UAE’s Abu Dhabi University hosts 5ire Web3 Blokchain hackathon

UAE’s Abu Dhabi University hosts 5ire Web3 Blokchain hackathon

UAE Abu Dhabi University’s department of computer science and IT has hosted the first 5ire Web3 Blockchain hackathon in collaboration with 5ire and MetaDecrypt. Over 50 teams representing nine universities acros shte UAE participated in a bid to further enhance students’ knowledge of blockchain technology and innovation and to strengthen blockchain education, research and entrepreneurship.

ADU’s faculty members and 5ire trainers introduced students and academics to Web3 and blockchain technology, fostering innovation in the next generation of developers through the utilisation of several technologies such as Metamask, NFT, 5irechain, Ethereum and IPFS. In addition, participants from all coding and programming levels received expert guidance, valuable resources and networking opportunities to ignite their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

As part of the event, students attended a workshop focused on Web3 and blockchain technologies, as well as entrepreneurship. Following the workshop, the students worked together and were encouraged to apply their creativity to competitive and groundbreaking ideas that utilised Web3 and blockchain technologies as well as developing innovative solutions for real-world challenges. 

Professor Mourad Elhadef, Computer Science and IT Professor at Abu Dhabi University (ADU), said: “We are delighted to host the first 5ire Blockchain Hackathon in partnership with our strategic partner 5ire. Together, we aim to boost critical thinking and empower the next generation of Web3 and Blockchain developers. This hackathon serves as a dynamic platform where creativity meets sustainability, showcasing how technology can drive positive change in alignment with the UAE’s strategic vision for sustainability. We are inspired by the pioneering and creative ideas we have witnessed from the bright tech-savvy leaders of the future.”

Dr. Murad Al Rajab, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Abu Dhabi University, said:”Web3 and Blockchain stand at the forefront of innovation, offering unprecedented opportunities for sustainability. By harnessing the power of these transformative technologies, we can forge a path towards a greener and more sustainable future. The recent hackathon, organised by Abu Dhabi University and 5ire.org, showcased how Web3 and Blockchain can revolutionise areas like supply chain transparency, renewable energy trading, and beyond, driving us closer to a world where technology becomes a catalyst for sustainable development.”

Pratik Gauri, Founder and CEO of 5ireChain, said: “We firmly believe in empowering the next generation of Web3 pioneers, and it is not just a vision, but a commitment we hold. By fostering local talent in the UAE and embracing decentralised learning, we strive to equip children and youth with the necessary tools to construct a transformative future.”

The competition concluded with an award ceremony, where the winners were recognised for their outstanding innovative ideas. The top three winners were recognised from different universities within the UAE where ADU came in second place. The winning teams’ projects focused on Cryptocurrency and Sustainability.

UAE Cypher capital leading investor in multi chain DeFi protocol Concordia

UAE Cypher capital leading investor in multi chain DeFi protocol Concordia

UAE Cypher Capital is one of the investors in Concordia, a multi-chain risk and collateral management protocol for digital assets. Concordia closed a successful $4 million seed round in June, attracting significant investments from Tribe Capital, Kraken Ventures and UAE based Cypher Capital among other investors including Saison Capital. 

Concordia’s vision is to create an interconnected, permissionless, and optimized DeFi ecosystem that promotes accessibility, affordability, and developer-friendly environments, ultimately unlocking the true transformative potential of DeFi.

Concordia’s ground-breaking solution attracted the attention of leading Dubai VC Cypher Capital, who are building their portfolio into one of the leading web3 centric portfolios globally.

Bill Qian, Chairman of Cypher Capital said “Concordia represents a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralized finance. As Chairman of Cypher Capital, I am thrilled to be part of this ground-breaking initiative that is bridging the gap between traditional finance and the fast-emerging digital asset ecosystem. Concordia’s innovative collateral management protocol and commitment to interoperability are poised to unlock new opportunities and drive greater efficiency in the global financial landscape. We firmly believe in Concordia’s vision and are excited to support their journey towards creating an interconnected and optimized DeFi ecosystem.”

