UAE Bike and electric mobility retailer to offer crypto payment services with Binance

UAE Bike and electric mobility retailer to offer crypto payment services with Binance

Binance Pay is once again being used in the UAE to buy products using cryptocurrencies. UAE based Bikeera, a retailer for bicycles, scooters, electric mobility vehicles has teamed up with Binance Pay to offer virtual asset payment services.

Bikeera says the move aims to help reduce GHG emissions, carbon footprint and improve the health and lifestyle of GCC residents. Purchasers can pay in BNB, Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Already Majid Al Futtaim, Virtuzone, Palazzo Versace, EazyPay and others are using Binance Pay in the region.

Anthony Boukather, CEO of Bikeera, stated, “Bikeera aims to provide sustainable mobility alternatives that promote a healthy lifestyle and a better planet. By partnering up with Binance, we are giving more flexibility to customers in terms of payment methods. We are proud to have been selected as one of the first companies in this program, and would like to congratulate Binance on their recent announcement about receiving the MVP license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This most recent license is an acknowledgement of the compliance and safety processes behind the Binance ecosystem.”

Nadeem Ladki, executive director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at Binance added, “Binance is committed to supporting innovative and impact driven businesses such as Bikeera. As a leader in this space, Bikeera’s decision to accept virtual assets payments via Binance Pay empowers the sports community in the UAE and helps with the adoption of more efficient payment methods.”

How can our most important and cherished chats and messages live on forever?

How can our most important and cherished chats and messages live on forever?

At one point in all of our lives, we have either deleted important messages we received by accident, or lost all our whatsapp conversations, and maybe even wished we knew how to find an important message on discord, telegram, or even a Web3 communication app we were using.  Well this has now been resolved with the advent of a Web3 blockchain enabled, ‘Eternal Message’

Today more than 3 billion people worldwide are using messaging apps, sending an average of 145 billion messages every day. While the majority of these messages are insignificant, some are very important to those sending and receiving them.

While Web3 messaging apps have come to resolve the issues of security and privacy, as well as offer fully encrypted and stored messages on the blockchain, yet none of them has thought about eternally capturing those we deem important so we can retrieve them easily later on.

In an interview with LaraontheBlock Mohamed Abdou Founder and CEO of Egyptian headquartered and UAE based Pravica, developers of a Web 3.0 Blockchain communication platform, highlighted the innovation that will save those very previous messages whether personal, business related or potentially those of historical significance , he explained,“ In both of our Web3 crypto native Pravica messenger and Pravica Club group chat platforms, we have developed a solution that allows users to save their text messages forever on the blockchain in the form of NFTs. We call it the eternal message.”

Explaining how it works, he adds, “Users can take pieces of their conversations and put it in plain text on the blockchain. The piece of conversation will be converted into a single transaction ID that users can share with anyone. It will forever be on the blockchain and can be verified and shown as a Proof of Chat.”

These minted text extracts of 1024 characters, called eternal messages, can be minted into NFTs (Non Fungible token). Eternal messages, which can not only save and engrave personal moments, like the first time someone said I love you, or a marriage proposal, but can also be used in business transactions, forged through a chat or even a historical statement made in a historical moment addressed to a community or group.

 So for example in the historical moment when Ethereum merged successfully, Vitalik statements to the entire Ethereum community could have been engraved eternally on the blockchain, so future generations could bear witness to the achievement decades from now.

With more and more business conversations happening on Web2 and Web 3 messaging platforms, deals, transactions, and partnerships will most probably be minted into eternal messages.

Pravica revealed the ‘Eternal message feature’ during their launch of the first DcFi (Decentralized Communications and Finance) platform, the Pravica Club, at CV Summit 2022, hosted by CV Labs in Switzerland.  Back in 2021, CV VC Labs had invested in Pravica.

Pravica applications, built on Stacks Blockchain and secured by Bitcoin, developed and launched a completely decentralized Web 3.0 communications platform utilized by both enterprise and individuals.

The DcFi platform allows for Web3 and native crypto conversations with seamless in chat payments, stacking pools similar to DeFi applications out there.

