Founder of IOTA Foundation creates tokenized ETF Fund with Neovision in UAE

Founder of IOTA Foundation creates tokenized ETF Fund with Neovision in UAE

Two Abu Dhabi firms, Realize, a financial assets tokenization platform, and Neovision Wealth Management have launched an blockchain enabled investment vehicle that will buy units of exchange traded funds (ETFs) focused on U.S. Treasury bills and convert these assets into digital tokens that can be held, traded and transferred.

The fund is called Realize T-BILLS Fund and it will buy BlackRock’s iShares and State Street’s SPDR, tokenize units from these ETFs, and incorporate them within the fund, Dominik Schiener, Chaiman and co-founder of technology company Realize as well as IOTA Foundation, told Reuters in an interview. It hopes to grow to a $200-million fund.

Realize will tokenize the units of the T-BILLS Fund, while Neovision will manage it.

Tokenized Treasuries are a growing segment of the crypto market, with a market capitalization of $2.4 billion on public blockchains, primarily Ethereum, according to data platform rwa.xyz. They are effectively digital tokens created on a blockchain and backed by U.S. government debt, and issued both by blockchain-native firms and traditional institutions, notably BlackRock and Franklin Templeton.

In March, BlackRock launched its first tokenized fund called BUIDL on the Ethereum blockchain, investing 100% of its assets in cash, U.S. Treasury bills and repurchase agreements or repos. The BlackRock fund has a current market cap of $530 million.

The Realize fund, the first tokenized fund to be domiciled out of the Abu Dhabi Global Market, will issue the $RBILL token and will serve as the digital representation of the units of the fund. They will initially launch on both the IOTA and Ethereum blockchain networks.

Dominik Schiener, Realize’s IOTA Foundation Founder and Realize Founder, told AGBI magazine in UAE, that his target was for the fund to have $100 million in assets under management in 12 months’ time. Of this, he expects 20 to 30 percent will come from investors in the Gulf and the remainder from Europe and Southeast Asia.

“Southeast Asia is going to be the largest demographic for us. We also want to do a lot in the Middle East because it has a high penetration of crypto users and wealthy individuals,” Schiener said.

Arvind Ramamurthy, Abu Dhabi Global Market’s chief market development officer, said in a statement announcing the fund’s launch: “As a tokenized investment fund adhering to stringent regulatory standards, it positions the international financial Centre of Abu Dhabi as a global leader in real-world asset tokenization.”

Dr. Ryan Lemand, co-founder and chief executive officer of Neovision, said it makes sense to buy T-Bill ETFs and tokenize them, instead of outright purchasing Treasury bills in the market. He noted buying cash Treasuries in the market would involve continuous transaction costs because they will have to be bought again and again.

ADGM hosts Blockchain funds Forum on digital finance and DeFi

ADGM hosts Blockchain funds Forum on digital finance and DeFi

UAE Financial centre, ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Markets) has announced that it will be holding the Abu Dhabi Blockchain Funds Forum on April 16th at ADGM.

The Forum will gather investors to discuss and explore opportunities in the digital finance and Blockchain landscape.

Speakers will also discuss the potential of Web3 with expert panels on investment opportunities in blockchain technology.

As per the agenda, speakers will include Alex Lipton from ADIA, John D’Agostino from Coinbase, Valerie Hawley from True Global ventures, as well as speakers from SuperScrypt, BH Digital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Galaxy Digital, Further Ventures, CoinFund and more.

Also on the table is a discussion about the future of DeFi (Decentralized Finance).

ADGM has been at the forefront of virtual asset and DLT regulation. It has also welcomed players such as IoTa, Solana, and others to its financial centre. In addition, the first national crypto exchange M2 was launched recently from ADGM.

The UAE has become a magnet for crypto, digital assets and blockchain startups and companies given its work to advance virtual asset and blockchain regulations.