Concordia addresses this critical pain point within the Web3 ecosystem by leveraging its collateral management capabilities to enable seamless value transfer across previously segregated pools of liquidity, ultimately fostering interoperability across chains. Concordia users gain access to a unified account that allows efficient management of all their assets, opening doors to new opportunities in the rapidly evolving digital economy. By seamlessly integrating multiple blockchains, Concordia pioneers the concept of a cross-chain, cross-protocol margin account in the cryptocurrency space.

The integration of Concordia’s multichain account platform by several prominent Web3 companies enables their users to seamlessly execute margin-related actions.

Concordia is designed as a modular Infrastructure-as-a-Service solution for collateral management, offering a range of products addressing risk, pricing, brokering, rebalancing, non-custodial wallets, and cross-chain synchronization. This architectural flexibility allows Concordia to continuously adapt to the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.

Tribe Capital’s Managing Partner, Boris Revsin, stated, “I’ve known the team behind Concordia for quite some time, and I am confident they have the grit, technical skills, and go-to-market understanding to make Concordia a market leader in DeFi.”

Laurens De Poorter, Partner at Kraken Ventures, said, “The fragmentation of liquidity across an increasing number of blockchains is a known core issue for those that believe in a multi-chain future. Solving it requires not only superior technology but also best-in-class business development and a deep experience in risk management & compliance. We believe Concordia’s founding team is one of those rare teams that makes all stars align to have a real lasting impact on the overall crypto industry. We could not be more excited to partner up with them!”

Uri Ferruccio, CEO of Concordia, highlights the company’s mission, stating, “Concordia is solving the value convertibility problem for digital assets. There are many different digital assets and distributed ledgers. This has pros and cons. You can create a micro-economy tailored for the fans of a specific company, for example, but value also gets trapped in a multitude of different pockets. Concordia’s unique combination of interoperability technology and institutional-grade risk and collateral management creates a better and safer solution for cross-chain value transfer.”

Blockchain Security auditor Hacken partners with Dubai Blockchain Center

Blockchain Security auditor Hacken partners with Dubai Blockchain Center

Ukraine headquartered Hacken, a blockchain security auditor that aims to make Web3 a safer place, has partnered with Dubai Blockchain Center.

As per a Hacken team tweet, “ This is a pivotal step towards accelerating blockchain adoption in Dubai and ensuring enhanced security in the tech scene.”

Igor Hacken, Business Development Manager at Hacken tweeted, “Very proud moment for hackenclub expanding into the UAE joining the efforts of keeping the blockchain secure with Dubai Blockchain Center and  Dr. Marwan Alzarouni. Stay tuned to learn more about all of our contributions in to the rapidly growing region.”

The  collaboration will also include providing  mentoring, education on blockchain security and contributing to the development of regulatory requirements for project licensing.

Hacken offers various solutions including smart contract audit, proof of reserves, and others. In February 2023, Hacken researchers identified a bug in the Binance zkSNARK-based Proof of Reserves system which was then resolved with Binance team.

Since their inception in 2017, they have carried out 1200 audits.

This is not the first collaboration in the region. Prior to this Hacken launched a virtual Hackathon in May 2023 with UAE based Venom Foundation with a pool prize of $225,000.

Most recently Hacken’s CEO and Co Founder, Dyma Budorin published a research conducted by CER one of their partners which revealed that 70% of crypto wallets have security gaps, exposing digital assets to vulnerabilities.

The presence of Hacken in the UAE, looks to benefit the blockchain ecosystem as a it creates more awareness on digital assets auditing and security.

Blockchain Hashgraph Association to support startups in UAE with Hashgraph Ventures

Blockchain Hashgraph Association to support startups in UAE with Hashgraph Ventures

As the Blockchain ecosystem grows in the MENA region, Blockchain Hashgraph Association, an independent non-profit organization focused on building a vibrant innovative ecosystem for startups, enterprises, and government institutions leveraging the capabilities of Hedera Hashgraph  will be expanding into the UAE and launching Hashgraph Ventures out of Abu Dhabi’s ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market) with several important large enterprise collaborations within the UAE. 

