Jordanian Government contracts UNESCWA to draft National Blockchain policy

Jordanian Government contracts UNESCWA to draft National Blockchain policy

The Jordanian government has commissioned the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia to draft a national blockchain policy for Jordan.

As a result the UNESCWA is hiring a consultant from Jordan to work remotely on drafting a national Blockchain policy for Jordan. The application for the job will be closed on June 14th 2023.

As per UNESCWA, The project should be finalized within 4 months; UNESCWA explains that Arab countries need to develop their Blockchain national plans to meet the requirements that were brought forth by the digital age.

In addition UNESCWA stated, “The Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) in Jordan requested UN-ESCWA’s assistance to develop the national policy for blockchain. The provision of this advisory service is the subject of these terms of reference.”

The report will include reviewing best regional and international practices on Blockchain policies, strategies and frameworks (at least 4 international and 4 regional practices); analyzing the different existing policies and frameworks related to digital technologies in Jordan; holding interviews with the various stakeholders and summarize their remarks and observations; suggestion of the needed national policy in Jordan based on the gap analysis and national needs.

Blockchain Settlemint and Saudi Islamic Development Bank partner to stabilize financial assets and digital currencies

Blockchain Settlemint and Saudi Islamic Development Bank partner to stabilize financial assets and digital currencies

Saudi Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is collaborating with the blockchain entity SettleMint to develop a Smart Stabilization System (SSS), an algorithm that aims to maintain the stability of assets traded on organized markets, including financial assets or digital currencies.

SettleMint has more than 60 Enterprise blockchain implementations worldwide. It offers a full-fledged Blockchain-Platform-as-a-Service solution. IsDBI, as the knowledge beacon of the IsDB Group, leads the development of knowledge-based solutions. The Institute has already secured patents for its three innovative fintech mechanisms with great potential for the financial industry.

The objective of the SSS is to help stabilize organized asset markets without compromising efficiency. This is done by managing the gap between supply and demand to reduce the volatility of the price while maintaining the role of the gap in equilibrating the market. The patent-pending Smart Stabilization System is unique in managing the pressure on price before the price changes. The System is forward-looking, while most other stabilization systems are backward-looking. Moreover, the SSS is self-financed, and investors’ rights are fully protected.

IsDBI and SettleMint are investigating the use of blockchain and smart contracts to provide autonomous and transparent execution of the SSS.

Mr. Matthew Van Niekerk, the CEO of SettleMint, stated: “International trading activity has been the cornerstone of economic growth and prosperity for thousands of years. As we find ourselves in times of significant economic uncertainty, it is an honor to support the Islamic Development Bank Institute on the design and implementation of new mechanisms that can enhance the stability, transparency, and efficiency of trading activities globally.”

Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, the Institute’s Acting Director General, welcomed the collaboration on this project as a milestone in the progress of the Islamic fintech industry. He said: “The world is moving fast on the digitalization of financial transactions. This requires a robust stabilization system in place to minimize the instability associated with fast movements of funds, as has been proven by the recent banking crisis. I am pleased that my colleagues are capitalizing on the patent-pending Stabilization System to develop a practical solution to assist our Member Countries in achieving digital transformation with minimum financial instability.”

Iota IOT Blockchain platform now part of UAE’s government digital ambitions

Iota IOT Blockchain platform now part of UAE’s government digital ambitions

After a meeting between UAE’s UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani AlZeyoudi and the Founder of Iota, Dominik Schiener, the IoTa Blockchain platform has now been ushered into the UAE’s digital ecosystem. In a tweet on May 25th 2023, Minister Al Zeyoudi states, “Great to meet Dominic Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of IOTA and explore ways to introduce their open source blockchain solution to the UAE’s digital ecosystem. With its ability to power a wide range of sectors, it could play a vital role in our advanced technology ambitions.”

This was followed by a tweet by Schiener who replied, “Thank you so much for meeting us Your Excellency Dr. Thani. It’s really inspiring for us to speak with such welcoming and sophisticated leaders like you in the UAE. We are committed to play a key role in the UAE’s continued digital transformation and economic growth.”

IOTA is an open-source distributed ledger and cryptocurrency designed for the Internet of things (IoT). It uses a directed acyclic graph to store transactions on its ledger, motivated by a potentially higher scalability over blockchain based distributed ledgers

On May 18th 2023 in another 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!”

