Circle and UAE based Fuze to expand USDC stablecoin adoption

Circle and UAE based Fuze to expand USDC stablecoin adoption

Circle Internet Financial (Circle), a leading global digital financial technology firm, and UAE based Fuze, MENA’s pioneering digital assets infrastructure provider, to expand adoption of USDC stablecoin in MENA region, after signing MOU (Memorandum of Understanding). Circle, the issuer of the US-dollar backed stablecoin USDC, will work with Fuze to expand the adoption of USDC amongst new customers in the region, such as banks, fintechs, traditional enterprises and Web3 firms.

The scope of the agreement covers the Middle East, Africa and Turkey, paving the way for the expanded use of USDC in these regions and the piloting of new use cases relevant to these markets.

Miriam Kiwan VP, Partnerships & Business Development, MENA for Circle said, “This collaboration marks a significant milestone in our efforts to enhance financial inclusion and drive the adoption of full-reserve payment stablecoins across MENA. By joining forces with Fuze, we aim to expand the accessibility and usage of USDC, while fostering closer integration between regional and global finance. We look forward to a successful partnership that propels financial innovation and creates new opportunities for individuals and businesses in these dynamic markets.”

Fuze Co-Founder and CEO Mohammed Ali Yusuf (Mo Ali Yusuf) said, “Circle and Fuze share a common vision to create more efficient financial services and deliver digital assets infrastructure that builds a more connected, inclusive economy. We look forward to fostering a close working relationship with the Circle team and are excited about developing the future of finance together.”

Fuze, which was co-founded by Mo Ali Yusuf (CEO), Arpit Mehta (COO) and Srijan Shetty (CTO), has made rapid strides towards building digital assets infrastructure across the region. This includes securing robust regulation and licensing and receiving the largest seed funding round for a digital assets start-up in MENA history. Fuze continues to accelerate its product implementation and growth, in close collaboration with local and regional regulators.

A week prior Fuze signed an MOU with UAE Al Fardan exchange to offer digital asset services to their clients.

Metamask crypto wallet partners with Egyptian Vodafone Cash

Metamask crypto wallet partners with Egyptian Vodafone Cash

MetaMask self-custody crypto wallet announced on twitter that it has partnered with several entities across the globe including Egyptian payment provider Vodafone Cash to offer new ways to onboard crypto around the world.

MetaMask stated, “We’ve unlocked new ways to onboard to crypto around the world! -Vietnam: VietQR, Mobile Money, Philippines: GCash, Indonesia: QRIS, Thailand: Thai QR, Egypt: Vodafone Cash and Chile: Webpay

MetaMask has introduced a new ‘sell’ feature on its mobile app, enabling users across the world to exchange crypto for cash easily. In Africa, the feature is available for Nigerian and Egyptian users.

Metamask also announced that it is offering local transfers in  in Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea.????

The partnership between MetaMask and Egyptian based Vodafone Cash is interesting given that Egypt has not legalized or regulated crypto trading and transfers.

The MetaMask wallet was downloaded the most in India and the United States, although 2023 data suggests growing popularity in other countries, most notably Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, India, and Nigeria.

In the Arab World, Metamask has been downloaded in Algeria, and Egypt.

MetaMask in December 2023 had 30 million users globally.

Although MetaMask is user-friendly, the wallet only comes pre-installed with the Ethereum network. Those wishing to add additional networks – such as Binance Smart Chain or Polygon, need to do this manually.  It doe not support Bitcoin.

MetaMask supports all cryptocurrency tokens on the Arbitrum, Optimism, Binance Smart Chain, Polygon, and Avalanche networks.

This comes as Egypt develops its CBDC ( Central Bank Digital Currency). In December 2023 Abdel Monem Al-Sayed, Director of the Cairo Center for Economic and Strategic Studies, noted that the state is prioritizing digital transformation. The aim is to decrease reliance on cash and printed currency.  