The CEO noted, “We are empowering the Web 3 creator economy. This is especially relevant in the era of the metaverse where individuals will need decentralized identities, secure communications and P2P financial transactions as well as features such as eternal messages. This is a gateway towards a truly Web 3.0 creators economy.” 

Crypto advocate Kevin O’Leary turned UAE national launches Web3.0 fund with lead investor from UAE

Crypto advocate Kevin O’Leary turned UAE national launches Web3.0 fund with lead investor from UAE

Kevin O’ Leary, nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful”,  a Canadian businessman, entrepreneur, and television personality and an advocate of cryptocurrency stated that he recently became a UAE citizen because he wants to work freely in a region that has attracted investment by some of crypto’s heaviest hitters, including FTX, Binance and Crypto.com

This came as he announced at Converge22 Blockchain and cryptocurrency conference that he was launching a Web3.0 investment fund called Cipher with the lead investor coming from the UAE.

As he noted on stage, “We’ve got to get away from this speculative price of an asset here. We’ve got to find reasons that this technology gets embedded into the economy.”

He went on to say, “I recently became a citizen of the United Arab Emirates to work freely in a region that has attracted investment by some of crypto’s heaviest hitters, including exchanges FTX, Binance and Crypto.com. The new all-Web3 fund’s lead investor comes from the United Arab Emirates.  There’s a tremendous amount of capital and interest there to invest in this space.”

The Shark Tank investor also commented on Jamie Dimon, the chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., who called Bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies as “decentralized Ponzi schemes” during the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services hearing.

“This is my interpretation. He feels threatened by some of this technology, particularly around payments,” O’Leary said. “This isn’t about speculation on asset price. This is about reducing the fees of how the world’s economies work more transparent, more productive, completely auditable, regulated, but less expensive.”

O’Leary is a vocal proponent of Web3 technology as a spokesperson for cryptocurrency exchange FTX and an investor in financial technology company Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin and the organizer of the Converge22 conference.

Abu Dhabi’s virtual assets regulator First MENA regulator to allow NFT trading

Abu Dhabi’s virtual assets regulator First MENA regulator to allow NFT trading

UAE virtual asset regulator in Abu Dhabi,  FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority) of ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market) has enhanced its capital markets framework, allowing for the trading of NFTs  (Non Fungible tokens) on virtual asset regulated platforms, This means that MTFs/Custodians (Multilateral trading Facilities) operating within ADGM are now able to seek approval from the FSRA to engage in Non-Fungible Token (NFT) activities.

As per the news, these are considered significant enhancements to its capital markets framework, across spot commodities, securities, derivatives, benchmarks, environmental instruments and virtual assets that will further improve on its innovative and progressive regime and leadership in financial markets.

Alongside its innovative approach to virtual assets, the ADGM has now implemented its regulatory framework for spot commodity and environmental instrument activities, making it the first international financial centre in the MENA region to do so

Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the ADGM, said, “The ADGM wishes to thank all those who responded to the consultation paper released earlier this year. The degree of interest shown in the consultation, as well as the keen interest by participants looking to undertake activities in these significant new areas, is hugely positive. Collectively, the ADGM and its market participants continue to provide regulatory and industry leadership, positioning the ADGM and Abu Dhabi as the jurisdiction of choice. These enhancements to our capital markets framework will unlock the next stage of investment and growth opportunities, across commodities, environmental instruments, virtual assets activities and wider financial markets.”

Prior to this announcement, ADGM’s FSRA had also announced that stablecoins could now be traded on virtual asset platforms. As they stated, ADGM will only permit those tokens where price stability is maintained by the issuer holding the same fiat currency it purports to be tokenizing on a fully backed 1:1 basis. This therefore currently prevents the use within ADGM of other types of stablecoins, such as algorithmic stablecoins.

While VARA (Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority) based out of Dubai continues to license virtual asset exchanges such as Binance with full licenses, it has yet to set its framework for the regulation of NFTs or stablecoins.

Despite this the UAE remains one of the most advanced virtual asset regulated hubs globally.

