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.

As many know the R3 team developed Corda the first native private, permissioned DLT platform that is not only secure and regulatory-compliant by design, but has facilitated hundreds of networks across financial services.

As per R3 applications developed on their tokenization platform Corda, harness the power of R3’s distributed ledger technology (DLT), connected networks and regulated markets expertise all aimed at driving transformation in digital finance.

R3 has been a strong proponent in the Middle East and GCC region working with governments and enterprise on several projects, most prominently the CBDC projects in Saudi Arabia and UAE.

In addition the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and R3 signed an MOU to develop and grow Qatar’s fintech industry using technologies such as DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) back in April 2023.

So it was not surprising to read on LinkedIn that Bryan D’Souza, Strategic Alliances & Partner Ecosystem Lead for EMEA at R3 stated, “I am thrilled to have experienced my first trip to Kuwait over the last couple of days as part of a mini GCC tour. I am grateful for the warm welcome from our great partners and potential clients. The hospitality of the Kuwaiti people left a lasting impression; warm, friendly, and eager to collaborate.”

He added, “Exciting opportunities ahead and looking forward to returning back to Kuwait soon!”

It sounds like the beginning of a project or several in Kuwait, which has been slow when it comes to blockchain adoption and implementation.

It seems Kuwait’s stance on Blockchain is changing as recently Salman Salah Bader Ali Naqi, who began his PhD study in the Department of Economics in January 2023, has been awarded the 2022 Kuwaiti Economic Student Award for his research titled “Digitalizing the Trade Finance Industry in Kuwait: A Transaction Cost Perspective of Blockchain-based Letters of Credit”.

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) held a ceremony to honor the top three winners of the Kuwaiti Economic Student Award on November 9th 2023. The CBK Governor and Chairman of the Institute of Banking Studies (IBS), Basel Ahmed Al-Haroon, attended alongside a number of key figures from the banking and finance sector.

The winners were presented with certificates of merit and commemorative gifts, and Salman’s paper, as first-prize winning research paper, will be printed, published and distributed “to serve as a reference for those wishing to benefit from sound research”.

The Kuwaiti Economic Student Award is part of the Kafa’a initiative, set up to encourage scientific research in the economic and banking fields through motivating young people to enhance their research competence in the banking and finance areas.

In a market notice issued November 17th 2023, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), confirmed that the deadline for VA sector to engage in the regulatory license elapsed today and that eighteen virtual asset service providers commercially licensed on mainland under Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) have thus far, been issued fines for failing to comply with VARA’s directives and regulatory guidance.

A VARA spokesperson declined to name the eighteen entities in question.

As per the notice, in line with VARA’s commitment to protect consumers, maintain market integrity, and manage security of the Virtual Economy being enabled in and from Dubai, these enforcement actions are a pre-requisite to remedy compliance breaches and assure global markets that VARA’s regime can be trusted to have consistency and resilience in deployment.

The Dubai virtual asset regulator stated that this would be an ongoing process, with additional fines, enforcement actions, and closure of unlicensed VASPs expected. VASPs have until year end to address any regulatory gaps.

Entities seeking to continue to offer virtual asset services in Dubai are urged to contact VARA immediately to avoid further penalties. Consumers are advised to check the VARA website for advice on approved VASPs in Dubai. For further information, please contact VARA via our website or via

This comes a day after CEO Henson Orser stepped down, and 10 days after VARA issued a notice asking all VASPs to finalize their license registrations and requirements.

But there have also been positive news in the VASP licensing arena, with entities such as Fuze Finance receiving a license as well as HexTrust and BackBack in the past 10 days.

UAE based Fuze Finance under the licensed name Morpheus Software Technology (FUZE) FZE has just received a full VASP license from Dubai’s Virtual asset regulatory Authority. Fuze offers embedded digital asset capabilities for financial institutions as a digital asset infrastructure provider for the Middle East.

VARA’s license will allow Fuze Finance to offer broker dealer services, allowing them to serve institutional investors, retail and qualified investors. Through this licence, the business will be able to serve customers through two core service lines: firstly, via digital assets as a service (DAAS) enabling banks, fintechs and enterprises to integrate B2B2C digital asset products natively into their channels and secondly, through a regulated Over-The-Counter (OTC) service providing investors with a technology-first option for executing institutional-level digital asset trading with ease and efficiency.

