R3 to design and Build UAE’s CBDC as well as tokenize financial and non financial activities

R3 to design and Build UAE’s CBDC as well as tokenize financial and non financial activities

R3 was chosen by UAE Central Bank as its technology partner to design and build a CBDC for the first phase of the central bank’s CBDC project because it is a permissioned based DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) that decentralize assets privately and works well in regulated industries, but more importantly is its interoperability and asset fluidity. R3 will not only assist UAE’s Central Bank in developing a CBDC but also in tokenizing financial and non-financial activities, in addition to the digitalization of other financial services. 

R3 offers interoperable CBDC solution

LaraontheBlock interviewed R3 to learn more about their role in UAE’s CBDC project.  Alisa DiCaprio, Chief Economist at R3 when asked why R3 was chosen and not another Blockchain technology provider replied, “R3’s Corda is the world’s leading permissioned distributed application platform and is specifically designed to work in highly regulated environments with today’s financial services industry. Corda powers solutions that decentralize assets while maintaining privacy and regulatory oversight, making it a favored technology for central banks looking to issue CBDCs.”

She added, “Its interoperability and asset fluidity means that central banks can move digital currencies openly and freely across network boundaries, using well-defined trusted exchange protocols that meet regulatory demands for privacy and security.” 

This is not the first CBDC project that R3 has participated in. DiCaprio explains, “ R3 has been chosen as the technology partner for numerous CBDC projects, including: Digital Tenge, where the National Bank of Kazakhstan is currently leveraging R3’s Corda for Digital Tenge CBDC project, to test the concept’s feasibility and determine the main parameters of the digital currency model. The Digital Tenge platform recently underwent successful testing with real consumers and merchants in cooperation with market participants. The DT’s entire life cycle (including the programmability and demonstration of the offline transactions chain) was tested.” 

Another project being worked on by R3 is Project Icebreaker, The Bank for International Settlements and the central banks of Israel, Norway and Sweden concluded Project Icebreaker this month, which studied the potential benefits and challenges of using retail CBDCs in international payments. 

According to DiCaprio CBDCs can strengthen financial market infrastructures in several ways. She explains, “CDBCs offer more efficient cross-border payments, faster settlement time periods and the streamlining of multi-party processes, so we’re excited to continue supporting central banks as their respective CBDC journeys.” 

As for why R3 was chosen, one of the most important reasons was the ability to facilitate interoperability and the exchange of data and assets across networks. As per DiCaprio, the platform is exploring ways to act as a bridge to various other platforms outside of the Corda ecosystem. This enables assets to move freely across networks while still maintaining privacy in the decentralization process. 

For Dicaprio interoperability is a critical development and a core focus at R3 to increase reach for users’ assets, minimizing friction with no sacrifice to safety. She adds, “By achieving this, we will be able to connect with other DLT players to provide the most seamless experience for our customers.” 

DiCaprio adds that R3 has seen a growing interest in CBDCs in the region given the region’s rising stature as a global fintech hub. This was appreciated during their partnership with UAE Central Bank. She stated to LaraontheBlock, “We look forward to seeing central banks across the world continue to explore and develop CBDCs and realizing the benefits they can bring to our financial ecosystem.”

R3 readies UAE for Tokenization

The Central Bank of UAE announced on March 23rd 2023 that it had commenced the implementation of its CBDC strategy in partnership with technology entities, UAE based G42 Cloud and Blockchain global solution provider R3. R3 then followed this with its own press release on April 4th 2023 explaining on the UAE Central Bank CBDC project including as well Clifford Chance who will be providing critical legal oversight for the strategy.

R3 in their press release stated that R3’s technological support will enable the Central Bank of UAE to ensure the readiness of the UAE for the potential future tokenization of financial and non-financial activities, in addition to the digitalization of other financial services.

Digitization in UAE

Parties that will be working with the UAE Central Bank CBDC project all agree that the project is part of a wider strategy for digitization in the UAE.