In an article in Khaleej Times, Kamal Youssefi, president of the board of The Hashgraph Association, emphasized UAE’s appeal for blockchain companies, citing its innovative regulatory framework, strong talent base and diverse community. He states in the article,  “I have just returned from the governing council meetings held at Google’s campus in San Francisco, and there was a consensus that the UAE’s innovative regulatory framework, strong talent base and diverse community make it an attractive destination for blockchain companies.”

Youssefi adds, “Dubai has become an important hub to support our activities in the region and grow Hedera Hashgraph ecosystem adoption in the Middle East.”

Hedera’s governing council members are Google, Dell, IBM, Boeing, Chainlink Labs, Deutsche Telekom, EDF (Électricité de France), LG Electronics, Ubisoft, University College London, with Middle East entities such as Zain Telecom.

Moreover in 2022, the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts launched Tejouri, a global digital vault, on the Hedera Hashgraph network. The platform enabled the upload and secure storing of documents ranging from insurance contracts, title deeds, Wills, and financial certificates, to images and multimedia files and can be utilized by all individuals globally.

According to Youssefi, given that Hedera Hashgraph has been built from the ground up with enterprise and government use cases I mind, and given UAE’s ambitious blockchain plans, he sees Hedera Hashgraph as a perfect fit for the UAE.

This optimism extends to the entire MENA region. Youssefi states, “We’re extremely bullish on the continued growth of DeFi, gaming, trade finance, and other projects that can lower the costs and expand accessibility for millions of underserved people in the MENA region.”

GCC and MENA Family offices can make their gold work for them with blockchain tokenization

GCC and MENA Family offices can make their gold work for them with blockchain tokenization

If you are a GCC or MENA based family office that has a portfolio that includes precious metals such as gold, silver or others, or you intend to in the near future, but are hesitant because in the past you were unable to make revenues from the purchase, you now can. With the advent of blockchain, Web3 technologies and tokenization a sweet spot is upon us. 

Precious metal owners can generate earnings on their gold and make it work for them just by holding it in tokenized form. Aurus Technologies, headquartered in the UAE with offices in the UK is offering family offices the opportunity to tokenize real world assets through its sustainable tokenization as a service solution (TAAS) platform.

The GCC and MENA region has all the ingredients to make gold work for family offices. First the region itself is a hot bed for investors, secondly precious metals especially gold are well revered and invested in and third Web3 technologies including tokenization on the blockchain is revolutionizing the precious metal industry in the region.

Family offices can make their tokenized gold work for them throughout the lifetime of their ownership.

According to Mark Gesterkamp, Chief Business Development Officer, Aurus Technologies, “By minting a digital representation of vaulted bullion in the form of tGOLD, tSILVER and tPLATINUM, precious metals can now be utilized and earn transactional revenue in the digital economy.”

The company does not sell gold, but utilizes software to make gold work for its owners by allowing these tokenized real assets to be transacted and traded. Mark explains, “Part of the transaction fees flow back to the bullion owners and providers.”

  

The Growth of Investors in GCC and MENA

Recent research has shown that there are nearly 6,000 UHNW (ultra-high net worth) individuals in the Middle East with a combined net worth of US $995 billion. The number of UHNW individuals in the region is expected to increase by 24.6% in the next 5 years while the region is also expected to remain the fourth largest wealth hub in the world.

In addition the UAE is increasingly becoming a hub for family offices, with some of the world’s big names setting up offices in the country to tap the market. The same can be witnessed in KSA, Qatar, and elsewhere.

As such the region is ripe with not only a growing number of family offices but wealth that can be deployed intelligently.

Growth of interest in Digital assets

HNWI individuals and family offices are increasing their exposure to alternative assets in the form of digital assets and the MENA region is no exception. The Ocorian report found that 90% of those surveyed said their clients are looking to include crypto and digital assets in their investment strategies.