Egypt started on its CBDC project in December 2022. Egyptian Central bank announced that it was currently studying the implementation of CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) which should offer a safer and more secure replacement to current cryptocurrencies and the risks associated with them while making use of digital economy.

Token2049 launches inaugural crypto event in Dubai UAE

Token2049 launches inaugural crypto event in Dubai UAE

Token2049, global Web3 conference launches inaugural crypto event Dubai UAE on April 18-19 2024. The first round of the event’s speaker lineup has been made public. Speaker names include Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether; Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder of Polygon; Arthur Hayes, Co-Founder of BitMEX; Roger Ver, angel investor and founder of Bitcoin.com; Sergey Nazarov, Co-Founder of Chainlink; and Daniel Alegre, CEO of Yuga Labs, amongst 50 other industry leaders.

Alex Fiskum, Co-Founder of TOKEN2049 said, “Following the success of our latest iteration of TOKEN2049 in Singapore, we’re immensely proud and excited to bring the world’s premier crypto event to an entirely new region. Traction for the event so far has been phenomenal with thousands of registrations already, setting the stage for what will no doubt be a completely sold-out event. Today is the first of many exciting announcements to come in the lead-up to the event in April 2024.”

Set to be held at Madinat Jumeirah, TOKEN2049 crypto event in Dubai will see entrepreneurs, investors, developers, industry leaders, and global media gather to discuss the most prevalent topics across crypto and Web3. Throughout TOKEN2049 Week, taking place 15-21 April 2024, attendees will participate in a wide range of side events, workshops, and exclusive networking opportunities.

TOKEN2049 Dubai has also revealed the names of a handful of the title sponsors confirmed thus far. The list includes a number of industry-leading cryptocurrency exchanges and marketplaces such as BingX, CoinW, Zeebu, the Web3 powered neobank, tailormade for telecom settlements; M2, an Abu Dhabi based crypto investment platform, TRON, decentralizing the web and and DWF Labs – a global digital asset market maker and multi-stage Web3 investment firm.

TOKEN2049 Dubai will welcome exhibitors from around the world to showcase their projects at the conference. Building on the success of TOKEN2049 Singapore, which took place in September 2023 and brought together over 300 exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees, with 80 percent coming from overseas, TOKEN2049 is set to break records in the MENA region and further cement its position as the leading global Web3 event series.

Decentralized exchange gets a push in the UAE

Decentralized exchange gets a push in the UAE

UAE based Finschia Foundation, an independent non-profit organization, based in Abu Dhabi, UAE, established in March 2023 to expand public blockchain and Web3 technologies, and NEOPIN, DeFi multichain platform have partnered to provide decentralized exchange services.

Finschia and NEOPIN will collaborate to develop the Finschia Network Swap (hereinafter referred to as FNSwap). NEOPIN is currently developing FNSwap, which will be the first Automated Market Maker (AMM) Decentralized Exchange in the Finschia ecosystem.

NEOPIN has been building blockchain expertise and technology since 2017, participating as a node validator for various global blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron, Cardano, and Cosmos. In 2022, the company launched the CeDeFi protocol NEOPIN to provide a secure and convenient environment for using the DeFi protocol.

This year, the company was selected as an innovation program company by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) in the UAE to attract direct and indirect investment, and is working with the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a special financial zone in the UAE, to create the world’s first DeFi regulation as a public-private partnership.

As per the news, FNSwap is envisioned as a community-first, community-owned centered and fair platform, offering various range of DeFi products and incentives. These include token swapping, earning fees and rewards by depositing tokens into through token deposits in pools, gaining incentives incentive acquisition through token staking, and token transfers with EVM-based chains via bridge.

FNSwap is set to launch in the near future, providing users with a stable and convenient platform to access DEX services within the Finschia ecosystem.  Later it will be expanded by creating an environment where various Finschia dApp services can easily list tokens and users can trade conveniently.

