The Hashgraph association explores five tokenization use cases in Qatar

The Hashgraph association explores five tokenization use cases in Qatar

The Hashgraph Association, a partner with Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Digital assets Lab announced on LinkedIn, that within the next 12 months it will work together with stakeholders to explore implementing five innovative use cases, in the areas of equity tokenization, Sukuk Islamic Bonds tokenization, real estate tokenization, sustainability ESG Carbon credits, as well as consumer engagement and loyalty programs.

This is part of the partnership that was signed with QFC for a $50 million Digital Assets Venture Studio to develop the Web3 and DLT innovation ecosystem in Qatar.

As per the post, the QFC, and Qatar Central Bank digital assets framework recently announced in September was a major milestone establishing a comprehensive legal and regulatory foundation for tokenization, smart contracts, and asset custody, ensuring compliance and security.

The Hashgraph Association post noted, “These regulations strengthen The Hashgraph Association’s role in fostering innovation and trust within the digital assets ecosystem, further solidifying the region’s position as a global leader in fintech. By providing knowledge exchange, international visibility, and regulatory clarity, QFC and The Hashgraph Association are propelling the region toward the forefront of digital asset technology.”

R3 also one of the QFC partners for the Digital Assets Lab also noted as well that it will power tokenization projects across Qatar’s financial industry.

OKX crypto exchange license in UAE is now fully active

OKX crypto exchange license in UAE is now fully active

OKX crypto exchange now has a fully active crypto exchange license from Dubai’s regulator VARA ( Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority), published on VARA website today.

OKX with this active license is now authorised to serve Institutional Investors, Qualified Investors and Retail Investors. It can also offer virtual asset margin Trading Services permitted to Institutional Investors and Qualified Investors under the VA Exchange License.

OKX can also offer crypto derivatives Trading Restricted to Institutional Investors and Qualified Investors for VA Derivatives Limited License.

In February 2024 OKX received its crypto exchange VASP license from Dubai UAE through VARA ( Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority), and then a license in Turkey. OKX TR, will provide Turkish users with a trusted, compliant and transparent gateway to crypto trading and decentralized finance. The OKX Web3 Wallet is currently available in Türkiye through OKX’s global platform.

Earlier this week, Bybit received its VASP license from VARA, which is currently not active until all requirements are met. Already global players like Binance, Crypto.com have received licenses in UAE as well.

R3 to power tokenization projects in Qatar’s Digital Assets Lab

R3 to power tokenization projects in Qatar’s Digital Assets Lab

R3 which is a partner within the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority as part of the QFC Digital Assets Lab has announced that it will power tokenization projects across Qatar’s financial industry.

As per a Linkedin post, “This initiative signals Qatar’s bold ambition to become a leading innovator in the rapidly evolving landscape of digital assets. The Digital Assets Lab will be a hub for collaboration and innovation and provide a platform for transforming digital concepts into practical, industry-ready technologies.

R3 Founder and CEO, David E Rutter said, “Over the last year, R3 and QFC’s joint working groups have explored emerging regulatory paradigms and illustrated the benefit of nationally deploying DLT technology. We are honored that QFC Lab has chosen R3 as its trusted digital infrastructure provider. The QFC Digital Assets Lab enables participants, such as corporations, banks, and buy-side firms to explore use cases from proof of value to full production validation on Corda. As the base product for the QFC ecosystem, R3’s Corda will power tokenization projects across Qatar’s financial industry, supporting the issuance, transfer, and redemption of digital assets.”

R3 notes that it will continue to support the robust digital assets ecosystem in Qatar and building the digital financial markets.

R3 has been working with governments and banks across the GCC region on CBDC projects as well, including the UAE and KSA.

Saudi cloud provider Virtual Vision introduces Blockchain as a service

Saudi cloud provider Virtual Vision introduces Blockchain as a service

 Saudi Arabian cloud provider, Virtual Vision (V2), has expanded its service portfolio with the introduction of Blockchain-as-a-Service (BlaaS) provided by CloudSigma and Red Date Technology.