With a regional digital asset market worth $566bn, and growing at 48% YoY, Fuze co-founder and CEO, Mohammed Ali Yusuf believes the Middle East is the perfect home to establish a digital assets infrastructure business.

Ali Yufu on receiving the license noted, “We thank VARA for assessing and approving our licence. VARA’s comprehensive and consultative process demonstrates the robust framework at the heart of this booming industry. Across the UAE, digital assets businesses are being welcomed to a thriving ecosystem with regulation that matches rapid innovation and adoption. Businesses can now have full confidence in the regulated infrastructure that Fuze provides, as we support the world’s fastest-growing digital assets hub.”

In September 2023 UAE headquartered Fuze Finance, raised a seed round of $14mn, the largest Seed investment in a digital assets startup in the history of the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). The investment was led by Abu Dhabi-based Further Ventures, along with participation by US-based Liberty City Ventures.

Fuze wanted to benefit from the strategic capital and network of these investors, acting as a catalyst for the business as it builds the digital asset infrastructure that will drive the future of finance.  A first-of-its-kind infrastructure provider in MENA, Fuze enables any bank, fintech or traditional enterprise to easily offer regulated digital assets products to their customers through their native apps.

Fuze was founded by an expert team of fintech, traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi) leaders, with its co-founders holding extensive knowledge from experience in global hypergrowth businesses.

CEO, Mohammed Ali Yusuf (Mo Ali Yusuf) has held prominent roles at Checkout.com and Visa; Arpit Mehta (COO) was previously in the leadership team at fintech leaders like Simpl and Clear; Srijan Shetty (CTO) built algorithmic trading systems at Goldman Sachs and worked at tech leader Microsoft.

Yusuf at the time of raise stated, “We are excited to build the future of regulated financial infrastructure and digital assets out of the UAE. Regulations have played a pivotal role in propelling the UAE into a central position within the global Digital Assets industry. To receive the backing of Abu Dhabi-headquartered Further Ventures combined with the deep expertise of US-based Liberty City Ventures, confirms the relevancy and potential of Fuze’s mission to rapidly expand our cutting-edge infrastructure across the region.”

Article updated on November 20th 2023

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in a press release has announced that Mathew White will be the new CEO of VARA which comes as VARA intensifies its efforts towards regulating the VASPs in Dubai calling on them to finalize their applications today.

As per the press release, Matthew White has 20 years of experience in technology, cyber security and digital trust while working as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Former CEO Henson Orser who is leaving to pursue other opportunities will remain fully engaged to support the new CEO as he integrates into his new role.

In a Bloomberg article it noted that VARA is poised to levy fines on over a dozen crypto firms, as the head of Dubai’s crypto regulator is poised to depart after less than a year on the job.

The news comes as VARA calls on more than 1000 legacy firms to complete their applications to register under Dubai’s unique regulatory framework by November 17th 2023, as part of Dubai’s commitment to fostering a transparent and resilient virtual asset environment.

VARA is calling on VASPs that have yet to submit the applications, have missed the notifications from their commercial licensing authorities, or have submitted incomplete forms to proactively get in touch, to avoid unintended regulatory consequences.

It seems with new VARA CEO efforts will be focused on ensuring compliance to regulatory and FATF requirements by VASPs.

In a press release, Indian based digital asset custodian and wallet, Liminal has been granted an In Principle Approval by Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to operate as a custody provider for Virtual Assets.

Liminal is working diligently to fulfill all the IPA conditions and meet FSRA’s stringent requirements to receive the Financial Services Permission (FSP).

As per Liminal, receiving the FSP from the FSRA will empower Liminal in extending its services as a trusted and reliable custodian for Virtual Assets within the ADGM jurisdiction and serve the broader MENA region. Liminal also recently launched its compliance solutions suite, with Notabene’s Travel Rule solution.

Earlier this year, in May, Liminal achieved another milestone by obtaining the TCSP License from the Hong Kong Companies Registry, enabling regulated digital asset custodial services in Hong Kong.

When Liminal secures the FSP from the FSRA, it will play a vital role in the Web3 ecosystem in the UAE, expanding its product and service offerings for the MENA region. Liminal will offer institutions a comprehensive suite of services designed to safeguard their virtual assets effectively.