According to the news, the Foundation will continuously provide necessary technical support and integration for the development of a diverse array of ‘money legos’, starting with supporting the basic token swap services. This support aims to facilitate the onboarding of DeFi services, propelling the platform towards becoming the №1 DeFi platform in Asia.

R3 latest council member of Emirates NBD digital asset Lab

R3 latest council member of Emirates NBD digital asset Lab

UAE Emirates NBD bank chooses R3, the blockchain and DLT infrastructure provider as latest council member of its digital asset Lab. R3 will join PwC, a professional services firm, and Fireblocks, a digital asset transfer and direct custody technology platform, as the founding council members of the Lab.

R3’s Corda offers distributed application and tokenization platforms powering regulated digital finance. Only Corda offers a permissioned ledger, asset modelling capabilities and a multi-party workflow engine in one interoperable and scalable distributed platform.

By adding R3, Emirates NBD is strengthening the new collaborative ecosystem by leveraging R3’s regulated markets expertise to drive transformative advancements in digital assets, currencies and banking services. The new membership marks a pivotal step in Emirates NBD’s journey towards redefining the future of banking, using R3’s technology to enhance security, efficiency and customer-centricity.

Abdulla Qassem, Group Chief Operating Officer at Emirates NBD, commented: “We are pleased to welcome R3, a technology pioneer, to the Digital Asset Lab. The platform is significant to Emirates NBD’s innovation strategy as it serves as a testing ground for new financial technologies and digital assets. As a digital banking leader, the Lab demonstrates Emirates NBD’s commitment to stay at the forefront of innovation in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.”

David Rutter, Chief Executive Officer at R3, noted, “R3 is delighted to be partnering with Emirates NBD by participating in its new Digital Asset Lab. The region continues to go from strength to strength in global financial innovation, and the creation of the Lab marks another significant milestone in the growth of its burgeoning FinTech sector.”

The Digital Asset Lab launched in May 2023 at the Dubai FinTech Summit, with the goal of enabling and accelerating digital asset and financial services innovation in the UAE.

R3 has been expanding aggressively in the MENA region in the past months.

Regulated Digital asset Insurance now in UAE

Regulated Digital asset Insurance now in UAE

OneDegree a Hong Kong based digital asset insurance provider has expanded its offering to the UAE through a local partnership with a 33 year old insurance company.

Both UAE local entity and OneDegree will insure digital asset firms in the UAE using its OneInFinity product offering.

As per Alvin Kwock Yin Iun speaking to the post, “ OneDegree is also in the process of setting up a new entity in Dubai and bringing on new hires in the city, according to Kwock. The move comes after the UAE’s economy minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri met with OneDegree during his visit to Hong Kong for the Belt and Road Summit in September. At this time he expressed interest in bringing OneDegree’s digital asset expertise to the UAE and more broadly to the Middle East and North Africa region.”

OneDegree and Dubai Insurance Company will offer several types of insurance required by the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority’s (VARA) new cryptocurrency regulatory regime in Dubai, including commercial crime insurance, professional indemnity insurance, and directors and officers insurance.

OneInfinity by OneDegree, took part in the Dubai Future Blockchain Summit 2023. Alvin Kwock, co-founder of OneInfinity, was one of the panel speaker of the discussion on “Crypto Trading & Digital Asset – Redefining Custody in Web3 World”, where he stressed the importance of using a qualified custodian and highlighted the growing interest of banks in the crypto world.

Seven-year-old OneDegree launched its digital-asset insurance service OneInfinity in November 2021, which offers insurance to digital-asset businesses such as cryptocurrency exchanges, custodians and wallet providers.

Prior to this OneDegree Hong Kong Limited entered into a three-year strategic partnership with Munich Re to launch OneInfinity, a digital asset insurance product, making OneDegree the first licensed insurer in Asia to collaborate with a global leading reinsurer in offering digital asset insurance.

Cactus Custody™,  the qualified institutional digital assets custodian service provider of Matrixport, upgraded its USD 50 million insurance for its customers with protection now extended to include crime coverage, specifically for warm wallets.