The report noted that family offices run by younger tech savvy generations want to make a move into investing in crypto and digital assets yet remain concerned about the challenges and risks.

This is more reflective in the MENA region. The Lombard Odier report found that 79% of younger Middle East investors believe there are significant opportunities in the digital and tech sectors.

Mark believes that Aurus’s blockchain tokenization offering provides tech savvy young investors with a valuable investment opportunity, easing their concerns, by offering digital assets backed by gold, silver or other precious metals. He states “Gold is understood by all, and now the new generation can put it to work sustainably and with less risk than crypto.”

 

Bullish on Gold regardless of market trends

As economic difficulties prevail globally, with worries of inflation, recession, and banking failures, precious metals are set to shine.

Tresor Gold research stated that VC firms and family offices will increase gold allocations in next 18 months. The study covered investors in in Canada, Australia, the US, UK, UAE, France, Germany, Switzerland, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Yet regardless of whether precious metals are seen as bullish or not, just by tokenizing gold and making it work for owners, price fluctuations are no longer relevant.  

Mark explains, “Regardless of whether gold is bullish or not, owners who have tokenized their gold will continue to make money because of the transactions. AurusX our native token for example is like a hedge for precious metals. Holders of AurusX or their own tokenized gold can earn yields in any market condition because they earn for each transaction carried out.”

Gold Investment challenges overcome with Tokenization 

Tokenizing precious metals and gold on the blockchain relieves investors from the challenges faced from utilizing traditional gold investment vehicles.  

When investing in physical gold there are always extra costs for securing, insuring and storing the gold and in return liquidating the physical gold or earning yields is also difficult.

Even with Gold index funds, or ETFs (Exchange traded funds) while investors do receive passive earnings long term, these investors do not own the gold.

Investing directly in gold via gold shares (mine shares) of gold mine operators is risky as well, as it is dependent on the performance of the mining operator and the stock exchange.

With Aurus, there is a one to one backing of the underlying bullion generating yields, making most of the challenges a thing of the past. Mark confirms, “Aurus is setting the standard in precious metals tokenization adhering to the decentralized nature of the blockchain. We work with multiple storage locations around the globe including reputable partners such as Spanish refinery Sempsa JP and vaulting facilitator Brinks.”

The Aurus Opportunity a solution for all

Since 2018 Aurus has been a strong proponent of opening the precious metals market to everyone with a smartphone using the Aurus application.

The company is leveraging metal-backed blockchain technology to help gold, silver, and platinum businesses democratize these assets via the digital economy while earning passive rewards in the digital assets & DeFi space.

By modernizing the precious metals market with Web3 technologies, it is increasing access, usability & trust, ultimately unlocking global demand.

Mark concludes, “The total size of tokenized illiquid assets, including real estate and natural resources could reach $16.1 trillion by 2030. As such we are playing our part by offering an open ended solution that allows any party to bring gold to Web3 under the standards of both the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Center). ” The bigger the Aurus system grows the more precious metals will be paid out to AX holders.”

For the first time in the region, Aurus will be offering gold tokenization solutions to family offices allowing them to put their gold to work and generate yields. Mark adds, “We welcome partners in the UAE and GCC to showcase our ecosystem and work together to tokenize part of their portfolio by taking either a direct position in Aurus TGold and TSilver or tokenizing their own gold or even investing in AurusX tokens.” Aurus is currently seeking to raise $500,000 from the sale of its AurusX Tokens.

Aurus is working with greener future in mind, by reducing CO2 emission. It is collaborating with green initiatives globally. Mark states, “Blockchain allows for easier and transparent collaboration with ESG initiatives and we will continuously seek partnerships in positioning precious metals towards a greener investing alternative. We aim to ensure everyone can buy precious metals on the blockchain in a more sustainable manner.”

For more info check out the Aurus video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtFdmbHLoPg

Saudi Venture Capital invests in Web3 digital asset fund by UAE Shorooq Partners

Saudi Venture Capital invests in Web3 digital asset fund by UAE Shorooq Partners

The Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) has invested $30 million in the $150 million Bedaya Fund II, managed by UAE Shorooq Partners to back early-stage startups with a focus on fintech, digital assets, Web3, Metaverse, DeFi, and other areas.

