UK crypto broker, Archax sets up presence in Dubai UAE

UK crypto broker, Archax sets up presence in Dubai UAE

UK crypto broker and custodian, Archax, has set up an entity in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) in Dubai UAE. The company has set up under an Innovation License.

Recently Archax expanded its presence in the EU and US regions and has an offshore tech center in the Philippines. According to the announcement the new setup in Dubai DIFC will act as a technology hub and the first based for wider expansion in UAE.

Graham Rodford, CEO and co-founder of Archax, commented, “From our core business base and presence in London, it has always been the Archax vision to expand our presence into key regions globally. This started with the establishment of our offshore development arm in the Philippines a few years ago and continued recently with our broker acquisitions in Europe and the US – both subject to a successful regulatory change-of-control process. The UAE region is emerging as a digital asset and crypto hub too, so securing a foothold there with this entity in DIFC is a logical next step for us. We are excited by the technology talent and opportunity that exists in Dubai and now look forward to building and expanding our presence in the region”.

Previously UAE based XDC Network, an enterprise-grade Layer-1 blockchain, launched the first money fund tokens on its platform in collaboration with Archax, the FCA regulated digital asset exchange, broker and custodian.

UAE mobile gaming platform Rise of Fearless launches

UAE mobile gaming platform Rise of Fearless launches

Rise of Fearless, a UAE mobile gaming platform that merges African storytelling with immersive battle royale gameplay, has officially launched targeting over 680 million mobile users in an industry projected to reach a value of $3.72 billion by 2029.

Rise of Fearless is now available on the Apple App Store and on Google Play in its early release phase with plans to expand to other platforms.

Rise of Fearless offers intense, skill-based battle royale combat that is deeply rooted in Africa’s heritage and history – inspired by Ethiopia’s victory at the Battle of Adwa. The game launches as a free-to-play mobile experience to ensure accessibility to a broad audience.

As part of its future roadmap, Rise of Fearless plans to integrate Web3 technology and allow players to own in-game assets, earn rewards, and participate in a secure digital economy. The move to blockchain will empower African gamers with new financial opportunities, especially in regions with limited access to traditional banking.

The African gaming industry is growing at 12 percent annually outpacing global averages.

Rise of Fearless will utilize open-source smart contracts in its Web3 phase, giving players full ownership of in-game items, such as weapons, skins, and rewards. The blockchain-based system will create a fair, transparent, and financially rewarding gaming experience.

Kanessa Muluneh, founder of Rise of Fearless, noted, “As an Ethiopian-born entrepreneur in Dubai, I have experienced how the UAE’s ecosystem empowers changemakers and connects countries and cultures with gaming communities. We have invested significantly in developing Rise of Fearless and are now raising USD 700,000 to expand the game, enhance gameplay, and transition to Web3. This funding will allow us to build a blockchain-powered gaming ecosystem where players can truly own their digital assets and unlock new financial opportunities for gamers across Africa. With this expansion, Rise of Fearless will not only push the boundaries of African gaming but also drive knowledge transfer, job creation, and social impact in one of the fastest-growing gaming markets in the world.”

MantraChain OM Token is burning

MantraChain OM Token is burning

MANTRA Chain has announced through its CEO and Founder , John Patrick Mullin that they are currently burning 150 million allocation of team tokens. He had made this promise last week in an effort to rebuild trust and demonstrate an a focus on building trust, accessible and inclusive financial ecosystem through tokenization.

As per the announcement the Team and Core Contributor tokens were staked at mainnet genesis, in October 2024, to bootstrap network security. The process of unstaking 150 million tokens from the Team and Core Contributor bucket has now begun. It can be verified through the following transaction hash;

CE0E166DED4F267B22F16D011A7F511FFDDB4AADB31A2FE6A0E6E81690E339AA

DFB6C3DDFFDC09B9B2A16175401D8B7DB81C79C774203E17859694FA9D8C79C5

7D056D17F2A57A27E807FB9F12E739B24306FC7B8B651B27622A022EC18EFD5D

The unstaking period will be completed on 29 April 2025. Once this process is finalized, all tokens will be sent directly to the burn address: mantra1qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqcg2my8.

These tokens will be permanently removed, reducing the total supply by the same amount, 150 million OM.

The announcements also added that MANTRA is in ongoing conversations with key ecosystem partners to implement an additional 150 million OM token burn, which will bring the total burn amount to 300 million OM.