The insurance is issued by OneInfinity by OneDegree, the first and only direct insurer for digital assets in Asia. In addition to enjoying additional insurance coverage, clients have the assurance of the group having passed and met the due diligence standards to be insured by one of the world’s largest crypto insurers.

non-banking entity joins Blockchain UAE Trade Connect platform

non-banking entity joins Blockchain UAE Trade Connect platform

Beehive, a peer to peer lending platform, has become the second non-banking entity to join Blockchain enabled UAE Trade Connect platform. DP World Finance platform partnered with UAE trade Connect in November.

Beehive is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). It has rapidly grown into a leading disruptor in the fintech industry, providing an alternative finance solution for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the ever-growing lending ecosystem.

Beehive recently signed off with UAE Trade Connect (UTC) as its newest member and second non-bank entity to join its consortium. This strategic alliance is set to enhance trade finance operations and fortify the fight against fraud in the UAE. Beehive will leverage UTC’s platform to detect fraudulent and suspicious invoices and mitigate duplicate financing risks against bank invoices, leading to more flow of working capital finance for its customers.

Craig Moore, CEO and Founder of Beehive, said: “By joining the UTC platform, Beehive underscores its dedication to transparency and security in financial processes. We aim to revolutionize peer-to-peer lending alongside other UTC members by infusing greater transparency into the lending ecosystem.”

Zul Javaid, CEO of UTC, commented: “FinTech’s have emerged as a welcome addition in the GCC region enriching the financial landscape by providing innovative alternatives to traditional lending processes. With Beehive in our consortium this means that their working capital lending will be presented to our system daily, in real time, and will serve to de-risk their invoices as well as those of our member banks.”

UAE Trade Connect (UTC), Launched in 2021, was co-created by e& enterprise and the UAE banking industry and offers a technology solution to detect suspicious transactions and prevent fraud and duplication in real time.

This highly scalable advanced platform is completely cloud-native and incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The consortium currently houses 14 members which includes banks and NBFI’s while additional financial intuitions are piloting the platform.

Invest Bank became the 13th bank to join UAE Trade Connect which is paving the way for a secure, efficient and technologically advanced trade finance landscape in October.

CoinBase launches Blockchain powered Project Diamond out of ADGM reglab

CoinBase launches Blockchain powered Project Diamond out of ADGM reglab

CoinBase Asset Management, has launched Blockchain powered Project Diamond, with the execution of the first debt instrument on the platform as it prepares to enter the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) RegLab sandbox.

Project Diamond’s initial use cases will be for registered institutional users outside the U.S. only. Project Diamond harnesses the power of the Coinbase technology stack: Coinbase Prime custody, Web3 Wallet, the Project Diamond platform, and USDC, all connected to the Base layer-2 blockchain.

Project Diamond has received in-principle approval from the Financial Services Regulated Activity (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to conduct the regulated activity of Developing Financial Technology Services within the RegLab.

The goal of Project Diamond is to enable institutional use of next generation financial technology. Project Diamond is a platform to create, buy, and sell digitally native assets leveraging the power of the Coinbase technology stack and Base, an Ethereum layer-2 blockchain.

On November 10, the first digital debt instrument on Project Diamond was successfully issued, distributed, and matured on the platform as a technical demonstration of feasibility to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority as it prepares to join the ADGM RegLab sandbox.

Coinbase Asset Management is building Project Diamond to enable a future where institutions can create, distribute and manage a wide range of digitally-native assets directly onchain. On our journey, we seek world class partners to join us in imagining and creating the future of the global financial system. Together, we will make finance scale like software.

In April 2023, CoinBase global crypto currency exchange,revealed that it was in talks with UAE’s regulator in Abu Dhabi, FSRA ( Financial Service Regulatory Authority)  part of ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market) to expand its regulated operations to the UAE.