At the launch of Bedaya Fund II, in a press release Shane Shin founding partner at Shorooq Partners stated,  “We have always been early movers, be that robo-advisory, crowdfunding, SME lending, open banking, card issuer processing, and so forth. We believe Web 3.0 models like DeFi, NFT, Metaverse are going to be the key players in the next iteration of online business.”

Bedaya Fund II is an early stage venture capital fund managed by Shorooq Partners. The fund is located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and invests in Northern Africa, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan. The fund targets investments in the fintech and software sectors.

On Pitchbook they benchmark the Bedaya II fund against EchoVC Chain Blockchain Fund,  an early-stage venture capital fund managed by EchoVC Partners, located in Lagos, Nigeria which invests in Africa. The fund targets cryptocurrency/blockchain sectors.

The subscription agreement between Saudi Venture Capital and Shorooq Partners was signed by Dr. Nabeel Koshak, CEO and Board Member at SVC, and Mahmoud Adi, Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners.

Dr. Koshak commented: “The investment in Bedaya Fund II by Shorooq Partners is part of SVC’s Investment in Funds Program to support the growth of the VC ecosystem in Saudi Arabia for all stages and to fill financing gaps for early stages. SVC’s expansion in investing in early-stage funds comes as a result of the recent support from the SME Bank to increase the investment capital of SVC, leading to a total investment capital of $1.6 billion.”

Mahmoud Adi added: “We are privileged to have SVC as a strategic investor to Bedaya Fund II, again after our partnership in the prior fund (Bedaya Fund I). This commitment highlights the increasing confidence in Saudi Arabia’s thriving startup ecosystem. With our persistent focus in Saudi Arabia and leadership position across the Middle East, Bedaya Fund II is well-positioned to support the growth and innovation of early-stage startups.

SVC is a government investment company established in 2018 and is a subsidiary of the SME Bank, one the development banks affiliated to the National Development Fund. SVC aims to stimulate and sustain financing for startups and SMEs from pre-Seed to pre-IPO by investing $1.6 billion through investment in funds and co-investment in startups. SVC invested in 38 funds that have invested in 674 companies through 1,257 deals.

Dubai’s VARA to see several hundred VASPs enter licensing regime as Hong Kong ups its crypto stance

Dubai’s VARA to see several hundred VASPs enter licensing regime as Hong Kong ups its crypto stance

In a recent Forbes piece, it was noted that the virtual asset regulatory authority in Dubai expects to see several hundred virtual assets exchanges and service providers enter its licensing regime. This comes as CEOs of major crypto exchanges laud both UAE and Hong Kong as crypto hubs.

As per Henson Orser CEO of VARA, speaking to Forbes, “VARA makes Dubai one of a handful of global jurisdictions implementing a mature framework for crypto and virtual assets. The VARA framework expects to see several hundred virtual asset exchanges and service providers in Dubai start to come into its licensing regime in 2023.”

At the same time Hong Kong is also competing to get a piece of the crypto and digital asset market with the launch of new crypto licensing regime. In addition Hong Kong’s banking regulator is pressuring financial institutions including HSBC and Standard Chartered to take on crypto exchanges as clients.

In parallel the Central Bank of UAE came out with its new guidance on anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) for Licensed Financial Institutions (LFIs), banks, finance companies, exchange houses, payment service providers, towards virtual assets and Virtual asset service providers. While VARA came out with its virtual asset rulebook for, the virtual assets transfer,  and settlement service. 

Both countries are showing digital asset entities that they are serious for business. In a Yahoo article, Ben Caselin, CEO of Maskex states Dubai and Hong Kong are establishing themselves as crypto hubs by recognizing the potential for virtual assets and blockchain technology.

He explains, “Much of the discussion has focused on whether Dubai, Hong Kong or indeed some other jurisdiction will come out on top. However, the debate is much more nuanced than that. The emergence of Dubai and Hong Kong as crypto centers is really a testament to the power of healthy competition in spurring innovation in the Web3 space.”