Manan Vora, Senior VP of Strategy & Business Operations at Liminal, expressed enthusiasm about the IPA, stating, “ADGM has established itself as a thriving hub for innovation, growth, and maturation of the Web3 ecosystem. Their dedication to formulating clear and comprehensive regulations has created a trusted and secure environment for investors and Web3 enterprises. Recognizing the escalating demand for secure custody services in the MENA region, we took this strategic step to cater to the industry’s evolving needs. The IPA marks a significant leap forward in our mission to provide institutional-grade custody services for the digital asset industry. We are genuinely thrilled to contribute to the growth of this emerging market. After setting up an entity in Abu Dhabi, our next step is to obtain the FSP, and work closely with the ADGM team to provide regulated custody operations.”

Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Market Development at ADGM said, “We extend our congratulations to Liminal on being granted the IPA from the FSRA of ADGM, which paves the way for them to become fully operational in ADGM as a premier custody provider for virtual assets. As an international financial center of the UAE’s capital, ADGM’s vision for fostering a dynamic and trusted financial ecosystem prioritizes upholding the highest standards of security, innovation, and regulatory compliance. Liminal’s capabilities and dedication align seamlessly with ADGM’s goals and reinforce our commitment to driving the growth of the digital asset space in Abu Dhabi and beyond. We anticipate witnessing Liminal’s positive impact on the market and its contribution to the advancement of virtual asset services.”

Jehanzeb Awan, Founder & CEO, J. Awan & Partners, praised Liminal’s commitment and said, “It’s truly impressive to witness Liminal’s dedication to regulatory compliance and their unwavering service to the digital asset industry. Our joint efforts in undergoing stringent screening procedures and audits have culminated in a significant milestone with the issuance of the IPA. I am confident that Liminal will continue to set new standards in the virtual asset custody space, while fostering innovation in ADGM’s rapidly emerging market.”

In its commitment to delivering regulated and compliant custody solutions in the Middle East, Liminal is pleased to welcome Dr. Bhaskar Dasgupta, Veteran Business Strategist, to Its Board in Abu Dhabi. Dr. Dasgupta is highly regarded for his contributions to ADGM, and has been instrumental in revolutionizing cryptocurrency regulation on a global scale. In the past, he has also held distinguished positions as the Chief Operating Officer of UK Export Finance and held leadership positions at esteemed financial institutions, including HSBC, ABN AMRO, Citigroup, and PwC.

Marathon Digital Holding, a crypto mining entity has mined 18 Bitcoin out of the 1,202 Bitcoin produced in October 2023 from its UAE joint venture with 2.3 exahashes online in Abu Dhabi with 7 exahashes to be online by end of 2023. The figures were published in its unaudited Bitcoin BTC production and miner installation updates for October 2023.

Fried Thiel, Marathon Digital’s Chairman and CEO  stated in their press release, “  “In October, we increased our energized hash rate 1% to 19.2 exahashes as the facility in Garden City, Texas, where we have 4.1 exahashes of miners installed, began to come online. Once this facility is fully operational later this month, we will have surpassed our 23 exahash target and solidified Marathon as the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner in North America.”

In terms of the operation in UAE, Thiel added, “By increasing our hash rate and continuing to improve our operations at the facility in McCamey, Texas and elsewhere, we earned 4.0% of the total Bitcoin network’s available miner rewards and produced 1,202 bitcoin in October. This total includes 18 bitcoin from our 20% share of the JV in Abu Dhabi. We now have 2.3 exahashes online in Abu Dhabi as our second, larger facility in Masdar City has begun powering up. We continue to expect the full 7.0 exahashes in the UAE to be online by year-end.

“We have also been exploring new methods of mining that we believe may allow us to further diversify our operations, reduce our energy costs, and increase our sustainable energy mix. We recently announced a pilot project in Utah that is exclusively powered by landfill methane gas. Naturally produced methane is often stranded, and Bitcoin miners like Marathon are uniquely positioned to help capture and convert this environmentally harmful gas into clean, renewable energy. We look forward to sharing more of the many innovative mining projects that we are exploring in the months ahead.”