UAE Fils leverages Blockchain Sui platform to track carbon credits

UAE Fils leverages Blockchain Sui platform to track carbon credits

UAE Fils leverages Blockchain Sui platform to track carbon credits. Sui is a next generation Layer 1 blockchain.

The collaboration will leverage blockchain technology to serve use cases in line with the ESG goals that modern businesses are seeking. Users will also benefit from the unique crypto wallet infrastructure provided by Sui. For example, using Sui’s zkLogin tooling, end users can authenticate by simply using Web 2 social credentials, creating and accessing their wallets will be effortless.

Nameer Khan, the Founder and CEO of Fils stated, “Sui offers speed and scalability that is unique, along with a commitment to sustainability that make them an ideal partner for us. We look forward to leveraging this capable blockchain to offer an unprecedented solution to one of the world’s most intractable challenges,” said Nameer Khan.

Fils officially launched in November with its B2B2C product offering, the company is targeting several industries including financial services, hospitality, and e-commerce. With Sui platform, Fils can now elevate the user experience and enhance the platform’s capabilities through blockchain technology.

Greg Siourounis, Managing Director at the Sui Foundation, added, “The most important challenges of our era demand the most capable technology implemented by the strongest teams working together to build solutions. I am extremely proud to see Sui’s infrastructure being integrated by the forward-thinking team at Fils to address the crucial global issue of climate change in a fundamentally new way.”

So far there have been many announcements pertaining to Blockchain platforms for Carbon credits or sustainability including the recent e&enterprise announcement today.

UAE e&enterprise to develop largest Blockchain sustainable exchange

UAE e&enterprise to develop largest Blockchain sustainable exchange

UAE e& enterprise partners with Blockchain and AI enabled platform World Wide Generation to develop the world’s largest global sustainability exchange platform.

The platform powered by WWG’s G17Eco platform, e& enterprise’s ‘Sustainability as a Service’ is set to transform the way in which organizations access, interpret, and act on sustainability data, offering insights, solutions, and support across various sectors.

The cloud-based G17Eco platform, powered by innovative technologies such as data bots, blockchain and AI, integrates over 3,000 ESG metrics and 50 frameworks into a unified digital taxonomy. This integration significantly reduces the time, cost, and risk associated with disclosure, enabling real-time data sharing with stakeholders.

Sustainability as a Service involves a diverse selection of offerings, such as sustainability advisory services for ESG assessment and target setting, monitoring and tracking platforms, and solutions to enhance efficiency and decrease carbon emissions.

The service benefits  various stakeholders comprising large and small enterprises SMEs, government bodies, financial institutions, and regulators. Its aim is to facilitate the end-to-end mapping, tracking, measurement, and marketing of sustainability performance.

The partnership intends to develop a marketplace that motivates and rewards companies with robust sustainability credentials through sustainable financing alternatives.

Salvador Anglada, the CEO of e& enterprise, noted,“We are excited to collaborate with World Wide Generation and utilise their G17Eco platform, which perfectly aligns with our sustainability strategy. Our partnership will allow us to work together on AI ethics, climate action, and sustainable cities, and demonstrate our collaborative dedication towards advancing the SDGs. WWG’s implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, such as data bots, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI), is in line with our goal to advance community and individual progression. The organisation’s inspiring women leadership has elevated the inventive utilisation of these technologies, reflecting a commitment to objectivity and precision.”

Manjula Lee, World Wide Generation’s CEO and Founder  added “After six years of development and the launch of G17Eco a year ago, we are pleased to announce a partnership with e& enterprise. e& enterprise provides an optimal collaboration for advancing G17Eco’s mission, beginning with initiatives in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to drive tangible progress in sustainability.”

Recently many sustainability initiatives launched in the UAE. UAE Aya licensed under Web3 Innovations FZE, an entity of Enjinstarter, a Web3 Launchpad and advisory that it has been granted a virtual asset services provider license pending fulfillment of pre-operating conditions and qualifying for operational approval.