David E. Rutter, CEO at R3, commented, “This is another landmark moment in bringing CBDCs even closer to production and issuance. CBDCs can strengthen our financial market infrastructure in several ways, including more efficient cross-border payments, faster settlement time periods and the streamlining of multi-party processes. The CBUAE has made a significant step forward in realizing these benefits. We are honored and excited that R3 has been selected to design and build CBUAE’s CBDC ecosystem in this innovative move towards building a more open, trusted, and enduring digital economy. We look forward to supporting the CBUAE in the next stage of its CBDC journey.” 

While Talal Al Kaissi, CEO at G42 Cloud, stated, “We’re thrilled to be supporting the CBUAE in the development of its digital dirham. This collaboration represents an important milestone in the digitalization of the UAE’s monetary and payments framework and ensuring that the country remains at the forefront of financial services innovation. As a company founded in the UAE, we have seen first-hand the country’s rapidly advancing status as a global fintech hub and are excited to be working with the CBUAE in leading its digital transformation. We look forward to working with the Central Bank and R3 to deliver a cutting-edge CBDC infrastructure that meets the highest standards of efficiency, security, and innovation.”

While Jack Hardman, Partner at Clifford Chance and Head of Fintech in the Middle East added, “As CBDC development moves from research to real-life building, it is vital that central banks are aware of the legal implications of any chosen design feature or strategy, in addition to how this emerging technology interacts with existing regulations. Clifford Chance has an established track record as a leading advisor in the fields of financial services and technology, and we look forward to working with the CBUAE on its CBDC implementation strategy.”

As per UAE Central Bank, the first phase of the CBDC strategy will be completed within the next 15 months. It will include a soft launch of MBridge to facilitate real value cross border CBDC transactions for international trade settlement, proof-of- concept work for bilateral CBDC bridges with India, one of the UAE’s top trading partners and finally, proof-of-concept work for domestic CBDC issuance covering wholesale and retail usage.

The UAE Central Bank views the UAE CBDC as able to address the pain points of domestic and cross-border payments enhance financial inclusion and the move towards a cashless society. It will further strengthen the UAE’s payment infrastructure, providing additional robust payment channels, ensuring a resilient and reliable financial system. More importantly, the CBUAE aims to ensure the readiness of the UAE to integrate the payment infrastructures with the future potential tokenization world, the tokenization of the financial and non-financial activities. 

H.E. Khaled Mohamed Balama, the Governor of the CBUAE, stated at the time, “CBDC is one of the initiatives as part of the CBUAE’s FIT program, which will further position and solidify the UAE as a leading global financial hub. The launch of our CBDC strategy marks a key step in the evolution of money and payments in the country. CBDC will accelerate our digitalization journey and promote financial inclusion. We look forward to exploring the opportunities that CBDC will bring to the wider economy and society.” 

The Central Bank of UAE stated that it was now ready to enter into the next major milestone of its CBDC journey after several successful CBDC initiatives including project Aber with Saudi Central Bank in 2020, and the accomplishment of the first real-value cross-border CBDC pilot under the “mBridge” Project with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China and the Bank for International Settlements in 2022.

TripBtoz signs MOU to build Blockchain enabled travel platform in MENA

TripBtoz signs MOU to build Blockchain enabled travel platform in MENA

Web 3.0 travel TripBtoz to develop has signed an MOU with NEOPIN a CeDeFI wallet platform to build a Web 3.0 blockchain enabled based travel platform in the MENA region.

Tripbtoz is a travel platform based on user-created short-form video content. Beyond simple travel commerce, Tripbtoz offers features such as a “community” for sharing travel videos and a “reward system” in the form of “trip cash”. These features have formed a positive travel cycle, resulting in rapid growth in total revenue, monthly active users (MAUs) and user-generated content since the platform’s launch in 2017.

The two entities, NEOPIN, a CeDefi wallet solution and Tripbtoz, established a connection as officials of the business delegation that accompanied the Korean government’s economic summit in UAE, decided to collaborate on a Web3.0 project based in the Middle East.