After unbonding, MANTRA Chain will burn 150 million OM, reducing the total supply from 1.82 billion OM to 1.67 billion OM while decreasing staked tokens from 571.8 million OM to 421.8 million OM.

This strategic burn will lower the bonded ratio from 31.47% to 25.30%, resulting in an increase in staking APR. Once the burn transaction has been executed and confirmed on the blockchain, complete verification will be provided.

This comes a week after Mantra Chain, the Layer one tokenization platform, regulated in the UAE by Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, has shed almost $10 billion dollars in less than 24 hours on April 13th 2025. The OM token price dropped from around $6 dollars to 0.37 in a matter of hours.

At the time both investors, Shorooq and Laser Digital denied that they had sold their OM Tokens, while Mantra Chain CEO seems to be pointing hands towards the crypto exchanges, when he shared his preliminary report.

Fuze subsidiary Niobe licensed for digital asset payments in UAE

Fuze subsidiary Niobe licensed for digital asset payments in UAE

Fuze, a digital asset Blockchain enabled financial infrastructure providers, subsidiary Niobe Payment Services has been licensed to offer digital assets payments by the Central Bank of the UAE. The company now holds a Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes (RPSCS) license.

Fuze Group, through its subsidiary Niobe Payment Services LLC SPC, is now both a fully licensed operator for digital assets infrastructure and, through its payments infrastructure division, a regulated payment services provider for the region.

As per the press release, the new license will enable businesses to benefit from faster, more secure payment options, reduced transaction times and end-to-end compliance.

Mohammed Ali Yusuf (Mo Ali Yusuf), CEO and Co-Founder of Fuze said, “This license is the launchpad for the next generation of payments. It marks a key step in our mission to provide digital and AI-enabled infrastructure that will drive the future of finance and transform payments. We are privileged to be granted this license from the Central Bank and look forward to providing cutting-edge, compliant payment infrastructure and novel solutions – like virtual IBANs – for a range of businesses.”

Fuze’s technology will enhance digital payments, supporting the UAE Digital Economy Strategy, which aims to double the contribution of the digital economy to the UAE’s GDP to 19.4 per cent by 2032.

Through its strong regulatory foundation, Fuze is now launching a new payment platform that combines AI-driven technology, user-friendly design, and integrated compliance features, to simplify and support modern business needs.

With the license in place, Fuze will soon roll out a comprehensive, compliant suite of payment products with features that include digital payments and settlements through real-time infrastructure, AI-enhanced compliance and fraud detection engine, virtual IBANs to make it easier to collect payments and manage funds, and merchant tools to help UAE-based businesses to manage payments and grow

UAE and Turkey to share crypto asset transaction information in 2028 with OECD

UAE and Turkey to share crypto asset transaction information in 2028 with OECD

On 14 April 2025, the United Arab Emirates Cabinet of Ministers as well as the Turkish government approved the signing of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Information pursuant to the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF MCAA).

The CARF provides for the reporting of tax information on transactions in crypto-assets in a standardized manner, with a view to automatically exchanging such information. According to a OECD document on CARF commitments, the United Arab Emirates intends to exchange information under CARF by 2028.

As such both Turkey and USA have become part of the jurisdictions committed to implement the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework
(CARF) in time to commence exchanges in 2027 or 2028 as part of the Global Forum’s CARF commitment process.

The UAE currently does not tax individuals on their crypto holdings.

Dubai based Web3 Investment firm DWF Labs expands to USA

Dubai based Web3 Investment firm DWF Labs expands to USA

Dubai based DWF Labs, a crypto market maker and Web3 investment firm, expands to the United States with a new office in New York City while purchasing $25 million of World Liberty Financial (“WLFI”) governance tokens in a strategic private transaction, the decentralized finance protocol and governance platform inspired by President Donald J. Trump.

As per the announcement, the new U.S. office marks a significant milestone in DWF Labs’s global expansion strategy, positioning the firm to, strengthen institutional partnerships with banks, asset managers, and fintech firms exploring blockchain integration.
Hire local talent across trading, compliance, and business development.

The entity also seeks to enhance regulatory engagement with U.S. policymakers and advance educational initiatives with American colleges and universities while drive liquidity and adoption for high-quality projects like the USD1 stablecoin and its emerging DeFi ecosystem.


“The U.S. is the world’s largest single market for digital asset innovation,” said Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner of DWF Labs. “Our physical presence reflects our confidence in America’s role as the next growth region for institutional crypto adoption. Moreover, the USD1 stablecoin and forthcoming global DeFi solutions align with our broader mission to improve financial services.”