UAE ADGM registers its second DLT Foundation

UAE ADGM registers its second DLT Foundation

UAE financial freezone center, based out of Abu Dhabi, ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market) has registered its second DLT Foundation.The Finschia DLT Foundation, chaired by Youngsu Ko, has been registered as a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundation with the ADGM.

IOTA DLT Foundation announced its registration as the first foundation under the DLT Foundations Regulations at ADGM in November 2023.

First established in March 2023 by LINE Tech Plus, a blockchain subsidiary of LINE, the Finschia DLT Foundation is a foundation dedicated to developing sustainable token models in collaboration with global Web3 users. The Finschia Foundation aims to accelerate expansion into global Web3 business initiatives.

The Finschia Foundation has registered as the first Asian blockchain project under the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Foundations Regulations of ADGM. Additionally, the Finschia Foundation is set to develop accessible Web3 services for global users in collaboration with various enterprises in Abu Dhabi, based on its public blockchain ‘Finschia’.

Youngsu Ko, Chairman of the Finschia Foundation Council, stated, “ADGM is advancing as one of the most blockchain-friendly and leading digital asset regulatory environments globally. We anticipate significant progress through our collaboration with ADGM.”

The Finschia Foundation is also focused on creating an open blockchain platform, designed for easy accessibility by partners and users from various sectors. In addition, they are actively working to expand the availability of their digital asset, ‘FINSCHIA (FNSA),’ across more exchanges, aiming to continually enhance its liquidity and usability.

Inheriting the philosophy of LINE Blockchain, “Blockchain for All”, the Finschia Foundation operates its third-generation public blockchain mainnet “Finschia” and crypto asset FINSCHIA (FNSA), and aims to achieve a sustainable token model with Web3 users around the world.

In January 2024 Finschia announced the merger with Klaytn Foundation, to form a new blockchain mainnet. The two foundations have submitted their proposals to their respective governance members for open discussion, with voting scheduled from 26 January till 2 February. The governance proposal submitted by Klaytn Foundation can be viewed on the Klaytn Governance Forum.

UAE government to increase adoption of AI and Blockchain in global trade

UAE government to increase adoption of AI and Blockchain in global trade

In a recent X post by HE Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, he noted that the UAE government will be accelerating the adoption of technologies such as AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Blockchain into the global trading system.

The Initiative called Regulation 5.0 for the Future of TradeTech and the Trade-Sustain-AI Initiative will identify key trends in trade technology and provide a blueprint for a harmonized global regulatory system to oversee their deployment.

According to Al Zeyoudi this is especially important for developing countries to avoid widening the technology gap.

Al Zeyoudi stated on X platform, “At the inaugural TradeTech Global Forum today, we launched two important initiatives that will accelerate the adoption of technologies like AI and Blockchain into the global trading system: Regulation 5.0 for the Future of TradeTech and the Trade-Sustain-AI Initiative.

He added, “Our Trade-Sustain-AI initiative will create global partnerships to oversee the development of AI-powered trade solutions that will advance sustainable practices throughout supply chains – and help promote a smarter, cleaner trading system.

The comments were made during the Abu Dhabi World Trade Organization Conference being held in Abu Dhabi between Feb 26th and 29th. The conference had metioned that decentralization of global supply chains would be on the table for the first time.

The conference witnessed that attendance of 165 nations and trading blocs. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted in an interview with WAM, “We will initiate new dialogues, called deliberative sessions, where, for the first time, the ministers will engage on issues crucial to the contemporary world, including trade and environment, trade and climate change, trade and sustainability, and trade and inclusion.”

She advocated the decentralization of supply chains, expanding them to developing countries.

Moreover during the conference, Blockchain Foundation, IOTA announced its partnership with the World Economic Forum, Trademark Africa, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the Institute of Export and International Trade, and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation.

As per their press release, “Together, we are embarking on a transformative journey to revolutionize international trade through the creation of the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP). International trade has long been burdened by inefficiencies, bureaucracy, and lack of transparency. The cumbersome process of trading goods across borders involving numerous documents, multiple actors, and intricate regulations often leads to delays, errors, and even fraudulent activities. Recognizing the urgent need for a reliable and transparent digital trade infrastructure, our coalition is committed to fostering a neutral governance framework for TLIP.”

