arabic speaking clients’ rewards reaching $1.5 million in addition to promotions. As it noted on its twitter page Binance offers 350+ crypto assets with fees of less than 0.10 percent per transaction. 

CoinMENA quickly countered these marketing campaigns with those of its own. For example in January 2023, CoinMENA offered discounted card deposit fees for 48 hours again after doing so in late 2022.

 As per the advert, users would pay only 2% fee on card deposits instead of 3.5%. For Bahrain’s National Day celebrations, CoinMENA offered zero trading fees for a limited time of 48 hours. The crypto exchange had also promoted prior to that a 23% off on trading fees for a specified time period.

 CoinMENA offers around 30 crypto assets for trading with fees of 0.75%.

 Tabaa confirms that the entrance of Binance helped to grow the crypto ecosystem in Bahrain. He stated, “Binance spends a lot on crypto marketing and this actually benefits the entire ecosystem of players.”

 Growth of Crypto Payments

Crypto as a method of payment has also seen significant growth since the entrance of Binance in Bahrain. Binance partnered with EazyPay, a financial payment service provider which has a network of thousands of merchants and over 6000 terminals, to offer crypto as a method of payment while settling transactions with merchants in fiat currency.

According to Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi, Managing Director and CEO of EazyPay, “As a regulated entity we can only work with regulated entities such as Binance. Since our partnership merchants have been more confident to get into the crypto payment scene and in terms of transactions, while people are still testing the service on average we transact $5000 worth of crypto transaction per day over 6000 terminals in Bahrain. This is really good.”

It hasn’t stopped there, In November 2022 just after Binance entered Bahrain, CoinMENA partnered with Carlton Real Estate, a Bahrain-based real estate agency that allows investors in the Kingdom to purchase real estate property using crypto assets. Under the partnership, the real estate broker would accept stablecoins like USDT and USDC.

 This only exemplifies the increase in crypto as a method of payment in the country.

Growth in crypto Job market

Binance has viewed Bahrain as a key business hub which will provide areas for growth and employment within the wider industry. Currently Binance has employed 200 people in Bahrain and is continuing to hire. It has job posts for Customer Support Specialist, Senior Treasury Manager and others in Bahrain.

Even RAIN which decreased its employee base by 50% still has around 200 employees while CoinMENA has around16 employees and is also currently hiring with job openings for software engineer in January 2023 as well others.

Conclusion

Changpeng Zhao CZ in a recent tweet  stated, “Bahrain is a hidden gem, super safe, very clean, well developed, good food, superb service, nice people and crypto friendly!”

While CoinMENA affirms that it has known that international players would be entering the region given the poor financial services, high fees and large unbanked population coupled with young demographic population and high smartphone penetration. To him this only shows the market is maturing and accelerating growth.

Binance in 2022, processed a whopping $65 billion in trading volume on average every day, at a speed of approximately 0.7 million transactions per second. The entrance of Binance into markets such as Bahrain has for sure added to the growth of the crypto market and ecosystem.

Bahrain EazyPay and Binance follow CoinMENA’s lead offering crypto payments in real estate

Bahrain EazyPay and Binance follow CoinMENA’s lead offering crypto payments in real estate

Bahrain real estate developer Bin Faqeeh Real estate Investment Company announced that clients can buy apartments or houses using cryptocurrencies. Bin Faqeeh will be offering crypto payment services with Bahrain financial service provider EazyPay POS terminals.

Binance Co-Founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao tweeted about Bin Faqeeh Real Estate Company accepting Crypto Payments via Binance Pay through Eazy Financial Services. EazyPay and Binance had signed a partnership in Q4 2022 to offer crypto payment services to EazyPay’s 5000 plus POS terminals.

Prior to this Bahrain CoinMENA crypto broker partnered with Carlton Real Estate, a Bahrain-based real estate agency, allowing clients to buy real estate property using crypto assets. Under the partnership, Carlton real estate would accept stablecoins like USDT and USDC.

