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.

Blockchain deposit token payment platform Fluent to set up operations in UAE

Blockchain deposit token payment platform Fluent to set up operations in UAE

USA based Fluent Finance, a blockchain enabled fintech infrastructure company responsible for developing the connections from core banking to public layers, bridging Web2 to Web3 utilizing the Fluent Protocol, has joined UAE’s Ministry of Economy NextGEN FDI program as Fluent plans to launch its operations in Abu Dhabi and expand its workforce in the UAE to 125 people in the next five years.

Fluent is working to issue deposit tokens which are stable-valued, regulatory-compliant digital assets interoperable with core banking systems. With Fluent, banks may issue fiat-equivalent tokens directly to public blockchains based on outstanding customer deposits and central bank-issued CBDCs.

Fluent will use its new UAE headquarters to deploy and scale its proprietary Fluent Economic Bridge, which can be used by importers and exporters to settle transactions via stablecoins or, increasingly, deposit tokens.

They are already piloting the platform in Kenya, and now hope to develop a digital trade corridor with the UAE.

Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said Fluent’s participation in the NextGen FDI initiative underlines the UAE’s status as a hub for global trade and a supportive ecosystem for new technologies such as blockchain: “The UAE has become a prominent advocate for the modernization of the multilateral trading system, as well as a supportive place for the development of the tools and applications that can deliver it. I am optimistic about the possibilities of the Fluent Economic Bridge, and the potential for digital currencies to improve the efficiency and accessibility of global supply chains. In the build-up to the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi in February next year, encouraging platforms such as those developed by Fluent will offer an important proof point for the UAE’s leadership on trade technology.”

Bradley Allgood, Fluent Finance’s Chief Executive Officer, said the UAE was the obvious place in which to launch Fluent Economic Bridge. “The UAE offers exactly the kind of supportive, enabling environment that Web3 companies such as Fluent require. The combination of thoughtful regulation, forward-looking vision and advanced technology ambitions means we have the right foundations on which to develop our product and grow our organization. Importantly, this is also an important trade crossroads, which provides a multitude of opportunities to deploy our platform. We genuinely believe that, with the right support, we can transform Fluent Economic Bridge into the next unicorn.”

A stablecoin to be launched in Abu Dhabi UAE

A stablecoin to be launched in Abu Dhabi UAE

According to a recent Bloomberg article published October 2nd 2023, Abu Dhabi UAE will witness the launch of a stablecoin. Former Softbank vice president, Akshay Naheta has launched his company called Distributed Technologies Research (DTR) in Abu Dhabi which will focus on developing several products one of which is a stablecoin.

Naheta on LinkedIn posted,” I’m happy to announce my new company Distributed Technologies Research! We’ve been operating in stealth for the past 10 months. And, I’m looking forward to sharing our product releases over the near-term.”

According to Bloomberg, The 42-year-old financier has set up DTR and will partner on the project with Hong Kong-based DRAM Trust, which has ties to several high-net-worth individuals. They’re looking to capitalize on a stablecoin market that analysts at Bernstein estimate will grow more than 20-fold to $2.8 trillion in five years.

DRAM coins will be available on decentralized exchanges including Uniswap, Sushiswap and Pancakeswap, and the team plans to work with centralized exchanges in the near future, according to Naheta.

Akshay Naheta was a former trader at Deutsche Bank. He was central to some of SoftBank’s biggest deals during his tenure. He pitched founder Masayoshi Son on the sale of chip designer Arm to semiconductor designer Nvidia Corp. He also led a $4 billion investment in Nvidia in 2017, earning $3 billion in profit.

In a press release he states, “The launch of DTR’s business in the ADGM and the licensing of its first product to the DRAM Trust is an initial step towards our wider ambitions. Our technologies provide the efficacy, usability, governance, security, transparency and stability sought by the cryptocurrency markets, while leveraging cutting edge technology protocols. The DRAM Trust brings much-needed credibility to the global stablecoin sector.” 

Global law firm Decherts LLP acted as a legal advisor to DTR and the DRAM Trust for structural and regulatory matters. 
 
The DRAM Smart Contract has been audited by Consensys and PeckShield, with real-time reserve audits to be published by The Network Firm through their LedgerLens product.
As part of its product expansion plans, DTR expects to launch a decentralized wallet solution in early 2024, to enable the wide accessibility and utility for digital tokens.  

According to Bloomberg Intelligence crypto market analyst Jamie Coutts, stablecoins on several Layer-1 networks transacted $6.87 trillion in 2022, surpassing the transaction volumes of Mastercard and PayPal. However, stablecoins still lagged behind the Visa network, which processed nearly double the volume at $11.6 trillion.

This announcement comes less than a week after Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory authority introduced its stablecoin regulations.

Updated 5:20 pm Dubai UAE time