TLIP aims to streamline information exchange and promote collaboration across borders. It builds on IOTA’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) to provide data immutability and security. It performs the same function as a government stamp on a trade certificate to prove authenticity – just made digital.

Customs in destination markets will not need a stamped physical Certificate of Origin when using TLIP. However, while physical documents are subject to fraudulent risks, the TLIP system ensures transparency and immutability of the relevant details of uploaded documents.

TLIP ensures that a digital certificate is authentic and prevents it from being tampered with. IOTA also provides distributed controls, so each trade actor can manage their data and give access permission without outsourcing the permission controls to a centralized entity enabling a digital-based collaboration much like how the free market of trade works manually today.

Furthermore, using IOTA’s DLT enables parties to interact securely online without requiring a centralized platform that stores all information and is vulnerable to hacking or manipulation.

IOTA utilizes blockchain assessment from Zokyo for UAE ADGM registration

IOTA utilizes blockchain assessment from Zokyo for UAE ADGM registration

IOTA utilized the expertise of Zokyo, a blockchain security solutions provider to carry an assessment of IOTA’s white paper and Token economy paper in alignment to industry benchmarks and ADGM regulatory requirements for IOTA’s registration as the first DLT Foundation in ADGM.

 Zokyo Econ Lab a new division of Zokyo is dedicated to assisting blockchain companies in optimizing their token economics, aligning them with both industry and regulatory standards across various jurisdictions. Zokyo Econ Lab specializes in driving exceptional growth at the forefront of blockchain innovation, including ecosystems, protocols, foundations, and DAOs.

Zokyo Econ Lab’s first major undertaking in regulatory compliance involved the successful registration of IOTA, a renowned blockchain protocol, under the Abu Dhabi Global Market DLT Foundations 2023 regulations.

The IOTA audit assessed the alignment of IOTA’s White Paper and Token Economy paper with regulatory requirements and recognized industry benchmarks for their content. This included a proper market, product, and business overview; identification of target users and services provided; explaining reasons for tokenization; token utilities; tokenized ecosystem participants breakdown; usage of the token and it’s value for users; incentive policy, and more.

With expertise in mathematical analysis, Zokyo Econ Lab designs comprehensive token models to maximize value and ensure sustainable growth. By scrutinizing distribution, utility, governance, and incentives, Zokyo Econ Lab identifies and capitalizes on optimization opportunities. It aims to craft robust ecosystems that drive stakeholder engagement and project resilience. This proactive approach positions blockchain projects at the forefront of the industry, ready to adapt and thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy.

The audit process was structured in two phases: an initial report to identify areas of concern and recommend improvements, followed by a collaborative workshop with the IOTA team. The final report, post-remediation, confirmed IOTA’s compliance with the ADGM DLT Foundations 2023 regulations.

Dominik Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of the IOTA Foundation, said: “Zokyo was an instrumental partner in helping to navigate the new regulatory framework of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) in the United Arab Emirates. Zokyo’s expertise and thorough processes helped a great deal in successfully getting the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation registered as the first foundation under the new DLT Foundations Regulations, enabling us to start our next chapter of global expansion.”

Hartej Sawhney, Founder and CEO of Zokyo, added, “The inauguration of Zokyo Econ Lab marks a pivotal moment in demystifying the complex realm of both blockchain regulation and token modeling. Our commitment to offering bespoke compliance solutions extends beyond ADGM, as we support blockchain enterprises in dozens of jurisdictions.”

Zokyo’s collaboration with VAF Compliance, a consultancy company specializing in regulatory compliance within the blockchain and virtual asset sector, further underscores the lab’s dedication to providing superior compliance services.