The UAE as well has been offering clients the ability to pay for real estate in cryptocurrencies. In May 2022 UAE Properties developer Nakheel and Abu Dhabi based crypto exchange Hayvn partnered to offer crypto payment options for Nakheel clients. Nakheel clients are able to pay for their rent, service fee, and real estate purchases in cryptocurrency.

Other real estate developers in UAE also are offering crypto payment services, such as DAMAC, SAMENA developers and more. In March UAE based Real estate and industry experts estimated that crypto payments for Dubai real estate increased by 300 percent in 2022. Majority of buyers are using stablecoins such as Tether, USDT as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Even UAE Property Consultancy firm, Your place partnered with Utrust, a cryptocurrency payment solution designed to modernize the finance and payments industry offers clients the ability to pay for properties in Dubai UAE using cryptocurrencies. Recently Utrust is now enabling crypto payments for luxury hotels in the UAE. BM Hotels & Resorts luxury hotel chain is accepting digital currencies using Utrust.

UAE Emirates Zone Investment services accepts crypto payments using Binance Pay

UAE Emirates Zone Investment services accepts crypto payments using Binance Pay

UAE Emirates Zone Investment Services has partnered with Binance Pay, to accept crypto payments from the UAE startup community, small and medium businesses (SMBs), Investors and Entrepreneurs who are planning to set up companies in the region.

Emirates Zone provides business setup and business formation to investors inside and outside the country. UAE is one of the biggest crypto markets in the world. Based in Abu Dhabi, Emirates Zone Group aims to facilitate the adoption of digital currencies in the region.

Speaking on the partnership, Sanad Al-Meqbali, CEO of Emirates Zone Company, stated, “Emirates Zone Company offers a diverse and comprehensive package of solutions and facilities necessary to empower foreign investors and small and medium-sized companies and provide the opportunity to launch these projects with confidence, ease and ease. Accepting cryptocurrency payments will create more opportunities for global businesses in a bid to tap into UAE’s thriving startup community.”

Nadeem Ladki, Executive Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Binance, aded, ” Emirates Zone’s  decision in accepting cryptocurrency payments with Binance Pay demonstrates Emirates Zone’s forward looking view and approach of the future of the industry. The benefits to use Binance Pay will be a huge draw to the local and global startup business community and offers a great deal of opportunities and businesses looking to establish themselves in the UAE.”

UAE has not granted a single operational virtual asset license VARA and UAE Minister announce

UAE has not granted a single operational virtual asset license VARA and UAE Minister announce

As HE Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications participated in the WEF session ‘Finding the right balance for crypto’  announcing that the UAE has not licensed a single crypto exchange, concurrently the Dubai based Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA)  affirmed this on its website in its latest announcement.

Al Olama told audiences at WEF, that the regulations in UAE are not light. There are extensive regulations at VARA. He affirmed, “ UAE has not issued a single licensed crypto exchange in UAE neither Binance nor FTX.” He explained that there is a four step process  and to date, “no one was able to onboard any customers even last week.”

Concurrently VARA stated on its website, “VARA has not granted any operating permits to date this is a four stage licensing process” VARA’s website explained, that the VARA regime is founded on the principles on enforcing responsible market participation backed by a future-proofed and responsive regulatory framework that remains technology agnostic; that collectively deliver socio-economic stability; robust consumer protection; and jurisdictional resilience.”

As such there are four stages to regulation at VARA, the first is Provisional permit; graduating to a 2-step [(2) Preparatory + (3) Operating] Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license; and culminating at the (4) Full Market Product (FMP) license.

The fourth stage takes into effect after regulations have been tested within the regime. As such according to VARA every Virtual Asset Service Provider [VASP] must go through all 4 stages in this current environment, wherein VARA expects to evaluate, observe, and only then authorize suitably qualified entities to undertake any market servicing activities under its licensing regime.

VARA then clarifies that at this stage the only licenses that have been issued are Stage Gate (1) Provisional or (2) MVP-Preparatory to enable VASPs to fulfill all pre-conditions, and undertake readiness steps establish offices, onboard employees with work visas, secure domestic bank account etc. prior to being in a position to undertake any market operations.