He believes that as the U.S. grapples with crypto regulation, there is a real opportunity for other countries to assert themselves on the more level playing field provided by a digital-first global economy. With favorable yet robust regulatory environments, both Dubai and Hong Kong are well-positioned to lead the way.

Despite being on similar paths, Dubai and Hong Kong have different motivations for their push into crypto and the Web3 space. To him Hong Kong wants to reinvigorate the greater Chinese economy, while Dubai seeks to shift its dependence on oil.

Yet he contends that both have recognized the scale of opportunity and understand that by pooling resources they could be at the forefront of a new wave of digital innovation leading advancements in the scalability, privacy and interoperability of blockchains, therefore benefiting the entire crypto ecosystem.

Gemini crypto exchange becomes another global entity to apply for a crypto license in UAE

Gemini crypto exchange becomes another global entity to apply for a crypto license in UAE

Gemini crypto exchange announced that it has commenced with the process of acquiring a crypto exchange license in the UAE to better serve customers based in the country.

According to Gemini post, “ As a forward-thinking, global financial hub, the UAE is continuing its tradition of leadership by establishing itself as a fast-emerging hub for crypto. By applying for a license, we will be taking another step towards making Gemini a truly global company and advancing our mission to unlock the next era of financial, personal, and creative freedom for all.”

In the week of June 11th 2023, Gemini met with stakeholders thought the region to learn more about the local regulatory requirements and the needs of crypto users.

Gemini added, “ As part of Gemini’s 2022 Global State of Crypto Report, we took a look at adoption of crypto globally across 20 countries. We found that those in the UAE were rapidly acquiring crypto and putting it to use making in-person purchases. We also found high intent to purchase crypto among those who were not yet owners:”

As per the Geminin 2022 global state of crypto report, more than 35% of those surveyed in the UAE had purchased crypto, compared to only 20% of those in the US. While nearly 32% of non-owners in the UAE said they are likely to purchase crypto in the next year.

33% of those in the UAE who own some crypto use it to make in-person purchases at brick-and-mortar retailers, compared to just 19% of owners globally. Blog state of crypto 2023

Gemini based on the findings from the report and the conversations with regulatory stakeholders, startups and other ecosystem participants decided to further cement their interest in investing in the UAE and becoming part of their crypto community.

Gemini has now joined the roster of other global exchanges seeking to be regulated in the UAE, including crypto.com, Binance, OKX, Maskex, Coinbase and many others.

This has also been spurred by the recent crypto shake down happening in the USA.

GCC Investcorp Blockchain fund leads $15 million investment round in Spanish crypto exchange

GCC Investcorp Blockchain fund leads $15 million investment round in Spanish crypto exchange

GCC ( Gulf Cooperation Council) and MENA based Investcorp, a global alternative investment firm has led a $15 million investment round for BitMe a Spanish crypto exchange. Included in the list of investors was Telefonica Ventures, Stratminds VC, Cardano, and YGG Fund.

In April 2022 GCC headquartered Investcorp, launched eLydian Lion, the first dedicated institutional blockchain fund based in the GCC, with a global investment mandate (the “Fund”). The Blockchain ELydian Lion Fund, was led from Investcorp’s Abu Dhabi office UAE office, and was deployed globally with a focus on investments in companies leading the next digital evolution driven by blockchain technology.

At the time Investcorp noted that the Fund would mainly invest in early-stage companies operating in areas within the blockchain ecosystem such as blockchain infrastructure, platforms and exchanges, DeFi, (decentralized finance), and data analytics.

Fast forward, Investcorp has now invested in Bit2Me which will use the funds to grow its position in Spain, where the company was born, and to accelerate its expansion in Latin America.

“This funding will boost our acquisition of new customers specially thanks to Investcorp, an international partner with significant financial muscle, and to Telefónica, who will give us more channels in Latin America,” Leif Ferreira, co-founder and CEO of Bit2Me, said in a statement.