DWF Labs’s purchase of WLF tokens underscores its desire to participate in WLFI governance and focus on projects addressing real-world financial needs, as evidenced by the growing demand for institutional-ready stablecoins like USD1.

As part of this collaboration, DWF Labs plans to provide liquidity for USD1, leveraging its deep liquidity network and algorithmic infrastructure across centralized and decentralized venues. This strategic role underscores DWF Lab’s commitment to supporting stable, transparent digital assets and advancing the adoption of fiat-referenced stablecoins globally.

“We believe that crypto is going to transform and improve global finance, and stablecoins like USD1 will continue to be fundamental elements in the DeFi technology stack,” said Zak Folkman, co-founder at World Liberty Financial. “As our partner, we expect DWF Labs to help accelerate the next-generation infrastructure we’re actively building and deploying at WLFI.”

Mantra Blockchain shares preliminary report awaiting crypto exchanges collaboration

Mantra Blockchain shares preliminary report awaiting crypto exchanges collaboration

UAE regulated Mantra Blockchain platform for the tokenization of real world assets has published a preliminary report on the OM Token price fall.

As per the post On 13 April at approximately 18:28 UTC, the OM token experienced significant and unexpected downward price action, resulting in a 92% decline over a period of approximately one hour. This unusual market activity has raised questions within our community, and we acknowledge the concerns expressed by our token holders during this period of market volatility.

The post notes that the Mantra team have been conducting a thorough investigation to find our the key factors contributing to the rapid price movement and present verifiable data confirming the current OM Token circulating supply.

Mantra states, ” Our objective is to deliver a fact-based assessment that addresses community questions and outlines measures to strengthen market resilience. While our investigation remains ongoing, we are committed to sharing verified information in a timely and transparent manner. We appreciate the community’s patience as we compile a comprehensive understanding of this market event.”

No sales of OM token were made by the MANTRA team or advisors as those remain locked, however ERC-20 OM tokens are in public circulation and outside of Mantra’s control.

  1. Legacy ERC-20 OM Tokens (Fully Circulating)
    The original OM token (ERC-20) was launched in August 2020 with a fixed total supply of 888.88 million OM. As of 15 April, 2025, 99.995% of these tokens are in public circulation, held by more than 123,000 wallets, meaning they are fully liquid and tradable on the open market. Key allocations from the original OM ERC-20 tokens — including public/private sales, team/advisors, grants, reserves, referrals, and staking rewards—have all been fully distributed. This means market activity for these tokens is driven by holders and external trading dynamics. Further details on the ERC-20 OM buckets and balances can be found in Appendix A.
  2. MANTRA Chain Mainnet OM Tokens (Limited Circulation)
    In October 2024, the launch of MANTRA Chain introduced an additional 888.88 million OM coins minted natively on the new blockchain, alongside an onchain inflation mechanism. Currently, 77.5 million OM of these MANTRA Chain coins are in circulation. There are currently over 200,000 mainnet OM wallets. Further details on the Mainnet OM buckets and balances can be found in Appendix B.

  5. The total OM supply stands at 1.81 billion tokens, split evenly between legacy ERC-20 and new Mainnet OM. Of this:
  • 53% (969.61 million OM) is currently circulating. Nearly all circulating supply (92%) comes from the fully liquid ERC-20 tokens, with just 8% originating from Mainnet OM. As per Mantra the incident almost exclusively involved ERC-20 OM, as ERC-20 OM represents virtually the entire liquid market.

    MANTRA acknowledges that significant amounts of OM tokens were moved onto exchanges for use as collateral. Based on MANTRA’s review of independent observations (here and here) of the incident, it is evident that there were forced OM position closures during a period characterized by reduced market activity (around 02:00 am Monday HKT). These liquidations created excessive selling pressure on the OM token market.

    As per the analysis of Mantra, the forces liquidations according to Mantra initiated a sequential market reaction which pushed the price downward which triggered automated liquidation events across exchanges for leverage positions using OM as collateral. A divergence on OM Token spot price between OKX and Binance was noted in hours commending around 18:00 UTC. As such Mantra noted that significant OM Traders were liquidated by centralized exchanges, and that they are awaiting further information from crypto exchange partners for clarification.

    As for the future Mantra plans to release details of its OM Token support plan with OM Token buyback and supply burn program. The CEO and Founder John Patrick Mullin, has committed to burn his team allocation. Mantra calls on centralized exchanges to collaborate and provide clarity on trading activities while Mantra releases a dashboard with live balances of tokenomics buckets for additional market transparency.

