UAE based HAYVN, a digital asset payment, trading, custodian service provider regulated in the UAE, Cayman Islands, Australia, British Virgin Islands, has also received a VASP ( Virtual asset service provider) license from European jurisdiction, Lithuania.

The Lithuanian Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) has provided HAYVN with a VASP license.

According to HAYVN, by obtaining the VASP license from the Lithuanian regulators, HAYVN is further equipped to offer its suite of services throughout Europe.

“We are delighted to have obtained the VASP license from Lithuanian regulators,” said Christopher Flinos, CEO of HAYVN. “This achievement solidifies our position as the trusted and compliant European cryptocurrency provider, enabling us to deliver innovative solutions to clients across Europe. HAYVN remains committed to upholding the highest standards of regulatory compliance and security, as we continue to expand our presence and contribute to the growth of the digital asset ecosystem globally.”

Leago Papo, Director of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs at HAYVN, added, “Obtaining the VASP license from Lithuanian regulators is a significant milestone. We have worked diligently to ensure that our operations adhere to the most rigorous compliance standards. This license reaffirms our commitment to maintaining regulatory compliance across multiple jurisdictions and showcases our dedication to building trust with our clients and regulators alike.”

FLUUS, which means money in Arabic, with founders from the MENA region, has been offering citizens in developing the countries the opportunity to receive financial freedom through the use of crypto and Blockchain, and has grown to now listing their token on MEXC global, a global cryptocurrency exchange while partnering with providers to cover India. 

According to a recent medium post by FLUUS, “The listing on MEXC Global marks a significant milestone for FLUUS, as it opens up new avenues for participants and enthusiasts to engage with their innovative ecosystem. FLUUS aims to provide seamless trading opportunities and ensure that $FLUUS is readily available to participants worldwide.”

FLUUS is a layer of consumer and developer-facing products, evolving the world’s access to web3. Developers can integrate FLUUS into their platform and give their users GLOBAL access to crypto using any payment method, including CASH and MOBILE MONEY.

In March 2023, FLUUS raised $600,000 ahead of its beta launch through Fundrs LaunchPad. FHS Capital, Base 64 and a number of angel investors participated in the raise.

Furthermore, FLUUS has integrated with top ramping providers such as Moonpay and Transak, and will soon cover more markets, including 100% coverage in India, while expanding its FLUUS Pay network to support cash-to-crypto ramping in more regions. Additionally, FLUUS’s AID3.0 product has supported over $1.2 million in aid money in Ukraine and will expand to more partners, increasing coverage and support.

FLUUS will also be launching its staking pools to create further benefits for holders in Q2 of 2023.

In the third quarter of 2023, FLUUS plans to also launch on a DEX, as well as initiate liquidity pools to enable users to earn passive income. FLUUS pay will aggregate DEX and swapping services, enabling users to trade their cryptocurrencies and tokens in a decentralized environment with the most suitable providers.

Moreover, FLUUS plans to launch its FLUUSAuth Alpha, a revolutionary product that will allow users to create their wallets using traditional SSO methods, facilitating web2 user onboarding. Additionally, FLUUS plans to increase its human capital and obtain provisional licenses to operate in more jurisdictions. T

In Q4 2023, FLUUS is focused on achieving significant milestones. This includes finalizing strategic partnerships with web3 solutions to provide global cryptocurrency access. The implementation of FLUUS DAO Governance structures will empower the community, enabling active participation in decision-making. FLUUS also aims to expand the geographical reach of the FLUUS Pay network, making it accessible to more regions, and strengthen its utility by supporting a wider range of cryptocurrencies.

Prior to this FLUUS had worked in several regions across MENA including Lebanon. Tey El Rjula, Founder of FLUUS, told LaraontheBlock,

Overall, there is a total of 49,563,636 $FLUUS tokens in circulation.

YallaMarket, a Dubai grocery delivery service has announced it intends to embrace crypto payments and utilized Binance Pay and IvendPay for their solution. 

Leo Dovbenko, CEO and co-founder of YallaMarket and YallaHub, commented: “YallaMarket and YallaHub are based in the UAE, a global hub of financial technology, so we couldn’t stand aside. Moreover, our product development strategy is focused on our customers’ evolving demands. Thanks to Binance and ivendPay, we will be able to stay agile, adopt new payment technologies, and focus on providing the best customer service possible.” 

Cryptocurrency payments offer many opportunities for businesses and users alike. As more merchants and consumers adopt this method of making everyday purchases, we will see continued growth and innovation in this space.