It seems the collaboration is now in full force, welcome Iota to the UAE.

BitOasis aims to become first regulated virtual asset exchange in KSA as tokenization interest grows across GCC

BitOasis aims to become first regulated virtual asset exchange in KSA as tokenization interest grows across GCC

During the Qatar Economic Forum organized by Bloomberg, Ola Doudin, Co-Founder and CEO of UAE based BitOasis participated in a panel alongside Yat Siu, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Animoca Brands to discuss “Harnessing the Power of Blockchain”

Doudin uncovered during the panel that BitOasis would be the first regulated virtual asset platform in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). She stated, “We are working with regulators in KSA to be the first regulated platform in Saudi and other larger markets.”

She also mentioned that BitOasis is in discussions with regulators in Egypt and Morocco. She discussed how in both Egypt and Morocco, citizens are interested in access to tokenized dollars, better known as stablecoins especially in countries with high inflation rates and easy access to these stablecoins. According to her, this is a challenge to regulators and is something they will have to seriously look at.

This comes after BitOasis became the first crypto broker to receive an operational license from Dubai’s virtual asset regulator (VARA). BitOasis has also received preliminary approval for its license in Bahrain.

Interestingly Ola Doudin talked about the GCC’s growing interest in tokenization.

According to Doudin, “One of the biggest applications of interest in the Gulf region is tokenization because it can bring in new industries by tokenizing hard assets into liquid form through blockchain based tokens. We are seeing the Gulf region, KSA and UAE focusing on tokenized securities bringing more liquidity, more transparency from an investment standpoint in a regulated way.”

She adds that BitOasis is ready for tokenization of hard assets as it has already built a regulated infrastructure with the means to buy and sell tokenized assets and as such can support this movement.

She gives the example that in a recent BCG research it stated that in the next 10 years tokenization of assets will be worth $16 trillion.

Qatar Financial Center finalizes digital asset framework to become destination of choice for tokenization

Qatar Financial Center finalizes digital asset framework to become destination of choice for tokenization

While Qatar has not opened up to the crypto scene, its financial center is opening up to digital assets enabling them to tokenize asset classes to facilitate the needs of qualified investors with its digital assets framework.

Henk Jan Hoogendoorn, Chief Financial Sector Officer, at Qatar Financial Center Authority speaking to Lara on the Block, stated, “ We are developing our digital assets framework to allow for public tokenization of assets, including securities, bonds, and real-estate.”

He emphasizes that they will not go into crypto, NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) or commodities at this time.

Hoogendoorn had discussed digitization in the financial sector in Qatar as well as their digital assets project and the new Fintech strategy of QCB (Qatar Central Bank) during a fireside chat on Digitizing the Financial Sector in Qatar, moderated by Robert Wigley OStJ, BSc, Hon DBA.

Furthermore, Aleksander Biesaga, Acting Project Manager, Roland Berger in a recent LinkedIn post noted, “It was a pleasure to speak to the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority on unlocking a new era of ownership, trading and investment via digital assets and tokenization.”

He was referring to the workshop by Roland Berger on the new digital assets framework for Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority and Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA).

Both entities QFC, and QFCRA, according to Hoogendoorn are developing and will facilitate the needs of qualified investors and investment firms to tokenize asset classes. He states, “We are looking forward to become a jurisdiction of choice.”

So it seems that while Qatar may not be warming up to crypto, it is moving forward  with its blockchain strategy and digital assets. In Q1 the Qatar Financial Authority signed an MOU with Blockchain entity Settlemint to forward digital asset industry and with R3 Blockchain firm for DLT (Distributed Ledger technology)  

UAE National Bank of Fujairah introduces new revenue streams with Blockchain supply chain platform

UAE National Bank of Fujairah introduces new revenue streams with Blockchain supply chain platform

As the National Bank of Fujairah received two awards for Best Innovation in Trade Finance” and “Most Innovative Trading Platform” for the second consecutive year at the MEA Finance Banking Technology Awards 2023, it announced that its integration of Finverity, a  blockchain-based supply chain financing platform  has resulted in reduced operational costs and the generation of new revenue streams.