Furthermore in November 8th Marathon Digital Holdings reported results for the third quarter 2023 including its operational results for the quarter ended September 30th 2023, Thiel made a statement showcasing how their international expansion in UAE has opened up new international opportunities such as Paraguay. He noted, “We made significant progress on our 2023 strategic  priorities in the  third quarter. First, we grew our energized hash rate 8% quarter-over-quarter to  19.1 exahashes. In addition, our new facility in Garden City started energizing last week and is  expected to be fully operational later this month. Second, we experienced significantly higher uptime  as  optimization  efforts  helped  increase  our  U.S. average operational hash  rate 18%  from last  quarter to  14.2 exahashes.  Third, we energized our first joint venture and our first international location in  the UAE. This initial success has helped open new opportunities, and we  recently entered into a new joint venture in Paraguay powered by hydroelectricity.

The Company recorded net income of $64.1 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, during the three months ended  September 30, 2023, compared  to a net loss  of $72.5 million, or $0.62 loss per share, in the same period last year.

Marathon Digital officially inaugurated it 200 MW Bitcoin mining facility at Masdar City in Abu Dhabi UAE, under the joint venture Two Zero. In January 27th 2022, Marathon digital Holdings, announced that it had entered into a shareholder’s agreement with FSI (FS Innovation), the BTC mining subsidiary of UAE ADQ a sovereign fund, to form an Abu Dhabi, (Abu Dhabi Global Markets) based company.

Taurus SA, a FINMA-regulated Swiss institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure provider, has expanded its operations into the Middle East to serve its growing client base in the region. Taurus will service the GCC and MENA region, including KSA, Qatar and even Turkey through its Dubai UAE office.

Founded in 2018Taurus SA, a Swiss company provides enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure to issue, custody and trade any digital assets: cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, NFTs and digital currencies.

Managing Director, Bashir Kazour, leads Taurus’ new UAE office based in the DIFC in Dubai. M. Kazour brings more than 20 years of retail, capital markets and technology experience gained at Royal Bank of Canada, Standard Chartered and FIS, a leading banking and payment technology provider. Over the last decade, he collaborated closely with a diverse client base ranging from sovereign wealth funds and central banks to brokers and family offices.

“I am excited to lead Taurus’ efforts and build a winning franchise in the Middle East, a region known for its rapid adoption of blockchain technology and digital assets,” said Kazour. “Taurus is well-known for its unique custody and tokenization capabilities serving banking clients and large enterprises, which aligns perfectly with the needs of the region. We’ve already started interacting closely with regulators, central banks and clients and I’m looking forward to delivering cutting-edge and compliant solutions to the market.”

Speaking to LaraontheBlock on whether Taurus requires regulation by VARA, Bashir Kazour, Managing Director at Taurus SA explained, “Taurus does not need a regularity license in the UAE as we solely focus on providing the digital asset infrastructure to our clients in the region. To make it simple, Taurus is a technology provider, equipping banks and corporates, with a platform to manage any digital asset. The financial services activity is regulated by the Swiss FINMA and is not promoted outside of Switzerland.”

Taurus opened an office in DIFC Dubai because the company has already signed up some large financial institutions according to Kazour. He adds, “We are also in late stage discussions with several other financial and non-financial institutions in the Middle East region. The region is known for its rapid adoption of blockchain technology and digital assets driven by the regulatory clarity already provided through VARA, ADGM, RAK DAO initiatives, fostering innovation.”

As such Kazour reaffirms that the opening of the office in the UAE is to support this growing demand in the region for both custodial and tokenization solutions.

The office according to Kazour will serve the full Middle East region, including Qatar, KSA but also Turkey. He adds, “ We also have plans to expand to other countries as well.”

Taurus has already consolidated its European leadership position as the preferred digital asset infrastructure provider for banks and corporates, building on its Swiss market leadership with more than 60% market share. Among others, Taurus has recently announced a partnership with Deutsche Bank as well as CACEIS, one of the largest global custodians. Taurus also closed its $65 million Series B funding round last February with strategic investors including Arab Bank Switzerland, Credit Suisse, and Pictet.

Hex Trust, a digital asset custodian has announced that it has received a full Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai.

This follows the issuance of its MVP operational license in February 2023, which marks the final step in VARA’s licensing process, allowing Hex Trust to offer Virtual Assets Custodial Services to institutional clients and sophisticated investors in Dubai.

