England Institute of Chartered accountants and UAE Banks join forces for digital assets

England Institute of Chartered accountants and UAE Banks join forces for digital assets

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) joins forces with the UAE Banks Federation (UBF), to help companies navigate the changing digital assets landscape. This initiative coincides with the UAE’s advanced pilot of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which is designed to work alongside traditional physical currencies, offering a secure and efficient method of digital transactions. .

Hanadi Khalife, head of Middle East at ICAEW, commented, “The UAE is setting a global standard with its proactive adoption of CBDCs. Our partnership with the UAE Banks Federation is testament to our commitment to guiding this transformation. Accountants play a crucial role in ensuring organizational compliance and success in this new digital era.”

The announcement was made during a virtual event. Panels of experts explored the UAE digital currency landscape highlighting the potential of CBDCs in transforming bank operations.

One panelist, Jamal Saleh, director general of UAE Banks Federation, shared his view, “The UAE’s progressive approach to CBDCs and AI places it at the forefront of financial innovation. Embracing digital assets presents vast opportunities, but it also requires robust cybersecurity measures and interdepartmental collaboration. Through joint efforts, such as our work with ICAEW, and constant upskilling, companies can achieve secure and compliant integration of digital assets.”

However, they also highlighted the associated challenges with this digital shift. As digitization and AI adoption increase, so will the risk of cybercrime, necessitating robust security measures. With bad actors constantly innovating new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and steal sensitive financial data, the panel urged organizations to continuously improve their cybersecurity measures to protect against these growing threats.
Panelists also focused on the absence of a standardized accounting framework for digital assets, which can lead to inconsistencies in reporting, impacting investor confidence and potentially complicating regulatory compliance. Panelists encouraged organizations to proactively develop robust accounting practices and called for industry-wide collaboration to establish clear, consistent frameworks.

They emphasized the importance of seamless cooperation between IT, audit, and finance functions within organizations to effectively manage digital assets and ensure secure, compliant integration, as well as the need to strengthen capabilities and expertise among teams.

Discussions also highlighted the UAE’s significant global position, accounting for five to 10 per cent of global digital asset trading volume.

GCEX crypto broker in UK reports lower revenues in 2023

GCEX crypto broker in UK reports lower revenues in 2023

GC Exchange GCEX a licensed crypto broker in Dubai UAE announced that its GCEX’s UK entity a crypto broker has submitted its accounts for y/e 31 December 2023, reporting a turnover of £2.30 million equivalent to $2.8 million. This is a decline in volume from £4.46m ($5.58 million) the previous year.

As per the press release, this is largely attributed to the crypto winter and follows an exceptional growth year for GCEX y/e 2022. However, despite the drop in turnover for y/e 2023, the company has steadily increased revenue on a monthly basis since the beginning of 2023, a trend that has continued into the current year.

The UK entity reported a loss before tax of £387,429 but remained committed to its growth objectives, as evidenced by its ongoing development of technology solutions and the distribution of £1.80m during the year to its parent company, GCEX Holding Limited, aimed at supporting the international expansion of the GCEX Group.

Lars Holst, Founder and CEO, GCEX added, “The crypto winter had a huge impact across the industry, and GCEX was no exception. However, in response to the decline in revenue, we have been resilient and adaptive, navigating our costs effectively and diversifying revenue streams such as introducing staking services for institutional and professional clients.

“We don’t run risk and don’t do lending or borrowing and we continue to have significant excess Tier 1 capital in our UK entity. Following a successful Q1 2024, We are now back to profitability and continue to execute on our long-term plans, investing and expanding in our global business.”

Over the last financial year, GCEX Group, with headquarters in London, has broadened its product offering, enhanced its technology and strengthened partnerships with Tier 1, trusted Liquidity Providers as well as digital asset custody solutions. The Group secured two additional regulatory licenses: an investment firm in Denmark regulated by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority and a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Dubai, UAE regulated by VARA.

GCEX Group enables institutional and professional clients to access deep liquidity in FX and CFDs on digital assets, as well as digital assets spot trading and conversion, and offers a broad range of Forex brokerage and crypto-native technology solutions – XplorDigital.

Qatar Investment company invests $15 million in Layer1 Blockchain platform QAN

Qatar Investment company invests $15 million in Layer1 Blockchain platform QAN

UK QANplatform, the quantum-resistant Layer 1 blockchain, receives $15 million investment from Qatar investment company MBK Holding. In September 2023, MBK holding publicly expressed their support for QANplatform.

The QANplatform unveiled its private blockchain on September 12th 2023. The platform which is both quantum resistant and compatible with Ethereum’s EVM received support from Qatar ruling family member H.E. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Khalifa Al Thani.  In a privately held partner event prior to the public launch of QANplatform, H.E. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Member of the Qatari Ruling Family, Chairman of MBK Holding, and former ICT Director for The Council of The Qatar Ruling Family Affairs stated, “We always evolve but not everyone leads the way. I’m proud to support the introduction of a cutting-edge deep tech project, such as QANplatform, in the Gulf region and on the global market.”

Today MBK holding has gone a step further and announced their $15 million investment in QANplatform days before the launch of its testnet.

MBK Holding, an investment holding company with its main office in Qatar and a subsidiary in the United Kingdom, focuses on investing in technology startups. The Founder and Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, member of the Qatari ruling family, formerly served for a decade as the director of information technology for The Council of The Qatar Ruling Family Affairs.

In addition MBK Holding will offer growth services to facilitate global market access and expansion for QANplatform. MBK Holding’s focus extends to various regional markets, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and United Kingdom while also encompassing other global opportunities.