This comes after Binance onboarded international payment service ivendPay, as a global cryptocurrency payment gateway for Binance Pay – a contactless, borderless, and secure user-to-user cryptocurrency payment feature on the Binance App.

The partnership will contribute to making cryptocurrencies an even bigger part of users’ everyday life, further extending digital assets’ real-world utility and making payments easier and more accessible. Binance users can now make purchases at all locations of IvendPay’s international network with their crypto.

ivendPay is an international payment service that allows businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments through point-of-sale (POS) terminals, mobile apps, e-commerce platforms, API, and vending machines. Currently, the service operates in seven countries with some 400 active merchants, and the number of new sales points continues to grow weekly.

Pakning Luk, Binance Pay’s regional head of business development, said about the partnership: “We’re more than excited to announce ivendPay as a strategic payment partner as their solutions help both online and offline merchants make users’ payment experience seamless.” 

UAE based VAF Compliance, a virtual assets and fintech compliance firm has launched a telegram bot service that assesses the risks associated with accepting cryptocurrency as payment.

VAF Compliance’s Telegram Bot can help individual clients and small businesses avoid situations where they may unknowingly accept tainted funds. With this service, VAF Compliance aims to democratize access to AML solutions to all users, who now can assess risks before accepting crypto, receive a clear and user-friendly report, understand the risks associated with interacting with other wallets, and prevent the receipt of crypto with criminal origins.Crypto exchanges, the entry point to cryptocurrencies, are particularly vulnerable to compliance issues. To maintain compliance, the implementation of robust Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies is essential.

While recent sanctions against entities providing money laundering services to criminals have had a positive impact, alternative money laundering services may still be found, highlighting the need for robust KYC and AML policies in the crypto industry.

The bot is now available in English and Chinese (Mandarin) and will cover over 45 blockchains. It also provides an easy-to-read report to understand the risk level prior to accepting any funds in the user’s wallet. 

 In addition, users have the option to pay fees per report or package, and if they refer the service to others, they can receive free reports that cover more than 70 different risk parameters.

“We are very excited to launch our newest solution, the VAF Compliance Bot service, which provides an easy-to-use, yet comprehensive solution for individuals and small businesses looking to navigate the complex world of crypto compliance,” said Gilson Ribeiro Da Costa, CEO of VAF Compliance.

“We believe our innovative solutions will help our clients achieve their compliance goals, while also enhancing the overall reputation and credibility of the crypto industry.”

Not only does the company offer support to clients in the MENA region, but it also extends its services in countries such as Turkey, Africa, and Europe. In fact, the company has announced its expansion to Switzerland and the establishment of its office in Zug. The team will be led by Farzaad Gaibie, a seasoned financial services consultant with extensive industry knowledge and experience.

The expansion to Zug will enable VAF Compliance to better understand the needs of its clients and offer tailored solutions that meet their unique requirements.

Bahrain Central Bank has announced the issuance of regulation for security tokens as amendments to its current crypto asset module.

The Central Bank has expanded the crypto asset regulations to include digital token offerings, in specific those with the characteristics of security tokens.

In determining whether a digital token qualifies as a security, the CBB will examine the underlying economic purpose of the digital token, its structure, characteristics, as well as the rights attached to the digital token.

The new amendments also outline new requirements to enhance safeguarding clients’ assets to provide high levels of protection for investors.

In addition the Central Bank of Bahrain will allow crypto-assets licensees (after obtaining the CBB’s approval) to engage in additional activities, which are not within the stipulated regulated crypto-asset services.

 Commenting on the new amendments, Director of the Capital Markets Supervision Directorate – Mrs. Abeer Al Saad, stated,  “We at the CBB are delighted to issue the new amendments to our regulatory framework for crypto-assets and to specifically introduce new regulatory requirements for the digital tokens offerings, in order to regulate the crypto-assets market in a fair and transparent manner. Therefore, the CBB has adopted a risk-based regulatory approach towards requirements, which are proportionate and commensurate to the regulated activity undertaken by a licensee. We endeavour to provide adequate safeguards to investors without inhibiting innovation adoption at the CBB, as we continue to monitor market trends and review the regulatory framework to keep up with the latest developments in the field, as well as maintain the competitiveness of the sector. This milestone is a reflection of the pioneering role the CBB continues to play in regulating crypto-assets.”