Tailored for the Saudi business landscape, this initiative will solidify V2’s leadership in public cloud services and equip regional enterprises with innovative blockchain solutions. With a surge of interest from businesses in adopting blockchain technology, the technical complexities and high costs involved in configuring, operating, and managing a blockchain infrastructure can often act as barriers.

V2’s BlaaS streamlines the process, allowing businesses to easily create, manage, and operate blockchain applications in its cloud environment. BlaaS simplifies the adoption of blockchain, making it a usable and affordable tool for businesses.

This collaboration follows the successful enablement of the Blockchain-as-a-Service capability powered by Red Date Technology’s RDCloud Software platform into the V2 Cloud in Saudi Arabia.

As the first local BlaaS provider in Saudi Arabia, V2’s BlaaS offering is uniquely positioned to revolutionize the region’s digital and economic landscape, empowering dramatic cost reductions—up to 89% in development, 66% in training, and 45% in overall operational expenses—making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.

Moreover, V2 stands out in the Saudi market with its strong local presence, which ensures compliance with national regulations and offers customer service tailored to the local business environment, which is further enhanced by V2’s connection to major Saudi telecom providers, ensuring high-speed and secure data transmission across the network.

Hazem Sandouka​, COO at Virtual Vision​, noted, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Blockchain as a Service (BlaaS) on our cloud platform, a pioneering initiative specifically tailored for Saudi Arabia. This strategic expansion is not just about technology adoption, it’s about seamlessly integrating blockchain into the heart of digital transformation efforts across the kingdom. By offering this service, we aim to empower organizations in Saudi Arabia to meet their unique needs with sovereign cloud solutions, ensuring that data sovereignty and security are at the forefront. Our commitment is to provide a robust infrastructure that enhances transparency, efficiency, and trust, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s visionary goals for a digital-first future.”

Tim Bailey​, VP of Global Business & Operations at Red Date Technology​ added, “The Middle East is a strategically important region for our global expansion, and we are proud to partner with Virtual Vision and CloudSigma to deliver innovative decentralized solutions to customers in Saudi Arabia. We believe that our partnership with both technology leaders will enable us to continue to expand our global footprint, deliver even greater value to our customers, and help drive innovation in the blockchain industry.”

This collaboration combines the technical strength and commercial expertise of three industry leaders in their respective business segments. Together, Virtual Vision, CloudSigma, and Red Date Technology are set to reshape the digital frontier in Saudi Arabia, offering businesses and institutions the transformative power of blockchain that will enable innovative applications.

CoinMENA crypto trading platform makes it easier to trade crypto assets with Mesh

CoinMENA crypto trading platform makes it easier to trade crypto assets with Mesh

CoinMENA, the crypto asset trading platform in MENA, has now made it easier to trade crypto assets, without the hassle of entering long crypto addresses, QR codes or seed phrases, with its recent partnership with Mesh, the connectivity layer for crypto.

As per the press release, the collaboration aims to enhance digital asset transfer services by allowing CoinMENA’s trusted platform to be embedded into Mesh’s product suite, setting new standards for secure and user-friendly crypto services in the region.

With this new partnership, Mesh’s API-based solutions will enhance the overall experience for CoinMENA users using other platforms, with crypto transactions being not only seamless but also more secure. 

With the crypto trade platform joining Mesh’s extensive network of integrations, managing crypto across platforms becomes significantly easier for its users. The integration enables CoinMENA users to access their accounts directly from other platforms without the hassle of long crypto addresses, QR codes, and seed phrases.

“As the leading crypto trading platform in the region, we are thrilled to team up with CoinMENA to help transform the user experience for crypto users in the Middle East,” said Bam Azizi, CEO and Co-Founder of Mesh. “Partnerships like this are essential to our goal of onboarding the next billion users into crypto and we are grateful to partner with companies like CoinMENA who share our vision of creating a more connected and secure financial ecosystem.”