KSA Property developer issues NFTs for its Oman project

KSA Property developer issues NFTs for its Oman project

KSA’s Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Developer will drop a limited number of utility NFTs ( Non  fungible tokens) for its Oman AIDA project. The comments were made in an interview with AGBI media.

The $1.6 billion project AIDA, is the largest premium, mixed-use urban developments in Oman. It is a partnership between Dar Al Arkan and the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group) to drive the development of the Gulf state’s property market and support the growth of Oman’s real estate sector as part of Oman Vision 2040.

Ziad El Chaar, vice chairman of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development, said in the interview, “We are dropping 500 NFTs in the middle of October, which are utility tokens for our project AIDA in Oman.  If you are a holder of that NFT, you have a priority in booking in any launch of the project. This has a lot of value.

He added that those who booked in Dar Al Arkan Pagani project in December made 25 percent profit as prices went up.

The NFT will also give holders other advantages in the development, such as priority booking at hotels or at the golf club.

Located in the Yiti area of Muscat, overlooking the Sea of Oman, the project will feature 3,500 residential units of medium-sized villas, townhouses and low-rise apartments, two hotels, a plaza filled with cafes and restaurants, and a gated promenade with luxury retail and other amenities.

The project will be developed in three stages, on an area of 3.5 million square metres, and marks Dar Al Arkan’s first entry into Oman.

El Chaar stressed that while tokens continue to attract hype and sell for large sums, they must have utility. He explained, “Most NFTs [are like] ‘I’m Snoop Dogg [and] I’m launching an NFT’, [or] you have some fashion brands that launched NFTs. Our NFT has a utility and it can be redeemed. And at any time if you say I don’t want this token anymore, you can put it as a down payment on an apartment or a villa. We will redeem it for you for a purchase.”

Oman now has a blockchain enabled digital identity platform

Oman now has a blockchain enabled digital identity platform

Ahmed al Marjeby and Mahmood al Lawati have developed a blockchain enabled digital identity platform out of Oman. Nashid, the blockchain enabled digital identity platform is aimed to mitigate the risks of identity fraud. Nashid has also secured a pre-seed investment as part of the Techween program from Oman Technology Fund

As per the news, Oman based Nashid will allow users to access services digitally without visiting any service provider ever again.

In 2020 alone, identity theft and fraud cost over $700 billion in losses worldwide

The platform will allow the creation of a secure digital version of one’s identity and their attributes. The need for in-person verifications will cease, usernames and passwords will disappear, and a frictionless, online-only user journey will take place.

Nashid is powered by the Blockchain to maintain the truth of all digital interactions with high levels of online security and credibility. It also is fueled by encryption models of hash functions, digital signatures, and verifiable data structures and proofs to ensure security and uses asymmetric Cryptography to keep identities private using decentralized Identifier (DID) standards, and DID communications and methods

Marjeby, co-founder and CEO of Nashid, earlier founded two tech startups in the e-commerce and blockchain technologies, while Lawati, co-founder and CTO, has previous experience of founding a property tech startup.

In an interview, Lawati said, “Nashid as a digital identity platform powered by blockchain that allows service providers to verify new and existing customers digitally. Nashid also creates secure and reusable digital identities that are portable and verifiable. This mitigates risk of identity fraud, automates businesses’ ability to verify users digitally, and removes the need for in-person identity verifications.”

According to Lawati, Nashid is an enterprise-ready platform for businesses and a wallet app for end-users. The enterprise element allows service providers, banks and finance companies, telecommunications service providers, healthcare, aviation and oil and gas companies,  to verify users’ identities with seamless integration to their legacy systems and business processes.

Marjeby told LaraontheBlock when asked about what blockchain they were using, ” Apart from the platform itself, we are building our own blockchain governed by rules and parameters suitable for the Identity space and local regulations. Currently we are still in the final testing phased as we optimize and prepare for onboarding.” 

 End-users’ wallet app will ensure users have control and ownership of their identity information, and establish a clear ‘consent-based’ model of data exchange, which complies with local regulations and personal data protection laws.