This is the first incubation project in which NEOPIN supports the web3 transition of a web2 tech company. NEOPIN will help translate Tripbtoz’s existing travel platform into a Web 3.0 version that will showcase the “Travel Web3.0” ecosystem for young travellers to communicate. 

Jake Kim, the CEO of NEOPIN, stated that as NEOPIN participates in the incubation and supports Tripbtoz’s Web3.0 translation, we aim to turn the service into a successful Web3.0 travel platform by leveraging both companies’ experience in blockchain and the travel industry.

Jiha Jung, the CEO of Tripbtoz, stated, “The travel industry is in a big transition period, with lines blurring between the real world and metaverse. We want to create Tripbtoz to excite its customers with high-performing ‘Travel to Earn’ service that is perfectly suitable for Web 3.0.” He also added, “The combination of travel and future tech will disrupt the existing ecosystem, eventually creating a new form of industry.”

UAE based DWF Labs invests $1 million in Blockchain music Korean firm

UAE based DWF Labs invests $1 million in Blockchain music Korean firm

DWF ( Digital Wave Finance) Labs a crypto investment firm, based out of UAE, has invested $1 million into LABEL Foundation, a Korean Based blockchain entity revolutionizing the music industry. 

The investment will be used to foster the development of their pioneering Dapp TRACKS and to expand their user base by bringing innovative solutions to the market. This is the third round for LABEL Foundation. Previously it raised funds from eBest Investment & Securities and Groom investments. This allowed LABEL to launch their Listen and Earn TRACKS decentralized application. 

LABEL believes that this revolutionary application has enormous prospects not just for artists but also listeners who want to contribute to the revenue flow of music and help make this sector more profitable

DWF Labs Managing Partner Andrei Grachev conveyed his enthusiasm for LABEL Foundation’s quest to promote innovation in the music business, stating “Their Listen-and-Earn TRACKS dApp is an exciting opportunity that has the potential to change the way music is created, shared, and monetized”. 

LABEL Foundation CSO Hyungsoon Choi also stated, that for them, this investment is not just about expanding their user base or bringing innovative solutions to the market, it’s perhaps about getting closer to creating a more equitable profit-sharing economy that includes permissionless IP rights application, monetization of music rights, and direct interaction between fans and artists.

DWF Labs is the multi-stage Web 3.0 investment firm. The investment firm is an affiliate of Digital Wave Finance (DWF) which has consistently maintained its position among the top 5 trading entities by volume in the crypto space thanks to its proprietary technology for high frequency trading. It has offices in Singapore, Switzerland, the UAE, Hong Kong, South Korea, and even the British Virgin Islands.

KSA working on policy decision to define different virtual asset types

KSA working on policy decision to define different virtual asset types

During the Financial sector conference 2023 in Riyadh KSA, Mohsen Al Zahrani, Virtual assets and CBDC Program Director at Saudi Arabia’s Central Bank, told Anna Tutova, CEO of Coinstelegram media platform when asked about the regulation of cryptocurrencies in the country, that there is a current forum looking into  that, yet no policy decision has been made yet on different virtual asset types.

He noted in his reply during a panel discussion on CBDC, public money in the digital age, “We are working on a policy decision with the Saudi Central Bank and other relevant governmental agencies.”

KSA appointed AlZahrani in September 2022 to lead the virtual assets and digital currency program at the Central Bank.  In January 2023, The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) confirmed that the Central Bank is continuing to experiment on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).  SAMA is currently working on a project that focuses on domestic or national wholesale CBDC use case in collaboration with local banks and FinTech’s. Experts explained to LaraontheBlock that this is a CBDC for local wholesale bank settlements.

During the 2023 World Economic Forum’s session on Financial Institutions innovating under pressure, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance Mohammed Al Jadaan states that while CBDCs have privacy issues they are fantastic tool in developing countries.