“CoinMENA was established to meet the demand for a trustworthy platform where investors can seamlessly transition between fiat and crypto,” said CoinMENA Co-Founders Talal Tabbaa and Dina Sam’an. “The partnership aligns perfectly with our user’s needs, offering an additional method to fund their crypto wallets and reinforcing our commitment to being the most efficient gateway for MENA investors to access the crypto market.”

This announcement follows a previous one where CoinMENA expanded the range of crypto assets available on its platform through its partnership with Bitpanda Technology Solutions, the leading digital assets infrastructure provider as a liquidity provider. The collaboration will enhance trade efficiency on the platform as well.

Tokenization platform Ctrl Alt sets up office in UAE after partnering with Emirates NBD

Tokenization platform Ctrl Alt sets up office in UAE after partnering with Emirates NBD

Ctrl Alt, a leading financial engineering and tokenization platform that utilizes blockchain technology, with offices in the UK and Ireland, has set up its office in Dubai UAE in DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Center), after partnering with Emirates NBD. It intends to serve Dubai initially as it plans expansion into MENA region. ‍

Launched in 2022 by Matt Ong (formerly of Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse) to improve access to different assets through the power of tokenization, Ctrl Alt has since become one of the leaders in the tokenization space.

The company will initially focus on Dubai already partnering with Emirates NBD.

‍As per the press release, this expansion is driven by Dubai’s momentum and focus to accelerate the integration of tokenized assets across a variety of use cases and clients. Having already achieved significant success in the UK and Europe with $150m of assets under management, Ctrl Alt aims to replicate and expand upon this in the UAE.‍

The region will be led by Robert Farquhar, previously Senior Executive Officer at Prypco, a leading real estate and fractional real estate provider. Ctrl Alt has already tokenized a residential house in the UK and will look to further innovation of the real estate industry and other asset classes in Dubai and beyond. ‍

Founder and CEO, Matt Ong stated, “‍ “The momentum in Dubai has been remarkable, making it a natural choice for our third office. Dubai is going to be at the forefront of tokenization and I’m thrilled for Ctrl Alt to be part of that journey. With Robert’s experience and his proven track record in the region, we look forward to deepening our presence and working more closely with our clients here.”
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Robert Farquhar added, ‍ “Joining and launching Ctrl Alt in Dubai is an incredible opportunity. Ctrl Alt has already paved the way for tokenizing real-world assets in the UK and Europe. Their expertise in financial engineering, combined with cutting-edge technology, is exactly what Dubai needs to further its ambitions as a leader in this space.”
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This comes at the heels of an announcement by Xalts, a UAE based Fintech firm specializing in tokenization, collaboration with Avalanche to bring more enterprise-grade real world asset tokenization solutions for institutions.

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UAE Fintech firm Xalts partners with Avalanche for tokenization of RWAs

UAE Fintech firm Xalts partners with Avalanche for tokenization of RWAs

Xalts, a UAE based Fintech firm specializing in tokenization, has announced its collaboration with Avalanche to bring more enterprise-grade real world asset tokenization solutions for institutions. Xalts has also recently joined the Qatar Financial Center’s digital assets lab for tokenizing real world assets.

As per the press release, this will provide out-of-the-box solutions to enable financial services, governments, and other enterprise developers looking to build digital asset platforms for implementing blockchain, tokenization, and smart contract applications for different use cases such as the tokenization of funds, securities, commodities and trade finance assets, digital currencies, and CDBCs.

Xalts works with financial services and businesses to provide connectivity by leveraging a modern technology stack, including APIs, Blockchains, and Orchestration layers. Its product suite includes solutions such as the RWA Cloud platform, which enables large institutions such as financial services and governments to quickly build complex solutions on blockchains.

RWA Cloud addresses challenges enterprises and regulators face while implementing blockchain, such as retaining complex rules, workflows, processes, and user compliances mandated by internal or regulatory governance.