 Lawait adds, “Nashid participated in the pitch competition at COMEX in June 2022 and was chosen as a Top 10 project by a powerhouse investment committee. Later, it secured a pre-seed investment as part of the Techween programme of Oman Technology Fund.”

EazyPay and Binance to offer crypto payments in Bahrain

EazyPay and Binance to offer crypto payments in Bahrain

Bahrain EazyPay, a payments solution provider,  has partnered with Binance’s Binance Pay to launch a regulated and approved crypto payments service offering in the Kingdom.

Nayef Tawfiq Al Alawi, Founder, MD & CEO of Eazy in Bahrain stated on LinkedIn,  “Now you can pay in stores with any preferred Cryptocurrency using Binance App.  A special thanks goes to Central Bank of Bahrain, Binance and Eazy Financial Services B.S.C (Closed) teams.” 

‎‏Eazy Financial Services “EazyPay”, a  Bahraini financial institute specialized in Point-of-Sale (POS) & Online Payment Gateway Acquiring services licensed & regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain, has partnered with Binance, to offer crypto  payments using “Binance Pay” over “EazyPay”  across 5000+ Point-of- Sale (POS) Terminals & Online Payment gateways in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Merchants such as ‎‏ Lulu Hypermarket, Sharaf DG and Al Zain Jewellery as well as local favorites such as Jasmi’s will now be able to accept 70+ cryptocurrencies from “Binance Pay” customers in a very fast & extremely secure way.

Customers can pay at Merchants Stores in “Real-Time” with cryptocurrency by simply scanning the generated QR from Eazy’s POS using their Binance App and pay with preferred cryptocurrency.

eToro receives crypto investment broker in principle approval from Abu Dhabi’s ADGM

eToro receives crypto investment broker in principle approval from Abu Dhabi’s ADGM

eToro,  social investment networks  has received an In-Principle Approval to operate as a securities, derivatives and crypto broker in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), approval will enable eToro to establish a base from which to offer its services to customers across the region.

 

eToro allows users to view other investors’ portfolios and statistics, and interact with them to exchange ideas, discuss strategies, and benefit from shared knowledge. Users can hold traditional assets such as equities, currencies, ETFs, or commodities, alongside newer assets like cryptoassets. eToro also offers its users a choice of how to invest, as users can trade directly themselves, invest in a portfolio, or replicate the investment strategy of other investors on eToro’s platform at no extra cost, with a single click.

Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Markets at ADGM, said, “We are pleased that eToro has been awarded an In-Principle Approval by the ADGM and are excited to support them as they work towards establishing their foothold and presence in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. ADGM is the largest regulated jurisdiction of virtual assets in the MENA region and eToro’s participation will add to its vibrant and trusted ecosystem of virtual asset trading venues, global exchanges and service providers.ADGM will continue to actively expand the business offerings and unlock new investment opportunities in the UAE, and enable investment platforms partners like eToro to support the growing financial needs of the investors and businesses across the region.”

 

Jason Hughes, Senior Executive Officer, UAE at eToro said, “This is an important milestone for eToro. The UAE has one of the most vibrant fintech landscapes in the Middle East, and Abu Dhabi one of the most sophisticated regulatory frameworks for digital assets. We’re incredibly proud to be joining this ecosystem. We look forward to working with the ADGM to obtain our full licence, and, in turn, expanding our services to investors in the UAE and further afield. We recently opened our office in Abu Dhabi to support this expansion and are looking forward to growing the team locally.”

George Naddaf, Regional Manager, UAE at eToro concluded, “eToro’s goal is to provide more people with access to financial markets. With the full licence in place, more investors in the Middle East will gain access not only to global markets, but also a wealth of educational content and the opportunity to share knowledge and discuss their strategy with our community of global investors. We are looking forward to working with our prospective clients and partners in the region.”

Select UAE Local bank customers can now trade with Binance in Dubai

Select UAE Local bank customers can now trade with Binance in Dubai

Binance, crypto exchange has received its Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Local bank clients approved by VARA will be able to utilize the Binance platform. Users will benefit from higher consumer protection levels because Binance is now a fully regulated platform in Dubai.

