VC firm Brinc offers crypto and Blockchain entities in UAE’s DMCC access to $150 million fund

VC firm Brinc offers crypto and Blockchain entities in UAE’s DMCC access to $150 million fund

Global VC firm Brinc has offered crypto entities residing in UAE’s DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) Crypto centre access to a $150 million accelerator fund.

Brinc is a portfolio company of Animoca Brands, a global leader in Web3 and blockchain investment.

Members in the crypto centre at DMCC will  gain access to Brinc’s global network of innovative start-ups as well as business mentoring services from their new office in DMCC. The partnership will support the long-term and rapid growth of the companies that develop Web3 and blockchain technologies and associated value-added services at the DMCC Crypto Centre.

By providing an unparalleled environment for crypto entrepreneurs, SMEs and multinationals, the DMCC Crypto Centre has attracted over 450 crypto firms since its launch in 2021, making it the largest concentration of blockchain and Web3 businesses in the region.

 The DMCC Crypto Centre members operate in a broad range of sectors, using blockchain and Web3 technology in areas such as financial services, healthcare, entertainment, gaming and sustainability.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, stated, “We are proud to be partnering with one of the world’s leading VC firms in this space, and to meet the growing demand from our members to access funding, while also providing access to Brinc’s well-connected ecosystem. With so many global challenges occurring simultaneously, major businesses are focused more than ever on accessing state-of-the-art infrastructure within a comfortable working environment, which is exactly what DMCC strives to provide.”

Manav Gupta, Founder and CEO of Brinc, added,  “The newly launched Dubai Metaverse Strategy aims to support over 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030; while Dubai’s plan to use cutting- edge technology to improve efficiency and sustainability vastly appeals to Brinc, whose mandate since inception has been to discover and enhance businesses that creatively solve global problems. Our partnership with the DMCC will reveal a new pool of Web3 entrepreneurs and enable us to identify, empower, and invest in start-ups that shape the future based on a shared thesis and set of ideals.”

Yasin Aboudaoud, CDO and MP of Brinc MENA, commented “Brinc has an exceptional track record working with incredible partners such as the DMCC to progress innovative startups in a way that redefines sustainability while delivering tools, networks, and knowledge to some of the world’s most promising and innovative founders. Collaborating with the DMCC and its vibrant community at a time when MENA is welcoming blockchain and digital asset innovation is a hugely exciting prospect. The ability to build networks in Web3 – where community is king – will be invaluable to our mission.”

In H1 2022, DMCC broke all previous records by attracting 1,469 new member companies. Owing to the leading environment provided at the Crypto Centre, over 14% of these new company registrations were related to crypto activities.

Dhabi Coin now licensed in UAE under DMCC

Dhabi Coin now licensed in UAE under DMCC

DhabiCoin (DBC) has received a license from DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Centre). 

Felipe Leclerc, co-founder, DhabiCoin, said: “DhabiCoin is already launched, people can trade on various exchanges today. However, we are following a launch schedule, where we first release the DhabiCoin Wallet in the coming weeks, then the collections in NFTs with Dubai utilities and soon a marketplace of products and services by the end of the year. With the DMCC license DhabiCoin shows the serious commitment it has to generate security and people to be able to use DhabiCoin on a daily basis.”

Leclerc further added: “With the wave of Web3.0, DhabiCoin is studying to enable the construction of an easy environment for companies to be able to connect in the metaverse, using DhabiCoin as a gateway of payment.” 

Dhabi Coin is a utility token on Binance BEP20 which seeks to create a real utility ecosystem among UAE’s biggest businesses including hotels, dealerships, tourism businesses and others. 

UAE based Encryptus OTC crypto trading platform partners with Azadi record label

UAE based Encryptus OTC crypto trading platform partners with Azadi record label

UAE based Encryptus, a platform for the trading of institutional crypto assets as an OTC (Over the Counter) service provider, with license for “Proprietary Trading in Crypto Commodities  from DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Centre)  has partnered with record label Azadi records.

The partnership will work on developing an NFT ecosystem and innovative use cases, which will give holders exclusive access to premium content, limited edition merchandise, VIP tour tickets and more.

Moreso, Shantnoo Saxsena, Encryptus Founder and CEO states; “During the current bearish market, institutional support behind crypto remains strong, and Encryptus is glad to be playing an important role in institutional crypto adoption. It certainly doesn’t hurt that this institutional interest in the crypto market is also working to excite existing investors who were contemplating hastily pulling out of the market.”

Considering how valuable NFTs have become, it is no surprise that Encryptus partnered with Azadi Records, an independent record label keen on providing South Asian artists with a platform to freely express themselves for this extraordinary quest into the world of non-fungible tokens.