With this collaboration, financial institutions can deploy custom blockchain networks that meet specific financial requirements and comply with local regulations using Avalanche’s L1 technology, orchestrate and automate their on-chain processes, tokenize digital assets and liabilities on the blockchain via smart workflows using Xalts’ RWA Cloud.

“Our collaboration with Xalts enables us to jointly offer RWA tokenization technology infrastructure and solutions to financial services institutions, including banks, asset managers, and fintechs alike”, said Morgan Krupetsky, Head of Institutions & Capital Markets at Ava Labs.

Xalts recently joined the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority Digital Assets Lab to test and commercialize use cases in real-world asset tokenization.

“We are very excited to partner with Avalanche. This will make the development of blockchain and smart contract solutions much more accessible and accelerate enterprise use cases”, said Ashutosh Goel, Chief Executive Officer, Xalts.

“We have an exciting roadmap ahead of us with Xalts as we jointly enable financial institutions across markets in their RWA tokenization journey!”, said Devika Mittal, Regional Head at Ava Labs.

OKX Middle East publishes new virtual asset standards for listing on its crypto exchange

OKX Middle East publishes new virtual asset standards for listing on its crypto exchange

UAE based OKX crypto exchange clarifies its new virtual asset standards prior to them being listed on its Middle East exchange as per Dubai’s Virtual Asset regulatory authority requirements.

OKX Middle East published the set of factors it will be utilizing when it evaluates virtual assets before listing them on its exchange.

According to the UAE based crypto exchange the standards have been prepared in accordance with Rule VIII.A.1 of the VARA market conduct rulebook, and are also available on OKX’s website in accordance with Rule VIII.A.3 of the VARA Market conduct rulebook.

OKX Middle East will asset the market metrics of virtual assets market capitalization, fully diluted value and liquidity and whether metrics have trended downwards over time.

It will also review the design system, such as features, use cases both intended and unintended by the issuer or relevant developers.

In terms of compliance, the crypto exchange will evaluate the virtual asset compliance features, regulations, rules or directives as well as AML/CFT sanctions, securities, and intellectual property.

It will also review how regulators are treating this virtual asset whether by VARA or other authorities outside of Dubai, including regulatory approvals

It will also review whether the virtual asset is prohibited by VARA or other regulators in or outside of the UAE.

OKX even goes as far as to asset the security and immutability of the DLT protocol on which the virtual asset is built.

Furthermore, OKX will evaluate whether the Virtual Asset may be susceptible to price manipulation for any reason and relevant mitigations that will be implemented by OKX. It will also investigate the background of issuer and whether it has been subject to any investigations or claims in relation to fraud or deceit.

OKX Middle East will finally monitor the terms and conditions of the Virtual Asset correlate with any physical market to ensure such terms and conditions conform to standards and practices in that physical market (if applicable).

OKX has been expanding its regulated operations in MENA with both a license from the Dubai UAE VARA as well as one in Turkey.

R3 DLT instrumental in UAE’s RAKBANK CBDC cross border transaction

R3 DLT instrumental in UAE’s RAKBANK CBDC cross border transaction

R3 announced on LinkedIn that it was thrilled about the success of UAE RAKBANK  in their first cross border CBDC transaction using mBridge in which R3’s issuance layer technology solution played an instrumental role.

David E Rutter, CEO of R3 said: “The first cross-border CBDC transaction by a UAE local bank, RAKBANK, is a groundbreaking development for the UAE, and the region more broadly.

He added, “R3’s issuance layer technology and CBDC integration solutions have been instrumental in supporting RAKBANK to achieve this exciting milestone in production. R3’s ambition is to continue to deliver interoperable distributed ledger solutions, using Corda, our open, permissioned tokenization platform to the UAE and beyond.”

Rutter adds that R3 is committed to working with UAE domestic banks like R3 to build their digital ecosystem.