Prior to this KSA had engaged in a pilot with UAE on CBDC Aber project for cross border wholes sale CBDC transactions utilizing Hyper Ledger Fabric at the time.

Kucoin cryptocurrency exchange revealed in a report published in July 2022 “ Crypto Verse Report on adoption of digital currencies in Saudi Arabia” that 3 million Saudi Arabians are crypto investors who currently own cryptocurrencies or have traded in past six months. This means 3 million out of an adult population of 21 million or 14 percent currently own cryptocurrencies.

The survey also found that another 17 percent of adult population surveyed, was crypto curious and are likely to invest in crypto in the next six months. This would be imply that by the end of 2022, 31 percent of Saudi adult population or 6.6 million will be trading or owners of cryptocurrencies.

Global crypto exchanges in first phase of Dubai’s regulator journey with Binance and Crypto.com a step further

Global crypto exchanges in first phase of Dubai’s regulator journey with Binance and Crypto.com a step further

Global Crypto exchanges, Huobi, Bybit, Equiti, and OKx have all made it to the MVP ( Minimum Viable Product) provisional phase of VARA’s regulatory journey, while crypto.com  and Binance have moved one step forward to the preparatory license phase. 

As per VARA the MVP License is a 3-stage process starting with a (1) Provisional Permit; graduating to a (2) Preparatory License and concluding with an (3) Operating License. Applicants that are already in the MVP process will be advised by VARA to either continue within the MVP licensing process and/or be transitioned to the FMP Licensing process, ensuring a seamless transition with a focus on efficiency.

So far as per VARA the only crypto exchanges in the second phase under preparatory license are Binance and crypto.com. Binance is also in preparatory phase for its payments offering. 

VARA recently announced that Crypto.com move to the preparatory phase of the license after graduating from the provisional phase. 

As per the release, Crypto.com  received this MVP preparatory license after a detailed review of its key personnel, governance procedures, Anti Money Laundering / Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML / CFT) capabilities, Know Your Customer (KYC) and Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) policies and procedures, cross-border safety and security measures, and best-in-class compliance practices. 

“We are pleased to welcome Crypto.com to the MVP Programme preparatory phase,” said Henson Orser, Chief Executive Officer of VARA. “VARA’s regulatory framework will be instrumental in creating and managing a unique, resilient and securely future-proofed ecosystem that delivers a sustainable and thriving global best-in-class VA market with secure cross-border interoperability. As such, participation from credible players like Crypto.com will further our mission of delivering a progressive and future-focused regulatory framework”.

“This achievement is the next significant step for Crypto.com in an incredibly important market for our business and industry,” said Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com. “With the MVP preparatory license, we look forward to continuing to work with regulators in providing customers the most comprehensive and secure crypto experience.”

Only VASPs that receive a final approval post review from VARA – and receive the FMP License, are in a position to undertake any regulated VA activities, or offer such services to and/or from the Emirate of Dubai.

The only entity in VARA that has reached one stage before a fully operational license is HexTrust which provides crypto custody and staking services.

During a recent interview by LaraontheBlock with the CEO of VARA, Orser explains how VARA will be offering more licenses in areas such as DAOs, DeFi, Crypto mining, and more. He also explains what is of most importance to VARA as a regulator.

Sygnum Digital asset bank receives license from UAE ADGM and opens its hub in Abu Dhabi

Sygnum Digital asset bank receives license from UAE ADGM and opens its hub in Abu Dhabi

Sygnum, a global digital asset bank, has opened its Middle East hub in the Abu Dhabi Global Market international financial center to provide a portfolio of Swiss-regulated crypto banking services after receiving its license from UAE ADGM. 

Sygnum Bank Middle East has received a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), following its in-principle approval in October 2022. Seasoned Middle East Executive, Giulia Finkbeiner-Bertoni, leads Sygnum’s operations across the region and opens the office in the ADGM International Financial Centre.