Shantnoo further adds, “Our recent partnership with Azadi Records aims to create a use case for the NFT ecosystem in India in a more compliant manner. Our primary focus is compliance and respect for the law of the land.”

“Nayaab.World NFTs and their utilities will unlock new avenues for artist-fans engagement, building a deeper relationship between them,” stated Mo Joshi and Uday Kapur, founders of Azadi Records.

Matcha Capital takes on Pakistan with investment in BitBlaze crypto exchange

Matcha Capital takes on Pakistan with investment in BitBlaze crypto exchange

Matcha Capital, a Blockchain crypto investment fund based out of Europe, soon to be opening its offices in Dubai  UAE within DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) has made a significant investment in BitBlaze crypto exchange start-up, which will be launching its presence in Pakistan.

Omar Rahim, Managing Partner of Matcha Capital stated on LinkedIN, “It has been a long time in the making but I am delighted to make public our investment into BitBlaze which will be launching a cryptocurrency exchange in Pakistan, the 5th most populous nation on earth!”

As per Rahim’s post BitBlaze will be powered by Binance Cloud.

Rahim who was previously the Regional Director for Binance in MENA is one of the first to invest in BitBlaze’s pre seed round, founded by Abdul Alim and Imran Rahim. Rahim will also take over the role as chairman of BitBlaze noting his prior experience in Binance. Matcha Capital when launched in  early 2022 had stated that the fund would be capped at around 60 million USD.

Dr. Marwan Al Zarouni, a leading UAE blockchain entrepreneur and expert and Founder of Dubai Blockchain Centre was also among the pre seed investors in BitBlaze.  

Rahim added on LinkedIn, “We were delighted to support Abdul Alim & Imran Rahim at the pre-seed stage. They’ve been working tirelessly in the background for months and I wish them all the best with their upcoming seed round”

Omar Rahim spoke to LaraontheBlock about this investment given the current bearish market. He noted, “ This is our biggest investment to date, even though the markets are reeling right now and many crypto companies are scaling back. Yet, we feel carefully planned investments can drive real value in these markets. These investments are great for the investor but more importantly great for the Startups because they are focused on building and not on token prices.”

As for why Pakistan, Rahim explains, “Pakistan continues to be a sleeping giant. As the 5th most populous nation on earth, the market is huge and in terms of crypto adoption is holds the top three position worldwide. People are just waking up to the potential that this exciting market offers and we want to lead the way in building crypto infrastructure in Pakistan.”

UAE DMCC is home to 36 percent of UAE’s crypto and Blockchain businesses

UAE DMCC is home to 36 percent of UAE’s crypto and Blockchain businesses

Since June 2021, exactly one year ago, the UAE DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Center) has been able to attract 373 crypto and blockchain companies into its ecosystem of 21,000 companies. Looking deeper this means the crypto and Blockchain companies already make up 1.6 percent of the total number of registered companies at DMCC. These crypto entities reside in DMCC’s crypto center. (figures provided to laraonetheblock by DMCC)

This information came to light when DMCC recently announced its half year 2022 results, which witnessed 1,469 new companies registering at DMCC of which 205 were in the crypto and Blockchain space. As such 14 percent of new companies registering at DMCC in 2022 so far have been from the crypto ecosystem.

While the total percentage of Blockchain and crypto companies registered in DMCC might look insignificant, it is a powerful testament to DMCC and the UAE. The UAE has become a home to major global crypto and Blockchain players especially after the activation of the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority in Dubai as well as the work being done by ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Markets) in Abu Dhabi.

Notably UAE now is home to 1000 blockchain and crypto entities as per the stats provided by Crypto Oasis ecosystem. In response, UAE based Crypto Oasis recently updated its target for 2022 to 1500 crypto and Blockchain companies from its previous target of 1000. Given that UAE is home to 1000 blockchain and crypto companies, and DMCC houses a total of 373, this means DMCC is currently home to 37 percent of all the blockchain and crypto entities present in the UAE.

In DMCC press release they noted that part of the growth in the number of companies was due to the continued interest in the DMCC Crypto CENTER. The Crypto Centre offers a home to all types and sizes of crypto businesses, from companies developing blockchain-enabled platforms, NFTs and Metaverse environments, through to firms trading crypto assets.

In addition the UAE has attracted top crypto and blockchain companies, such as Binance, Crypto.com, FTX and others. For example Forbes recently published its top 50 Blockchain companies for 2022, noticeably companies such as FTX crypto exchange on this year’s list now has a presence in the UAE as a regulated entity.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see a larger number of crypto and Blockchain entities enter the UAE by the end of 2022.