The National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah (“RAKBANK”) recently became one of the first banks in the United Arab Emirates to execute an international remittance using mbridge CBDC. The Bank utilized China’s digital Yuan (eCNY) in exchange for the Digital Dirham, the UAE’s CBDC.

Vikas Suri, Co-Head of Wholesale Banking Group at RAKBANK, added, “The successful transfer of eCNY to our correspondent in China is a game-changer in several respects. It’s one of the first UAE-led foreign currency transfers executed in local currencies without involving a third currency to China and without using conventional payment rails. This is a gamechanger that paves the way for instant blockchain based CBDC exchanges with payment versus payment, fundamentally altering how we approach international payments. Our next steps will focus on supporting the China and UAE business corridor for our clients, by leveraging mBridge to reduce costs and improve the speed of remittances.”

In an IMF blog, the International Monetary Fund noted that almost two-thirds of countries in the Middle East and Central Asia are exploring adopting a central bank digital currency with Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE in the more advanced proof of concept stages. The countries in MENA and Central Asia are studying CBDCs as a way to promote financial inclusion and improve the efficiency of cross-border payments.

The IMF Blog noted however that CBDCs require careful consideration, with each weighing their own unique set of circumstances.

Many of the 19 countries currently exploring a CBDC are at the research stage. Bahrain, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have moved to the more advanced “proof-of-concept” stage. Kazakhstan is the most advanced after two pilot programs for the digital tenge.

UAE Fuze and Bit2Me partner to improve digital asset connectivity

UAE Fuze and Bit2Me partner to improve digital asset connectivity

Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 startups, Fuze, MENA provider digital assets infrastructure, and Bit2Me, a Spanish digital assets company, have partnered to improve digital assets infrastructure connectivity between Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.

As per the press release, this agreement unites two of the world’s leading digital assets platforms to maximize the prospect of platform trading using the United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED). Fuze and Bit2Me’s collaboration will enable companies to collaborate on digital assets, products, and services. This includes enabling liquidity provision, collaborating on cross-border trading between Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East, and facilitating connections, trades, and transactions in target market currencies. Both organizations will benefit from enhanced stability, decreased operational costs, and increased market efficiency.

Mohammed Ali Yusuf, Co-Founder and CEO of Fuze, said, “Bit2Me has a strong focus on regulation, security, and compliance across digital assets, marking them as an ideal partner for our strategic expansion. Together, we will be able to innovate and tap into the wealth of possibilities for regulated digital assets globally. We are proud to sign this agreement in Abu Dhabi, where we started our journey, a place that will be pivotal in developing cryptocurrency and the future of finance.”

Koh Martinez, Co-CEO of Bit2Me added, “There is a significant demand for digital assets services across the Middle East. We are delighted to enhance our global offering in tandem with Fuze.  Our teams will be able to share unique experiences and case studies across three continents to provide solutions for the ever-evolving cryptocurrency market.”

Peter Abou Hachem, Head of Growth and Strategy at Hub71 commented, “Within just one year of accepting our first cohort in Hub71+ Digital Assets, we have seen international startups like Bit2Me and Fuze join our vibrant community and collaborate to accelerate development in the digital assets space. This partnership is a testament to our community-focused programs and the supportive regulatory environment of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). By connecting and nurturing startups within our ecosystem, we are meeting our objective of driving innovation and creating valuable partnerships from our ecosystem to advance Abu Dhabi’s position as a leader in technology globally.”

In August of this year, Klumi Ventures a blockchain-native Venture Capital Firm and Fund Manager based in Abu Dhabi, partnered with Fuze, to harness Klumi Ventures’ investment acumen and Web3 expertise alongside Fuze’s robust digital assets infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of Web3 technologies throughout the region. 

Even Tether, the global stablecoin and Fuze, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the terms of a collaboration on educational initiatives within the digital asset realm, with a particular focus on Turkey and the Middle East.