So VARA affirmed that no VARA licensee has, to date, been awarded an MVP-Operating permit.

Each VASP that is awarded an MVP license must comply with the [MVP License Conditions Document] issued by VARA, and strictly adhere to the licensing conditions outlined in the appended letter. One of the MVP conditions is that VA activities during this phase may only be provided to qualified and/or institutional investor segments.

Mass retail consumers are strictly prohibited until the Stage Gate (4) FMP license approval has been secured. [Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023] will stipulate relevant licensing conditions and requirements.

VARA adds that when it publishes its full market regulation, it will enable borderless economic opportunity across the global VA industry, protecting investors and market participants, backed by active enforcement of all regulatory requirements beyond security and cross-border compliance including those pertaining to custody and segregation of client money; prudential requirements (viz. insurance and liquidity cover); FATF compliance, market manipulation and/or abuse prevention.

In terms of Virtual Assets Exchanges, VARA has awarded Binance (MVP Preparatory License Issued) while Bybit, Crypto.com, Equiti, GCEX, Huobi, and OKX have provisionary approval and started the process.

In terms of Virtual Assets Payment Services, Zamp has applied and have provisional approval. 

In terms of Virtual Assets Broker – Dealer services those who have applied and been granted provisional approval include BitOasis, CoinMENA, MidChains and Scallop

Virtual Assets Issuance Services include Calvin Cheng Web3.0 Holdings, Hike, Monstera, Prypto, Woonkly Labs, and Xfinite

While under Virtual Asset Custodians only Hex Trust (MVP Preparatory License Issued) and Komainu (MVP Preparatory License Issued)

Virtual Assets Management/ Investment Services: Amber Group, BRE Holdings, Brevan Howard, Fintonia Group, NineBlocks, NOIA Capital, TPS Capital and Q9 Capital have all been granted provisional approvals, first stage. 

Al Olama also noted at the WEF session that the job of a regulator is to try and be proactive and to protect people as much as possible whenever people adopt a technology. He states, “In UAE we have a young population so we need to ensure that we regulate fast because youth are early adopters. He added, “The UAE wants to protect talent since we aim to be the country with the highest per capital talent on earth.”

According to him there are other sides of crypto such as Web3 and UAE wants to attract Web3 and Blockchain talent. Blockchain is a technology of the future given that traceability cannot be removed. This according to H.E. Al Olama is a positive thing for the world as it is easier to trace someone who transacts through Bitcoin than through hard cash.”

He ascertained that regulators across the board need to work together. First bad actors should not be able to move from one place to another, and the same incidents should not be repeated tomorrow.

In terms of DeFi Al Olama believes it is is evolving and is least regulated. He states, “ We want to jump into each vertical on its own, the only issue we have is that while the UAE government can move fast  if we work with other governments as teams and we all scrutinize  every single vertical it is better as we cannot wait for next catastrophe.”

Saudi Telecom in Bahrain first telecom operator in GCC to accept crypto payments

Saudi Telecom in Bahrain first telecom operator in GCC to accept crypto payments

stc Bahrain has become the first telecom operator in Bahrain to accept cryptocurrencies through its partnership with Eazy Financial Services, a leading Bahraini Payment Services provider specializing in POS and online payment gateway. EazyPay uses BinancePay and wallet to offer this service to more than 5000 POS terminals in Bahrain. 

The collaboration with Eazy Financial Services is a strategic step from stc Bahrain towards expanding the payment options with the future of currency to address the increasing demand for flexible and easy-to-use crypto payments. 

stc Bahrain CEO Nezar Banabeela, stated, “Rapid digitization across the globe is transforming all aspects of our lives, and payments are the most crucial element. From online shopping and streaming videos to money transfers, almost every digital activity relies on a payment system. We are incredibly proud to be the first telecom operator in Bahrain to accept cryptocurrency payments, a demonstration of our strong focus on advancing Bahrain’s fintech sector as world-class digital enablers. We continue to leverage the potential of the digital economy, which is limitless, make accepting crypto a seamless process and increase adoption as crypto is the future of payments.”

Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi, Founder & CEO of Eazy Financial Services, added,”  We are very proud today to become the partners of STC Bahrain, The world-class digital enabler. This Partnership enables stc Bahrain to be the first telecom operator in the Kingdom to accept cryptocurrency payments in a regulated, secure and extremely fast manner. The benefits of bringing in EazyPay to STC Bahrain will ensure simple and effective transaction journeys for customers, with a partner which is able to ensure first-class service.” 

While, Tameem Al Moosawi, General Manager at Binance Bahrain, said:  “stc is known to be at the forefront of technology and innovation and, with this partnership, has set the benchmark for how telecom operators can enable the transition to the Web3 economy by accepting crypto payments. We are excited to be collaborating in this space to streamline services for customers and is once again a testament to Bahrain’s progressive regulatory framework and banking structure” 

tAt the same time Bahrain Kuwait Insurance Co (GIG Bahrain) has signed a payment services agreement with Eazy Financial Services ‘EazyPay’, Bahrain’s leading and most innovative payment services provider to allow for crypto payments  via ‘Binance App’, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, making GIG Bahrain the first insurance company in the Mena region to accept premium payments as crypto assets payments in  regulated, secure and extremely fast manner.

Which homegrown MENA crypto exchanges will do proof of reserve and who was exposed to FTX

Which homegrown MENA crypto exchanges will do proof of reserve and who was exposed to FTX

It all started with the FTX downfall and then Binance’s Co-Founder and CEO call for crypto exchanges to carry out proof of reserves. Since then crypto exchanges such as Binance and crypto.com have provided wallets addresses tied to company wallets while Nansen blockchain analytics firm is creating a display of crypto exchange proof of reserves dashboard that currently includes Binance, crypto.com, OkX, Kucoin, Deribit, Bitfinex, Github, and others.

But what are locally homegrown crypto exchanges in MENA doing. Will they carry out proof of reserves, do they see it as the solution to bring trust back to crypto exchanges, and who has exposure to FTX?  

MENA Crypto Exchanges and Proof of Reserves

Bahrain based CoinMENA Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sama’an when asked by LaraontheBlock about if they will be doing proof of reserves stated, “This FTX news is a major setback for our industry and highlights the importance of regulation. This is why CoinMENA was established under the Central Bank of Bahrain, with a robust regulatory framework and compliance requirements. We go through regular audits and have to submit periodic reports to the regulators. More importantly, we keep our user funds in segregated accounts and we don’t offer leverage or margin which severely increases the risk profile of an exchange. We see crypto as a long-term investment and will continue to manage our risk prudently to build a sustainable and profitable business.”

Tabbaa adds, “CoinMENA is also reaching out to Nansen who is heading this effort globally to see the best way for it to be done.”

UAE regulated BitOasis CEO Ola Doudin states, “We believe that locally regulated platforms that follow industry best practices with proper oversight and supervision by their local regulators is the best way to ensure consumer protection and proper risk management practices.”

Vasja Zupan, President of UAE based Matrix Exchange in a reply to the question of whether they will do proof of reserves states, “We simply hold 1:1 client assets in our custody that is literally reconciled daily and regularly reported and checked by regulator and external auditors.”

Basil Askari Co-Founder of UAE MidChains has a similar reply, “In terms of proof of reserves we are already doing this on a daily basis with our regulator by providing daily client account reconciliations.”

Ola Doudin in her reply to this question stated, “BitOasis holds client assets in segregated client money accounts and custody environments. We’re an audited company that maintains the highest level of security and industry practices in storing and maintaining client assets one to one backed. We do not engage in any fractional reserve practices, proprietary trading, lending, and borrowing and we do not have an exchange token.”

Christopher Flinos, Chief Executive Officer of Hayvn crypto exchange in UAE “We already do proof of reserves. Our client’s crypto stays in segregated client wallets and our clients have always had access to their reserves. The firm in addition keeps shareholder funds in USD We hold no treasury in any coins not even stablecoins.”

Will Proof of reserves bring trust back to crypto exchanges?