In October 2022, Finverity, and the National Bank of Fujairah launch of a partnership to grow supply chain finance (SCF) and account receivables (AR) finance volumes in the MENA region. The partnership has started with Redington Gulf, which will enable the service to reach the maximum number of IT resellers in the UAE.

Under the partnership, Finverity provides a curated origination pipeline, deal structuring and an end-to-end technology platform for ongoing operations and reporting, with NBF underwriting and funding SCF and AR assets on Finverity’s marketplace. The partnership clearly recognizes the key role that Finverity’s platform plays in providing client-centric solutions that channel capital to eligible corporates, enabling them to access trade financing more effectively.

At the time, Venkiteswaran (Venki) Ramasubhramoni, Head of Equipment and Technology Finance at the National Bank of Fujairah, stated, “As a key lender in the technology finance space, NBF has chosen to partner with Finverity as its fintech partner to offer supply chain finance solutions. Given the strategic match, with both parties focused on IT-related trade, we see wider possibilities in this collaboration and the value it could bring. Access to pre-analyzed and pre-negotiated deals on Finverity’s marketplace provides NBF with an effective way to fund a diversified pool of SCF & AR transactions, shorten credit approval cycles and scale our books efficiently. In parallel, Finverity’s technology platform facilitates our total digital offering, ensuring more transparency of the underlying assets being funded, as well as a better user experience.”

The partnership aims to close the $1.7 tn funding gap in global Trade Finance by making Supply Chain Financing of mid-market companies economically viable around the world. We will achieve this through the use of technology and a new approach, providing a more efficient allocation of resources and fair access to capital worldwide.

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.

Majid Al Futtaim launches UAE made Fresh Laban traceable with Blockchain

Majid Al Futtaim launches UAE made Fresh Laban traceable with Blockchain

Majid Al Futtaim, which holds the Carrefour franchise for the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has announced the launch of UAE produced CarreFour fresh Laban, made from 100 percent pure fresh cow’s milk which is traceable on the IBM Blockchain platform.

As per Mohamed Atif, International Product Specialist at Majid Al Futtaim stated on LinkedIn, “Carrefour Fresh Laban comes in 200 ml, 1L and 2L sizes, and is guaranteed to have no milk powder, no water added, and made fresh in the UAE. The product is certified to the Emirates Quality Mark certification, which assures you of the highest standards of quality. We have applied blockchain technology to our product, allowing you to scan the QR code and learn the full details of the product from farm to table. We believe in transparency, and want you to know exactly where your food comes from.”

In 2020 Carrefour internationally announced the roll-out of blockchain technology, and applied it to Carrefour Quality Line salmon, the 25th product to take advantage of it after Auvergne chicken and farmhouse fattened chicken, eggs, oranges, fresh milk and camembert cheese.

Then in February 2021, UAE Majid Al Futtaim leveraged IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled platform for the food industry run on IBM Cloud.

The initiative started with two initial products categories, Carrefour’s fresh chicken brand and microgreens harvested from select in-store hydroponic farms, before expanding into more product lines.

Majid Al Futtaim was also one of the first to accept crypto payments. 

Central Bank of Saudi Arabia and UAE choose R3 Corda for CBDC sandbox pilots

Central Bank of Saudi Arabia and UAE choose R3 Corda for CBDC sandbox pilots

During Corda Day Middle East held on May 11th 2023 in Dubai UAE, speakers from the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia (SAMA) as well as the Central Bank of UAE discussed their CBDC strategies and pilots. Both Central Banks are working with R3 Corda on their CBDC pilot programs, SAMA in its sandbox and UAE Central Bank in their research and development center.

The event as per R3, brought together financial service leaders, technologists and Corda enthusiasts from around the region and the globe. Of the prominent speakers included H.E. Saif Humaid Hamad Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor – Strategy, Financial Infrastructure and Digital Transformation, Central Bank of UAE and Mr. Mohsen AlZahrani, Virtual Assets (VA) and CBDC program Lead, Saudi Central Bank – SAMA as well as Richard G Brown, Chief Technology Officer, R3.