Binance is now able to open a client money account with a UAE local bank and provide services to qualified customers. Services include, virtual asset exchange services, conversion between virtual assets and fiat currencies, transfer of virtual assets, custody and management of virtual assets, virtual token offering and trading services and virtual assets payments and remittance services

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Chairman of VARA said, “We are pleased to have Binance licensed to operate within the VARA MVP Programme. The VARA regime aims to strike an effective balance between value creation and risk mitigation, enabling open market innovation while assuring protection for the economically vulnerable. The MVP Phase, is designed for select global players across the value chain, that are committed to responsible industry participation and VARA looks forward to Binance being an active contributor, reinforcing Dubai’s commitment towards creating a next-gen secure ecosystem for this future economy.”

Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder and CEO of Binance, commented: “At Binance we welcome regulations that are globally consistent, enable responsible innovation, protect users, and give them choice. VARA’s unique operating model is setting a benchmark for the global industry, and this most recent registration is an acknowledgement of our compliance and safety processes in the new regulatory framework.  We strongly believe there is a significant opportunity to work with our industry peers to develop consistent implementation standards around the world as we have been doing in Dubai.”

Alexander Chehade, Binance Dubai General Manager, noted: “Our registration in Dubai is a reflection of the country’s progressive stance on blockchain technology and its willingness to embrace this sector through collaboration. We look forward to continued partnership as we build upon our team and operations in Dubai to roll out additional services including local banking capabilities and enhanced products.”

Saudi Car agent utilizes blockchain platform for trade transaction with China

Saudi Car agent utilizes blockchain platform for trade transaction with China

Saudi Arabian Taajeer Group, the exclusive agent for MG cars in the Kingdom has utilized the Blockchain enabled Contour platform in its importing of cars from China. HSBC, Chinese SAIC Motor, and KSA Taajeer group executed a successful blockchain enabled trade finance transaction on the Contour platform.

As per the news this is a regional first for the automotive sector and a first in KSA.

Contour is a digital trade finance network that is building a global standard for trade by bringing together the world’s banks, corporates and ecosystem partners, onto a common, digital, and trusted network.

The Contour platform enabled end-to-end digitisation of the credit documentation required for Taajeer to import a shipment of cars from SAIC in a process that is up to 10 times faster than using physical documents. 

Chaker Zeraiki, Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance for HSBC UAE, said: “Our digitising at scale means making customers’ lives easier and, with Contour it means we’re cutting costs, reducing risk and speeding up trade. Bringing these benefits to the automotive sector and Saudi Arabia are a measure of our international connectivity and our global leadership in trade banking.”

Trade finance powers much of global trade and, according to HSBC, distributed ledger technology has the potential to reduce transaction times from between five and ten days to under 24 hours, therefore unlocking working capital and enabling more trade to be conducted between markets.

Carl Wegner, CEO of Contour said: “This transaction marks an important milestone in the Middle East’s automotive sector, proving that distributed ledger technology is successfully transforming the trade finance ecosystem. We are excited about the potential of wider adoption in this sector, as having a digital trade solution is no longer an option, but the new standard for the industry.”

The use of Contour’s platform also makes the transactions more secure as data shared on the network are indisputable and transparent, reducing the risk of fraud.

Tom Lee, Managing Director of MG Motor Middle East, owned by the SAIC Group, said: “It brings me great joy to continue to offer ‘best-in-class’ service through an integrated supply-chain programme that can make our operations even more seamless. With HSBC as our partner, we will proactively provide solutions to ensure our customers’ demands are met safely and on schedule. I believe that our bright future is filled with opportunities and our customers can rest assured they will be met with consistent high-quality supply from us, anytime and anywhere in the Middle East region.”

The transaction is also a first in Saudi Arabia where, according to David Leslie, General Manager of the Trade Finance Business at SABB, increased digitisation is aligned to the Vision 2030 initiative to make the Kingdom a regional trade hub. “Blockchain can significantly reduce friction and increase the pace of trade for companies trading with Saudi Arabian entities.”