Bahrain was the first country in the GCC region to regulate crypto allowing for the launch of crypto exchange brokers such as RAIN, CoinMENA, and most recently Binance. It is also one of the leading GCC and MENA countries when it comes to crypto payments.

The new amendments are also a first in the region, no other country has regulated security tokens onshore yet!

XRPayNet a blockchain XRP Ledger based crypto-fiat micropayments solution provider is gearing up to launch in the UAE. Already in the process of being regulated through VARA and the Central Bank of UAE, XRPayNet and its partner in the UAE, ChainTech Labs aim to revolutionize the crypto payments sector by bridging the world of fiat and crypto for micropayments and buy now pay later offerings.

Kristian Poliszczuk Founder, of XRPayNet has been a passionate crypto investor since Bitcoin was valued at just $2000; he then became an XRP enthusiast and from there built XRPayNet on XRP’s Blockchain ledger. Poliszczuk is an entrepreneur at heart building small businesses since he was 12 years old. At just 23 years old he had 19 properties under his belt as a real estate broker and today he is seeking to become one of the world’s leading crypto micro payments provider.

A Solution to a Problem

According to Poliszczuk XRPayNet was developed to solve three major problems facing the 420 million crypto holders globally today. The first was that most crypto holders have no place to spend their crypto given that retailers are hesitant to accept crypto due to its volatility, secondly most crypto payment solution providers have yet to bridge fiat with crypto and finally retailers and merchants want a secure, easy technology platform to use seamlessly with their existing technology.

Poliszczuk told LaraontheBlock, “For crypto to be mainstream, it must work in harmony with fiat. I started to think about creating a tool that would allow users to spend their crypto from their wallet while retailer receives fiat currency. We are doing this through both our debit card solution as well as mobile application, making the Crypto to Fiat payment process seamless.”

Today, cryptocurrencies are accepted by less than 0.001% of companies throughout the world, yet $2.5 Billion was spent by consumers on pre-paid crypto cards in 3 months from the end of 2021-start of 2022.

Utilizing XRPL network, as one of the only 145 node validators, XRPayNet is built on one of the most scalable and ecological blockchains developed to date.

In addition to offering micropayments XRPayNet will be offering the first Buy Now Pay Later solution for crypto holders. Poliszczuk explains, “We are bringing the solution of Buy Now Pay Later to the crypto world. Clients who hold our card or application can buy on credit using the XRPAY coin staked with us as collateral. We are offering crypto holders more choice and providing the retailer with fiat currency of their choice.”

Entering the UAE

Currently XRPayNet is going through the process of acquiring a regulated license in the UAE, working with the legal firm Saeed and Company. They are seeking regulatory approval from Dubai’s Virtual asset regulatory Authority as well as the Central Bank of UAE given that they are a payment solution provider.

Poliszczuk says, “We have been told the process will take three months and we are confident given that one of our retail partners is closely involved in the regulatory scene and understand VARA’s requirements well.”

XRPayNet already has clients lined up in the UAE who are looking to offer crypto fiat micropayments and Buy now Pay later services. Poliszczuk, told LaraontheBlock, “We have a UAE chain of stores ready and waiting for us to deliver our technology to start using it in March 2023, we have also been approached by a gas station chain who also want to use our service. We have built a complete POS (Point of service) interface and all these stores need is to download our application on their terminals at point of sale to complete the payments.”

The XRPayNet coin while developed identical to that of XRP Ripple is not the same as XRP. According to Poliszczuk while the coin is built on XRP ledger and identical  to Ripple’s XRP we did not choose to use XRP because Ripple has already positioned it as a coin for international cross border payments for banks and not for micro payments.

To date XRPayNet has more than 10,000 holders of their coin. In addition XRPayNet is considering with its UAE partners to developing their own XRPayNet stablecoin as well as adopting the stablecoin required by UAE regulators. He states, “As part of the regulatory process it stipulates that we should use a particular stablecoin which has to be embedded in our applications. We are adhering to these regulations very strictly.”

XRPayNet founder is confident that there is huge demand in the UAE for crypto retail payments services and this is one of the reasons they were approached by ChainTech Labs. According to Poliszczuk, “ Today there are maybe 100-200 global crypto payment entities in the space and many of them won’t go forward as they usually stop development during bear markets. We are not them, we increased our talent base from 9 people to 26 within the last 6 months, and regardless of our coin price we are still developing to create the best products. So we are positioned ahead of others.”

Expansion and the Future

Other than the UAE, the 14 month old XRPayNet will be expanding to other jurisdictions. In December 2022 alone there were 11 requests for partnerships across the globe.