In July 2022, Bit2Me acquired a majority stake in the Peruvian peer Fluyez, in what was the first step of a search for acquisition opportunities in Chile, Colombia and Uruguay, the company said at the time.

In February, Bit2Me obtained approval from the Bank of Spain to be the first provider of services for the exchange of virtual currency for fiat currency and the custody of digital wallets.

Hervé François, Partner of the Blockchain/Digital Assets fund at Investcorp who is based in Abu Dhabi, stated on LinkedIn, “ I am thrilled to announce that I am joining the Board of Directors of Bit2Me alongside Investcorp Blockchain Fund’s investment in their latest round.”

He adds, “We are pleased to lead the investment in Bit2Me, a leading player in the digital asset space. Bit2Me is well positioned to capitalize on the growth in this rapidly evolving market, and Investcorp will actively support its strong management team. Very much looking forward to witnessing Bit2Me’s international growth as the best is yet to come!”

Investcorp becomes the second firm based out of GCC to invest in a crypto exchange, prior to that MEVP invested in Bahrain’s RAIN crypto exchange. The round was led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), with participation of other global investors at the time.

OKX says Dubai’s Virtual asset regulator has given MVP Preparatory license approval …. But… has it really?

OKX says Dubai’s Virtual asset regulator has given MVP Preparatory license approval …. But… has it really?

It s no surprise that global crypto exchanges are flocking to the UAE, first it was Binance, then Kraken which left, then crypto.com, coinbase, and now the second biggest global exchange OKX.

OKX announced unilaterally that it had received a minimal viable Preparatory license from Dubai’s virtual asset regulatory authority (VARA). In 2022 OKX had received its provisional license and opened offices at the Dubai World Trade Centre. 

In the announcement they stressed that the UAE is a key strategic growth and business hub for OKX global with the company planning ot hire 30 staff locals and senior management.

OKX also added that it plans to extend its nine-figure brand partnerships to the UAE with customer and fan-focused activations and activities.

As per the announcement, once licensed to be operational, OKX Middle East will be able to extend its approved suite of duly regulated virtual assets activities and will provide spot, derivatives, and fiat services, including USD and AED deposits, withdrawals and spot-pairs, to institutional and qualified retail customers.

OKX Global Chief Commercial Officer Lennix Lai said, “We’re thrilled to receive the MVP preparatory licence from VARA. Regulated entities are the future of digital assets and capital markets and Dubai and VARA have succeeded in creating a unique environment where VASPs can thrive. With the expansion into a new office this year, we are focused on hiring local staff and senior management. The MENA region has incredible potential as a centre of excellence for Web3 and virtual assets, we look forward to the opportunity to expand the already growing ecosystem across the region.”

OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique  added “We’ve been waiting to enter the UAE and we want people here to experience our products first hand. We’re different – we do things in a measured and transparent manner. May was our seventh consecutive month of publishing our proof of reserves, making us the only crypto exchange globally with that commitment. This attitude is consistent with the brand partners who represent us, Manchester City Football Club, McLaren Racing, and the Tribeca Festival. We take our time, and do things the right way.”

But on VARA’s website OKX is not listed in its public register, while Crypto.com, Binance, and BitOasis are. This is despite the fact that both Crypto.com and Binance have the same license approval as OKX.

This is not the first crypto exchange or virtual asset service provider to unilaterally announce they have received a license yet have never been put on VARA’s public register. Examples include, Aquanow, Maskex crypto exchange, Fasset tokenized assets exchange, and many others.

The question that is puzzling is why? Why put some names and not others, why highlight some companies in VARA press releases, like for example BitOasis, Crypto.com, GCEX, Enjinstarter, Binance, Hextrust, , but not Maskex, OKX and many more?

It might seem to be a small discrepancy, but to those who look at the VARA website as a legitimate source for knowing the status of VASP entities regulated in Dubai, it is a significant slip-up or maybe not!

As an update to this article, OKX has now been listed on VARA’s registry page on its website, still waiting to see Maskex, Aquanow and others