IOTA launches the first regulated $100 million DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi UAE

IOTA launches the first regulated $100 million DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi UAE

IOTA DLT Foundation announced that it has been registered as the first foundation under the DLT Foundations Regulations at ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Markets. As per their blog, his landmark achievement positions IOTA at the forefront of digital and real-world convergence in the financial sector in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region and globally.

The IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation will be seeded with over $100 million in IOTA tokens, to be vested over the next four years. This funding is earmarked for nurturing the IOTA ecosystem and accelerating the growth of the IOTA protocol. In line with its community-driven ethos, the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation will foster valuable partnerships in the region to advance the adoption of IOTA and its staging network Shimmer, across various sectors.

As per the blog, this will include collaboration with institutional investors, governments, and academic institutions for the tokenization of real-world assets and bringing them on-chain, thus bringing billions of dollars into the UAE’s virtual assets space.

Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, CEO of the Registration Authority (RA) of ADGM said, “Welcoming IOTA, one of the most established and well-respected blockchain protocols into ADGM’s DLT regime exemplifies our ambition to position Abu Dhabi’s stature as a prime location and ADGM as the leading jurisdiction for the blockchain industry. It is a strong validation of ADGM’s progress with its new and revolutionary DLT Foundations Framework. Working with companies like IOTA, ADGM aims to move towards a future characterized by setting global benchmarks in the ever-evolving blockchain and Web3 landscape”.

“The IOTA Foundation’s support from ADGM and our partnership with UAE authorities is about more than global expansion. It’s about ushering in a new era of regulatory synergy in the crypto markets,” said Dominik Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of the IOTA Foundation. “We want to ensure that we take the right steps toward digital autonomy for everyone, and that means making sure a diversity of communities take an active role in shaping the Foundation’s technology and governance.”

In early November 2023, IOTA stated it would be launching its DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi UAE soon.

IOTA to launch its regulated DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi UAE

IOTA to launch its regulated DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi UAE

IOTA an open-source distributed ledger and cryptocurrency designed for the Internet of things announced that it will be establishing its IOTA regulated foundation for digital infrastructure in Abu Dhabi UAE. This is as per their blog is a move that underlines their commitment to the UAE and their growth plans globally. Prior to this IOTA had announced in September it would launch its headquarters in UAE.

As per the blog post, the purpose of this entity is to become one of the primary organizations to foster the growth, adoption, and global expansion of IOTA. The post states, “As we open up a new chapter with IOTA, we need to match technology with the right support to establish IOTA as a global ecosystem. We can only do this by operating out of the right environment. We are convinced that the UAE will offer IOTA the best environment to realize its global ambitions.”

It adds,” We want IOTA to be a public goods infrastructure that will power our digital society and economy. With the new foundation in Abu Dhabi, we are confident that we will achieve this vision of the future.”

This announcement comes just after ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) regulatory authority (FSRA) announced its new DLT Foundation regulatory framework. So IOTA could be the first entity to launch under this new regulatory framework.

According to Dominik Schiener, Chairman of the IOTA Foundation: ”From the very beginning, we have experienced a very warm welcome and unwavering support from leaders, regulators, and businesses in Abu Dhabi. I am simply amazed at how the country operates and how it is being led by visionary and open-minded leaders. This “can-do” mentality is the perfect environment for us to take IOTA to the next level. We are excited to play a role in helping to establish the UAE as a hub for technology innovations.”

The newly established foundation will operate under the guidance of a dedicated board of directors. One of its primary objectives will be to provide essential funding and support to the rapidly growing IOTA ecosystem. This commitment aligns with our mission to foster innovation and development within the broader DLT space.

IOTA aims to work closely with leading institutions out of the UAE, and building a thriving DLT ecosystem in the UAE and beyond.  

This announcement comes as the IOTA Foundation was chosen as a key participant in the UAE’s official startup delegation at CEATEC in Japan.