Sygnum Bank Middle East will offer personal, concierge-style client service, enabling convenient local client access to a portfolio of Swiss-regulated digital asset banking, asset management, tokenization and B2B banking services. With regional demand for regulated crypto services on the rise, clients will be drawn from a diverse range of sectors, ranging from existing local crypto foundations and projects to “traditional” institutional investors and qualified HNWI looking for trusted crypto asset exposure through a regulated partner.

Sygnum Bank Middle East’s Senior Executive Officer, Giulia Finkbeiner-Bertoni, said, “The UAE has a proactive investment program, a progressive crypto regulatory framework and a dynamic, tech-driven economy. We look forward to leveraging this momentum by bringing Sygnum’s trusted digital asset services to Abu Dhabi and the region.”

Sygnum’s local presence in Abu Dhabi enables it to directly access a large and increasingly crypto-active wealth management market. According to new research[i], the Emirate of Abu Dhabi is a true “falcon economy” possessing the highest economic growth in the MENA region. Abu Dhabi has the potential to become a future regional and international hub for Web3, metaverse and blockchain-based projects.

Welcoming the FSP announcement, Arvind Ramamurthy, Chief of Markets at ADGM said, “ADGM congratulates Sygnum Bank ME for obtaining their Financial Services Permission from ADGM’s FSRA and welcome them to our rapidly growing business ecosystem. We believe that Sygnum’s regulated finance offering in Abu Dhabi is a significant addition to our community and will contribute to the growth of the region. As the largest regulated jurisdiction for digital assets in the MENA region, ADGM acts as a catalyst with the right tools that enable the growth of such companies within the UAE’s financial sector. With Sygnum’s presence in the region, we are committed to upholding market transparency and integrity that bolsters the economic growth of Abu Dhabi, attracts global companies and aids in making it a digital-first international financial hub for seamless business transactions.”

UAE DMCC awards AI Blockchain EatCloud start-up Impact scale up program winner prize

UAE DMCC awards AI Blockchain EatCloud start-up Impact scale up program winner prize

UAE’s DMCC, freezone has awarded blockchain AI Columbian startup EatCloud with the Impact scale program award. EatCloud is one of three startups to win cash prizes of $49,000 for ‘DMCC Impact Scale-Up Program Powered by C3’.

The six-month program supports the growth of impact-driven businesses that align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and it represents a part of DMCC’s ESG strategy. As the UAE prepares to host COP28 and lead the conversation that drives the global sustainability agenda, the program comes to an end. Fifteen impact-driven SMEs addressing some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges pitched their companies to a panel of business experts from PwC, Global Ventures, Astrolabs, and Brunswick in a pitch day that marked the end of the program.

 

The winners of the program are Grocedy, a Nigerian FoodTech platform that aggregates micropayments from low and middle-income earners towards a monthly food subscription and other micro financial services, EatCloud, a Colombian start-up that uses AI and blockchain technology to redistribute surplus food worldwide, reducing waste and supporting food banks globally, and Chefaa, an Egyptian GPS-enabled pharmacy benefits platform that allows patients to order, schedule and refill recurring prescriptions as well as all pharmacy needs. 

Feryal Ahmadi, Chief Operating Officer, DMCC, said, “As DMCC continues to place Dubai at the heart of global trade, it is essential that we also use our platform to have a positive impact on society. This is a momentous year for the UAE where sustainability is center-stage, and it is also integral to DMCC’s strategy. With 15 companies tackling some of the most pressing environmental and social issues we face today, the first edition of the DMCC Impact Scale-Up Program marks a great success in working towards this goal. Congratulations to all the participants in the program – we are excited to see your successes and your positive impact in the coming years.” 

Khalid Kalbat, Director of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Department at the Ministry of Economy of UAE, added, “This program is a testament to the UAE’s commitment to social and environmental impact and to promoting entrepreneurship in the region. I commend DMCC and C3 for their efforts in enabling participating businesses to establish a presence in the UAE and leverage our local ecosystem as a launchpad to successfully expand across the MEA region.”