Hex Trust’s Dubai office was established in June 2022, and is led by Regional MENA Director, Filippo Buzzi.  “It is exciting for us to become one of the first virtual asset companies to receive this operating license in Dubai,” said Filippo Buzzi, Hex Trust’s Regional Director MENA. “Hex Trust is fully committed to expanding into the Middle East and sees enormous potential for digital asset growth given the progressive regulations, welcoming governments, and thriving crypto ecosystem in the region.”

“Hex Trust’s commitment to compliance and regulation has always been a priority. This focus has allowed us to be granted a full operating license in Dubai – one of the few companies to obtain this,” said Alessio Quaglini, Co-Founder and CEO of Hex Trust. “There is so much potential in the Emirate of Dubai. We’re excited to continue to scale our business in the region and make a positive contribution to the virtual asset ecosystem.”

The completion of VARA’s licensing process demonstrates Hex Trust’s commitment to provide a comprehensive, secure and compliant trading environment for digital asset investors in Dubai, and its dedication to help build the virtual asset ecosystem in the MENA region, which is fast becoming one of the world’s leading virtual asset hubs.

In July, Hex Trust received regulatory approval in France to provide digital asset custody services, introduced innovative AI-driven investment tools, and actively participated in global industry events. Hex Trust’s dedication to delivering 24/7 regulated digital asset support to its 200+ global institutional clients remains unwavering as the industry recovers from the bear market. Its resilient approach is a positive signal of confidence and underscores its commitment to building secure blockchain infrastructure and expanding its global reach as a fully-licensed digital asset custodian.

Komainu was the first to receive a digital assets custodial license by VARA.

Digipharm, a value-based healthcare ecosystem dedicated to transforming healthcare procurement and patient engagement, today announces its participation in the “Hashgraph Innovation Program” driven by The Hashgraph Association, the not-for-profit accelerating adoption of the Hedera network globally. As a revolutionary step in blockchain technology and decentralised application development, this partnership will significantly bolster the capabilities and outreach of Digipharm’s Reimburse and Digihealth platforms.

DigiPharm works with UAE based Burjeel Medical City. In 2022, Burjeel Medical City (BMC), and Digipharm joined hands to design and validate a new model for patient care in the UAE. The new platform, will focus initially on the Bone Marrow Transplantation program and will later expand to other specialties at the hospital.

Digipharm is an industry leader in the value-based healthcare arena. Its flagship product, Reimburse, stands out as a pioneering value-based procurement platform which has been adopted by government clients spanning from the UK to the Middle East.

Additionally, esteemed private hospital groups are leveraging Reimburse to redefine their healthcare offerings. Digihealth, another element of Digipharm’s offering, is curated as a patient engagement ecosystem. Its primary aim is to enhance patient preference and engagement, ensuring that healthcare decisions resonate with the needs and insights of the very individuals they impact.

The Reimburse and Digihealth platforms, key innovations by Digipharm, align perfectly with the core objectives of the Hashgraph Innovation Program. These platforms, built to redefine patient-centric care and healthcare finance, will greatly benefit from the innovation program. With the support from the Hedera network, both platforms will undergo extensive ideation, proof-of-concept modelling, and minimum viable product (MVP) development, ensuring that they stand at the forefront of healthcare technology.

Kamal Youssefi, President of The Hashgraph Association, said; “We are thrilled to welcome Digipharm to the “Hashgraph Innovation Program”, pioneering the way towards value-based healthcare. This partnership will catalyse new and innovative ways to accelerate decentralised solutions on the Hedera network, while identifying real-world use cases. We’re confident that by providing the funding and support to Digipharm, we’ll help bring the benefits of DLT to healthcare systems worldwide.”

Speaking on this significant partnership, Ahmed Abdulla, CEO at Digipharm, commented, “Joining the Hedera Hashgraph Innovation Program is a monumental leap for Digipharm. We are eager to harness the extensive resources and expertise from this collaboration to further enhance Reimburse and Digihealth, ensuring we deliver unmatched solutions in healthcare.”

As part of this esteemed group, Digipharm is set to benefit from the vast network, financial support, and unparalleled expertise provided by the Hashgraph Association. This collaboration solidifies Digipharm’s commitment to integrating top-tier blockchain solutions into healthcare, creating a brighter and more sustainable future for the sector.