    Mantra Chain CEO to give full story on OM Token loss

    Mantra Chain CEO to give full story on OM Token loss

    The CEO and Founder of UAE regulated Mantra Chain John Patrick Mullin announced on LinkedIn ( 23 hours ago) that the event regarding the $OM Token severe losses at the beginning of this week, were a result of a massive forced liquidation of a very large OM holder’s position on a crypto exchange.

    Since the incident the OM token has lost $5 billion in value, and stands at a market cap of $741 million.

    He noted however that regardless of your scale of loss, all investors and community members are in his and his teams thoughts. He as such along with the leadership team are exploring buy back programs and a supply burn to restore investor confidence.

    He added that within the next 24 hours, he will be making a public factual post mortem that will share all the details of what transpired in the early hours of Monday morning (APAC). He states, ” This analysis will be as accurate and factual as we can possibly make it. It will not contain opinions or spin. We believe the truth is on our side, and it is in everyone’s interest to make it known and shared as widely as possible. It’ll be shared on my account, along with our official channels.”

    Later on in an X post he explained further with regards to burning of tokens. He stated, “To be 100% clear, I am stating that I am burning MY team tokens, and we will create a comprehensive burn program for other parts of the OM supply.”

    Investors in Mantra, such as Shorooq and Laser Digital denied claims of token sale.

    UAE Central Bank licenses Relm and Liva insurance to offer insurance for Web3 businesses

    UAE Central Bank licenses Relm and Liva insurance to offer insurance for Web3 businesses

    UAE Central Bank has licensed Relm Insurance a dedicated insurer to emerging sectors – and Liva Insurance, a GCC insurance provider to offer their dedicated multi-line insurance solution for WEB3 businesses – SIGMAWEB3, and its tailored version for Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory authority VARA-regulated companies, SIGMAWEB3 VARA.

    As per the press release, this follows the signing of Relm and Liva’s strategic partnership in February 2025, aimed at empowering innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging sectors such as digital assets, biotech and AI.

    The UAE Central Bank approval reinforces Relm and Liva’s commitment to deliver tailored insurance solutions that address the unique

    SIGMAWEB3 and SIGMAWEB3 VARA will help create the confidence and resiliency that WEB3 innovators require to tackle complex challenges and seize new opportunities, while meeting the necessary regulatory requirements. Both products are designed specifically for digital asset companies, blockchain startups, crypto exchanges, and fintech innovators, addressing the unique and complex financial, professional, crime, and cyber exposures inherent in their operations.

    SIGMAWEB3 VARA is specifically tailored to meet the requirements of Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), ensuring that crypto companies can operate with compliant insurance cover.

    “Securing Central Bank approval for SIGMAWEB3 and SIGMAWEB3 VARA is a significant step for brokers and clients in the UAE. This milestone facilitates more comprehensive coverage tailored to the unique risks of the Web3 space. By closing the insurance gap, we’re empowering businesses with the protection they need to innovate confidently in a rapidly evolving market” said Joseph Ziolkowski, CEO of Relm Insurance.

    “SIGMAWEB3 and SIGMAWEB3 VARA represent a significant step in our commitment to supporting growth and evolution of innovation within the insurance industry. This approval from Central Bank affirms both Liva Group’s deep market insight and Relm’s expertise in specialised insurance as well as reinforcing the vital role that regulatory collaboration plays in fostering a secure and thriving digital economy. Together, we aim to provide customers with solutions that meet their evolving needs, while strengthening our commitment to scale and diversify our business.” Martin Rueegg, Group CEO of Liva Group.

    A year earlier OneDegree, Asia’s licensed insurer for digital assets and Dubai Insurance Company announced the issuance of digital assets custodial risk insurance to their customers in UAE. The Central Bank of UAE approved issuance of the digital asset insurance offering.

    OneDegree and Dubai Insurance partnered in 2023. Custodial risk insurance completes the product portfolio and allows the partners to offer a one-stop-shop for digital asset companies in the UAE, under the brand “OneInfinity”.

    VARA, Dubai’s dedicated regulator for digital assets, requires such coverage along with professional indemnity and directors & officers insurance. With this latest approval, specialized custodial risk insurance can be offered directly in UAE for the first time. Custodial risk insurance protects companies against the risk of losing access to digital assets including through third party hacks and theft, internal fraud and physical damage to the storage media.