 All SMEs participating in the program became part of DMCC’s fast-growing community of over 22,000 member companies, receiving a bespoke 70% discount on license fees and flexi-desk space for two years. Further discounts on license renewals will also be offered for the following three years.

This comes as DMCC signed on two major blockchain partnerships this week. 

XRPAYNet to bring Crypto Fiat micro payments and Buy now pay later services to UAE

XRPAYNet to bring Crypto Fiat micro payments and Buy now pay later services to UAE

XRPayNet a blockchain XRP Ledger based crypto-fiat micropayments solution provider is gearing up to launch in the UAE. Already in the process of being regulated through VARA and the Central Bank of UAE, XRPayNet and its partner in the UAE, ChainTech Labs aim to revolutionize the crypto payments sector by bridging the world of fiat and crypto for micropayments and buy now pay later offerings.

Kristian Poliszczuk Founder, of XRPayNet has been a passionate crypto investor since Bitcoin was valued at just $2000; he then became an XRP enthusiast and from there built XRPayNet on XRP’s Blockchain ledger. Poliszczuk is an entrepreneur at heart building small businesses since he was 12 years old. At just 23 years old he had 19 properties under his belt as a real estate broker and today he is seeking to become one of the world’s leading crypto micro payments provider.

A Solution to a Problem

According to Poliszczuk XRPayNet was developed to solve three major problems facing the 420 million crypto holders globally today. The first was that most crypto holders have no place to spend their crypto given that retailers are hesitant to accept crypto due to its volatility, secondly most crypto payment solution providers have yet to bridge fiat with crypto and finally retailers and merchants want a secure, easy technology platform to use seamlessly with their existing technology.

Poliszczuk told LaraontheBlock, “For crypto to be mainstream, it must work in harmony with fiat. I started to think about creating a tool that would allow users to spend their crypto from their wallet while retailer receives fiat currency. We are doing this through both our debit card solution as well as mobile application, making the Crypto to Fiat payment process seamless.”

Today, cryptocurrencies are accepted by less than 0.001% of companies throughout the world, yet $2.5 Billion was spent by consumers on pre-paid crypto cards in 3 months from the end of 2021-start of 2022.

Utilizing XRPL network, as one of the only 145 node validators, XRPayNet is built on one of the most scalable and ecological blockchains developed to date.

In addition to offering micropayments XRPayNet will be offering the first Buy Now Pay Later solution for crypto holders. Poliszczuk explains, “We are bringing the solution of Buy Now Pay Later to the crypto world. Clients who hold our card or application can buy on credit using the XRPAY coin staked with us as collateral. We are offering crypto holders more choice and providing the retailer with fiat currency of their choice.”

Entering the UAE

Currently XRPayNet is going through the process of acquiring a regulated license in the UAE, working with the legal firm Saeed and Company. They are seeking regulatory approval from Dubai’s Virtual asset regulatory Authority as well as the Central Bank of UAE given that they are a payment solution provider.

Poliszczuk says, “We have been told the process will take three months and we are confident given that one of our retail partners is closely involved in the regulatory scene and understand VARA’s requirements well.”

XRPayNet already has clients lined up in the UAE who are looking to offer crypto fiat micropayments and Buy now Pay later services. Poliszczuk, told LaraontheBlock, “We have a UAE chain of stores ready and waiting for us to deliver our technology to start using it in March 2023, we have also been approached by a gas station chain who also want to use our service. We have built a complete POS (Point of service) interface and all these stores need is to download our application on their terminals at point of sale to complete the payments.”

The XRPayNet coin while developed identical to that of XRP Ripple is not the same as XRP. According to Poliszczuk while the coin is built on XRP ledger and identical  to Ripple’s XRP we did not choose to use XRP because Ripple has already positioned it as a coin for international cross border payments for banks and not for micro payments.