In conclusion XRPayNet founder believes that crypto is still in its infancy stage and is here to stay as long as people don’t convince themselves that crypto can work in silo of fiat, in the end they both need to work in harmony.

MENA Tarabut Gateway, an open banking platform has partnered with Bahrain’s crypto trading platform RAIN to bring faster, cost effective fiat to crypto transactions to Bahrain users, allowing crypto payments directly from user bank accounts all on RAIN platform.

The new feature will utilize Tarabut Gateway’s open banking payment solutions to facilitate on and off-ramp (fiat-crypto-fiat) transfers for users, dramatically increasing speed and reducing errors associated with traditional bank wire transfers. The introduction of this new feature is in line with Rain’s strategy to provide the most premium and seamless crypto wallet experience for its MENA users. 

Abdulla Almoayed, Founder and CEO of Tarabut Gateway, said, “We’re delighted to unveil a solution that aims to make fiat-to-crypto transfers quicker, more secure, and cost-effective – as well as enable such funding methods directly from bank accounts. Our partnership with Rain is a perfect cross-sector synergy, made possible by Bahrain’s advanced open banking ecosystem. Crypto trading, wallets, and other blockchain use cases are natural allies in opening up traditional banking and finance. We are proud to partner with Rain to provide a user-focused approach to crypto services by bringing the advantages of open banking digital solutions.”

Joseph Dallago, Chief Executive Officer of Rain, added, “Our partnership with Tarabut Gateway unlocks a new era for crypto assets adoption in the region. Through quick and efficient deposit mechanisms, crypto traders on Rain’s platform will now be able to seamlessly fund their accounts and capitalize on market movements. The integration with Tarabut Gateway cements Rain’s premium product offering in the region.”

Bahrain has been at the forefront of crypto payments in the region with examples of EazyPay and BinancePay partnership in Bahrain. 

Crypto payment startup FLUUS ( which means money in Arabic) founded by MENA crypto enthusiasts has raised $600,000 ahead of its beta launch. FHS Capital, Base 64 and a number of angel investors participated in the raise.

FLUUS is creating a fiat-crypto on- and off-ramp that will give consumers access to web3 services including token swapping and staking. Its payment solution is designed to eliminate friction and simplify the process of entering and exiting the crypto economy.

Funds raised from the seed round will be used to further develop products and roll out FLUUS’ services, bringing crypto-fiat payments to a global audience.

“We are excited to have the support of FHS Capital and Encryptus.io, two highly reputable investment firms,” said Tey El-Rjula, co-founder and CEO of FLUUS. “Their experience and resources will be invaluable as we continue to grow and scale our business to provide financial technology solutions to onboard the next billion into web3.”

Dr. Fady and Mr. Hesham Hannah-Shmouni, Managing Partners at FHS Capital, stated,“Our investment in FLUUS fits perfectly with our vision for empowering exceptional founders and technologies in the web3 space, enabling customers and partners across key industry verticals to benefit from using blockchain technology.”

More than $1 million in cryptocurrency has already been successfully off-ramped in a private trial of FLUUS’ payment gateway. Funds were used to provide aid in Ukraine with the support of an international NGO. The next development phase will see the beta version of FLUUS’ payment solution opened to a broader market segment.

A number of major partnerships are already in place that will see FLUUS’ payment solution rolled out to millions of web users. These include matchmaking platform Dua.com and the GD10 Ventures ecosystem. The FLUUS payment widget can be easily embedded into third party websites and applications, providing crypto-fiat changing on demand.

FLUUS at present features two flagship products, FLUUS Pay: A regulated and compliant crypto ramping service delivered in collaboration with fintech operators and money transfer networks, and FLUUS Auth: An SDK that allows developers to easily integrate secure and user-friendly sign-up and web3 onboarding into their own applications.

FLUUS was founded in March 2022 with the goal of building solutions that will enhance global access to web3, particularly in emerging markets.  To the FLUUS founders, interoperability between financial systems is vital. This is especially important in emerging markets. With FLUUS, users can seamlessly on and off ramp digital currencies using their most convenient payment methods including cash and mobile money. 

As a pioneer in digital payment solutions, FLUUS Pay with its public beta launch expected to handle 62.82% of all crypto ramping in Lebanon by Q4 2023. In January 2023, 30% of all ramping in Lebanon was already done through FLUUS Pay, highlighting the platform’s success in providing a user-friendly, secure, and efficient way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.

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.

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.