Al Dhaheri made a keynote address on “Future of Money, CBDC and the Digital Dirham” while AlZahrani carried out the closing Keynote, on the topic of “Wholesale CBDC”

Mohsin AlZahrani told Lara on the Block, “Currently we are working with R3 Corda only for the sandbox experimentation, we have not yet decided on the next phase platform or implementation.”

Farhan Khan, Chief Technology Officer Consultant and advisor in Fintech and Blockchain, who attended the event representing Cykube, spoke to Lara on the Block explaining what he learned about CBDC implementation in UAE and KSA.

Khan explained, “It was an excellent event and very eye opening on how R3 is properly working in the region. What I learned about the CBDC implementation in KSA and UAE is that both are working with R3 but each country has a different approach. Saudi Arabia is working on a wholesale CBDC project for its domestic payment system, while UAE Central Bank is working on CBDC for cross border payments.”

Khan adds, “For example the ABER cross border payment project which was paused might be reutilized in the future as per AlZahrani’s statements at the event. AlZahrani stated that SAMA is utilizing the experience of ABER during the implementation of the CBDC wholesale payment system concept, and there is a chance in the future to use ABER again between KSA and UAE after the experimentation of CBDC wholesale in KSA is completed.”

According to Khan the UAE is working on a prototype with R3 Corda for the digital dirham which is currently under testing in their R&D facility.  

Khan concludes to Lara on the Block saying that R3 Corda has seen a lot of interest because it has very powerful features such as interoperability between blockchain platforms even public ones. He explains, “Fintech entities in both Saudi Arabi and UAE are waiting for the network gates to open, and with the VARA crypto regulations cooking every day we feel the same will be happening in KSA. Corda is the right framework from a technology perspective with its tremendous security, protection, especially when it comes to digitization and tokenization.”

This is reflected in a post by R3’s Chief Technology Officer Richard Brown who states, “Composability and interoperability are critical cogs in the architecture of Corda. With the next generation of Corda, there’s no need to decide on your network model at the outset of a project. Start with a centralized, private network and gradually decentralize over time!”

Brown believes that the success of Corda is because it is a cross-firm shared ledger enabling collaborating parties to transact based on high quality data, without exposing internal data or systems, and with far fewer reconciliation errors. A ledger that could even become the industry’s system of record for some key questions such as ownership of assets (the terms ‘Digital Assets’ and ‘Tokenization’

It is also a permissioning system that provides high identity assurance and gives confidence to regulated entities that they can comply with their legal obligations to know with whom they are transacting. In addition is a  privacy-first design, allowing competitors to trade without revealing sensitive data publicly – only participants in a transaction get to see the details – unlike other blockchain-inspired approaches.

He even goes so far to say that, “We’ve been delighted by how successful Corda has been, far beyond the narrow banking scenarios we originally designed it for. Broadly speaking, we’re seeing it being used to solve four main problems in ‘Regulated DeFi’:”

UAE Government launches Digital assets registry as one of 6 digital transformation projects

UAE Government launches Digital assets registry as one of 6 digital transformation projects

The UAE Higher Committee for Government Digital Transformation, approved 6 transformational projects to enhance the UAE Government’s digital transformation, one of them being the Digital Assets Registry.

The Digital Assets Registry focuses on inventorying the digital assets of the UAE government, their validity, and the entities that own them, and measuring the extent of their use. This is the first registry launched by the federal government for tangible and intangible digital assets.

The meeting which was chaired by Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, the Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, also announced other projects such as Government Technology Package, Government Software Platform, and Digital Project Standards Guide.

Her Excellency indicated that the new projects enhance the UAE’s readiness to play a pivotal role in promising future sectors, ensuring a safe digital transformation in line with future aspirations and directions.

The committee reviewed the UAE Government’s Digital Investment Report 2022 and approved the Digital Readiness Retreat for Government Leaders next June. It was briefed on a number of government’s pilot digital projects from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and Ministry of Justice.

Her Excellency Ohood Al Roumi stressed that the first package of government digital transformation projects represents an important step in achieving the goals of ‘We the UAE 2031′ vision for the UAE to be among the top 5 countries globally in Digital Competitiveness Index, Smart Government, as well as strengthen its position in the top 3 countries in digital government services. H.E. Al Roumi noted that the committee is focusing on increasing the readiness and efficiency of digital government services and operations, and preparing proactive digital transformation policies and standards in the UAE government.