To date XRPayNet has more than 10,000 holders of their coin. In addition XRPayNet is considering with its UAE partners to developing their own XRPayNet stablecoin as well as adopting the stablecoin required by UAE regulators. He states, “As part of the regulatory process it stipulates that we should use a particular stablecoin which has to be embedded in our applications. We are adhering to these regulations very strictly.”

XRPayNet founder is confident that there is huge demand in the UAE for crypto retail payments services and this is one of the reasons they were approached by ChainTech Labs. According to Poliszczuk, “ Today there are maybe 100-200 global crypto payment entities in the space and many of them won’t go forward as they usually stop development during bear markets. We are not them, we increased our talent base from 9 people to 26 within the last 6 months, and regardless of our coin price we are still developing to create the best products. So we are positioned ahead of others.”

Expansion and the Future

Other than the UAE, the 14 month old XRPayNet will be expanding to other jurisdictions. In December 2022 alone there were 11 requests for partnerships across the globe.

In conclusion XRPayNet founder believes that crypto is still in its infancy stage and is here to stay as long as people don’t convince themselves that crypto can work in silo of fiat, in the end they both need to work in harmony.

UAE’s DMCC signs two major partnerships in Blockchain, Metaverse and DeFi

UAE’s DMCC signs two major partnerships in Blockchain, Metaverse and DeFi

In less than a week apart Dubai’s DMCC has signed two major partnership agreements, the first with South Korean entities KBIPA and Seongnam City who are in the blockchain and metaverse industries, and secondly with nya Labs. Founded by a team of Stanford faculty and alumni, Enya Labs is a leading developer of decentralised infrastructure solutions, and is a core contributor to Boba Network.

With regards to the first partnerships DMCC signed MoUs with the Korea Blockchain Industry Promotion Association (KBIPA) and Seongnam City during DMCC’s Made for Trade Live roadshows in South Korea. Both MoUs seek to advance the development and application of Web3 technologies globally, including through affording growth opportunities to South Korean Web3 companies by supporting them in setting up at the DMCC Crypto Centre, and its new Gaming Centre.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said: “DMCC is committed to supporting high-growth sectors such as the Web3 space, and we believe that South Korean businesses will benefit greatly from setting up and scaling their operations in Dubai. The signing of these MoUs with KBIPA and Seongnam City comes at a perfect time, as we continue to accelerate our strategy of supporting businesses in these sectors. We are proud to contribute to the strong and resilient economic relations between the UAE and South Korea, which reflect the warm and friendly ties that our countries have always shared.”

Hyeong-Joo Kim, Chairman, KBIPA, said: “The United Arab Emirates represents one of the strongest economies in the MENA region, and Dubai in particular has risen as a global hub for Web3 technologies. Therefore, our partnership with DMCC comes at a strategic time to discuss business opportunities for the South Korean companies operating in the blockchain space. DMCC would certainly provide these companies with an enabling ecosystem that allows them to thrive.”

A spokesperson for Seongnam City said: “Partnering with DMCC will offer a fantastic opportunity to the many South Korean businesses operating in the area of metaverse technologies. By fostering a tighter partnership between our two countries, we are sure to enhance the global Web3 landscape for the mutual benefit of Seongnam City and Dubai.”

As for the second partnership, Boba Network is a global platform that allows blockchain and web3 businesses to build next-generation decentralized apps (dApps) with reduced transaction and computation fees and increased throughput. The platform provides an expanded set of capabilities for smart contracts on a range of blockchain networks including Ethereum, Moonbeam and Avalanche. Boba Network also offers Hybrid Compute technology, which allows developers to build dApps that can utilise ‘off-chain’ data from any web2-based system.

Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said: “The ability of the DMCC Crypto Centre to attract such high-profile and impactful players in the web3 space is a true testament to the thriving ecosystem that we have created. By bringing Boba Network into the fold, in partnership with Enya Labs, we are providing a new suite of resources for members to scale up their web3 businesses in Dubai and beyond.”