“We are thrilled to announce that the IOTA Foundation has been chosen as a key participant in the UAE’s official startup delegation at the upcoming CEATEC conference, scheduled from October 17th to 20th and held at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. This recognition is an immense honor and a testament to IOTA’s pivotal role in pioneering Web3 and Web2 innovations.”

In May 2023, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani AlZeyoudi and the Founder of Iota, Dominik Schiener, met announcing that the IoTa Blockchain platform has now been ushered into the UAE’s digital ecosystem.

IOTA Blockchain for internet of things launches headquarters in UAE

IOTA Blockchain for internet of things launches headquarters in UAE

IOTA, distributed ledger built for the “Internet of Everything” , has announced that it is establishing a foundation and another headquarter in Abu Dhabi UAE, as part of their commitment to developing a digital infrastructure and innovation ecosystem in the UAE.  IOTA’s Tangle is an open, feeless and scalable distributed ledger, designed to support frictionless data and value transfer.

The IOTA foundation will  grow IOTA’s reach and importance around the globe. As per IOTA news release, the purpose of this entity is to become one of the primary organizations to foster the growth, adoption, and global expansion of IOTA.

IOTA states, “As we open up a new chapter with IOTA, we need to match technology with the right support to establish IOTA as a global ecosystem. We can only do this by operating out of the right environment. We are convinced that the UAE will offer IOTA the best environment to realize its global ambitions.”

IOTA considers the new entity in Abu Dhabi as an additional headquarter, to further decentralize the governance of IOTA.

The news adds that IOTA is to become one of the leading DLT ( distributed ledger technology) entities in the UAE. The news adds, “ Being established under the new regulatory framework, we intend to work closely with regulators, business leaders, and government entities to further advance the UAE’s global role as a leader in technology and business. This distinction highlights our dedication to embracing robust oversight and well-defined procedures to support and enhance the crypto community within the UAE and worldwide.”

According to Dominik Schiener, Chairman of the IOTA Foundation: ”From the very beginning, we have experienced a very warm welcome and unwavering support from leaders, regulators, and businesses in Abu Dhabi. I am simply amazed at how the country operates and how it is being led by visionary and open-minded leaders. This “can-do” mentality is the perfect environment for us to take IOTA to the next level. We are excited to play a role in helping to establish the UAE as a hub for technology innovations.”

One of its primary objectives of the UAE based IOTA entity will be to provide essential funding and support to the rapidly growing IOTA ecosystem. This commitment aligns with our mission to foster innovation and development within the broader DLT space.

The move doesnt come as a surprise as in May 2023, IOTA executives and UAE governmental leaders had fruitful discussions on IOTA’s role in the UAE digital strategy. 

Gemini digital asset exchange joins other global players in eyeing UAE for a license

Gemini digital asset exchange joins other global players in eyeing UAE for a license

In a Zawya exclusive interview, GEMINI, digital asset exchange founders expressed their interest in applying for a license in UAE. As per the article US crypto exchange Gemini, is interested in a license in UAE because of the hostility and lack of clarity in the USA. Several other global virtual asset service providers have already expressed their interest as well including Coinbase, Bittrex, IoTa, and Circle. 

The license application is set to come after meetings in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are the founders of GEMINI. Tyler told zawya, “There is a lot of customers and amazing investors here.” As for the USA, Tyler told Zawya it as hard to get things done in the US.

He added, “You don’t want the Wild West, but you also don’t want a wall or a gate to innovation, getting that balance right builds the healthiest markets. We have always believed that, and always tried to get that message across to the regulators to provide that clarity and consistency in guidelines, because we think that the outcomes are just so positive.”

Prior to this Gemini announced that it was launching its European HQ in Dublin. But Tyler affirmed to Zawya that Gemini would not be giving up on the USA.

This would make Gemini the latest global entity to see regulation in UAE, over the past two months, entities such as CoinBase, IoTa, Circle, Bittrex, have all expressed their interest to set up in the UAE.

This is being further pushed with the new UAE Central Bank’s AML CFT guidance for financial entities regarding their dealings with virtual asset service providers.

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.