Zupan believes that proof of reserves is totally useless without “proof of liabilities”. As he explains, “Proof of reserves alone should not bring trust back without 3rd party reviews and regulatory oversight over centralized services. I believe that CeFi needs a strong regulatory overview in combination with strong transparency and DeFi needs total transparency with independent reviews (not everyone can evaluate complex software and framework).”

Basil Askari co-founder of MidChains believes it is not enough to publish numbers. He explains, “Regulation and strict supervision by regulators on how client funds are used, is and has always been critical, as in TradeFi.”

Talal Tabbaa believes that the way crypto exchanges are carrying out proof of reserves at the moment is missing an important element. He explains, “In accounting when you provide information on your assets, you also provide information on your liabilities. Crypto exchanges need to do both proof of reserves and proof of liabilities preferably on a blockchain in real-time.”

Flinos agrees that with the current behavior of crypto exchange leadership trust is continuing to be damaged and what is need is strong regulation, control and corporate governance.

Exposure to FTX

In the past both CoinMENA and BitOasis had in their investment rounds received investment from FTX Ventures through Alameda Research. As such CoinMENA in a joint statement from both Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sam’an, Co-Founders, to LaraontheBlock clarified the following:  “FTX’s Investment arm Alameda Research invested $1 million in CoinMENA’s $9.5m seed funding round in 2021. All the funds were received prior to the close of the seed round. Their stake is less than 3% and has no voting rights. In light of the recent news, we have offered to buy back their minority stake.”

BitOasis also made a public blog post where it stated the following: “BitOasis confirms that it has no commercial relationship or exposure with Alameda Research (Alameda) or any other FTX entity. Accordingly, recent events at FTX and Alameda do not have any bearing on our business, or our ability to provide our customers with a safe and secure trading experience. In 2021, Alameda participated in BitOasis’ Series B financing round. As a result of its investment Alameda holds a 2.2% shareholding in BitOasis through Alameda Ventures Limited. Alameda is not represented (nor has it ever been) on BitOasis’ board of directors or on any governance forum or committee in any capacity. The shareholding is small and hence creates no exposure to our business.”

Matrix, Hayvn and MidChains founders confirm that they have zero exposure to FTX. Zupan stated, “We don’t have any exposure to FTX or any related party or similar protocols.” Al Askari as well confirmed, “Both our client funds and corporate assets are not exposed. We keep our (and our clients) funds in a safe boring 1:1 holding.” Flinos confirmed that they do not deal with unregulated counterparts.

Two crypto exchanges, RAIN in Bahrain and Veromex in UAE have not yet replied to the queries posed, if and when they do reply, their responses will be added.

Take Away

While up until now international exchanges have always looked more attractive because of their liquidity and the amount of crypto they list as well as their geographic coverage, it seems that those regulated in the region whether in UAE or Bahrain are looking more attractive because of their adherence to strong regulatory bodies.

A lot of news is coming out that international exchanges undertaking so called proof of reserves are not being transparent. For example Crypto.com’s cold storage revealed a suspicious transfer of 320,000 Ether worth $404 million, to Gate.io.  Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com assured traders that the transfer was accidental; funds were to be moved to a new cold storage address. Experts allege that the transfer helped Gate.io show its proof of reserves of user funds shortly after the transfer. Even more so it seems that 20 percent of crypto.com reserves are in Meme Token SHBB.

This also happened with Huobi. It was noted that after Huobi released the asset snapshot of the asset reserve, 10,000 ETH was transferred from Huobi to Binance and OkX deposit wallets. (Etherscan.io)

Binance CEO CZ also made an interesting tweet today November 13th 2022 where he says Binance is not just a CEX (Centralized Exchange). This comes as the crypto mood globally moves towards DEX (Decentralized Exchanges). In his tweet he gives advice on how to store crypto in your own wallet, and refers to trustwallet while saying that Binance is not just a CEX but provides other options.

In the end, the future is in decentralized exchanges, smart contracts, and blockchain databases for proof of reserves such as Etherscan.io and others. Crypto was never the culprit, it was molding crypto into a traditional financial sector that was.