H.E. Sheikh Mansoor Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Founder and Chairman of MBK Holding commented, “MBK Holding proudly backs QANplatform, the game-changing quantum-resistant blockchain platform and nominates Johann Polecsak as the Director of Blockchain of MBK Holding. Blockchain technology in general, is still an untapped area with many opportunities and potential to transform entire value chains, sectors, and business processes. As a deep tech startup, QANplatform can lead the next wave of blockchain platforms with its remarkable features, including multi-language smart contracts and quantum-resistant security. QANplatform is a great fit for our portfolio and partner companies to discover and benefit from the potential of its technology.”

Johann Polecsak, Co-Founder and CTO of QANplatform added, “Working alongside MBK Holding and their team is truly an honor. QANplatform is driven by the vision of creating the safest and most user-friendly blockchain platform, enabling the development of numerous real-world robust applications that bring tangible value to various industries.”

MBK Holding recently signed a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia to support entrepreneurial growth and innovation in Saudi Arabia by developing growth services that seek to create market-leading investment opportunities.

QANplatform will be the first EVM-compatible, quantum-resistant Layer 1 hybrid blockchain platform where developers can code smart contract, DApp, DeFi, DAO, token, NFT, Metaverse, CBDC, tokenized asset, and robust Web3 solutions on top of the QAN blockchain platform in any programming language.

As a hybrid blockchain, QANplatform will have a private and public blockchain as well. In September 2023, QANplatform marked a new era of Web3 OS (Operating System) with the launch of the QAN Private Blockchain. QANplatform has unveiled the world’s first private blockchain that is both quantum-resistant (using NIST primary recommended post-quantum algorithm), and compatible with Ethereum’s EVM, while also enabling developers to code smart contracts in any programming language.

QANplatform’s ecosystem is building up with renowned companies such as Hacken, Beosin, or Alpine Esports. In February 2023, Alpine Esports, a Group Renault brand, and inter alia in the Formula 1® Esports Series signed QANplatform as its Official Blockchain Partner. In September 2023, QANplatform was selected to the Ernst & Young Startup Program as one of the nine selected promising startups in the technology and finance sectors, chosen from among hundreds of applicants globally.

This announcement comes as Qatar enters the blockchain era, with the launch of its digital assets lab, as well as partnerships with R3, Settlemint and others.

UAE Blockchain tokenization exchange for Carbon credits partners with UK BeZero Carbon

UAE Blockchain tokenization exchange for Carbon credits partners with UK BeZero Carbon

UK based  BeZero Carbon has partners  with UAE Blockchain security token platform for carbon credits ACX (formerly known as AirCarbon Exchange) to host its carbon credit ratings on ACX’s Abu Dhabi exchange – bringing transparent carbon ratings to a new audience in the Gulf States.

The ACX Abu Dhabi exchange is the world’s first fully regulated carbon trading exchange built on blockchain. All users of this exchange will now be able to access BeZero’s Carbon’s ratings for carbon offset projects in real time, allowing them to make informed decisions about carbon credit quality before investment.

This new partnership expands on an existing partnership between BeZero and ACX, which saw BeZero’s ratings hosted on other ACX platforms across the world.

BeZero’s risk-based ratings are essential to scale investment in the Voluntary Carbon Market, providing market participants with the information they need to make informed decisions about carbon credit investments.

Tommy Ricketts, CEO and Co-founder of BeZero Carbon stated, “We are pleased to extend our partnership with ACX and bring our expert assessment of carbon credit quality to a new audience in the Gulf. The Voluntary Carbon Market is a critical tool for climate action, and companies need access to risk analytics to help them make informed decisions about how to invest in high quality credits. By offering our carbon ratings on the exchange, we hope to scale investment in the VCM and support the allocation of vital capital towards high quality projects to enable the Net Zero transition.”

William Pazos, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of ACX, added, “Transparency is integral to scaling the Voluntary Carbon Market. We are proud to be building upon our existing partnership with BeZero Carbon to offer their carbon ratings to participants on our Abu Dhabi exchange. The risk-based ratings they provide will help our members better understand their carbon credit investments, and we are pleased to continue our partnership with a knowledgeable business committed to upholding integrity in this rapidly scaling market.”

UK based InfoDriver to launch $10 million DeFi, GameFi, AI fund targeting UAE startups

UK based InfoDriver to launch $10 million DeFi, GameFi, AI fund targeting UAE startups

UK investment company InfoDriver Capital is launching a $10 million fund for DeFi, GameFi and AI startups targeting UAE, UK, Europe and USA.

The company has expertise in supply chain solutions, automated lending platforms, exchanges, DeFi, and AI applications including digital identity, authentication, content generation, and has already developed successful technology products over seven years.

InfoDriver Capital anticipates a 3-5x return on investment in just 2-4 years and is currently seeking experienced and accredited investors with a minimum investment requirement of $100,000. The investment strategy charges only 5% investments and diversifies the total portfolio of the startups from Seed to A round with a working revenue model and user base.

According to Kirill Mishanin, CEO and Founder of InfoDriver Capital stated, “Investing in startups in the Web3 space is a wise decision, as it is the future of the internet. InfoDriver Capital is committed to shaping that future by supporting innovative startups in this field. We are thrilled to be able to support these innovative startups and help them reach their full potential. We believe that Web3 is the future, and we are committed to helping shape that future by investing in startups that are working on innovative solutions.”

Infodriver Capital has already identified several promising startups, including Certhis wallet with utility collections, Aspis DAO asset management, Banger’s gaming DeFi, Toscale’ super app for liquidity and social trading, Main’ community-building platform, Stage’ only-music-fans for Zen Z, and Babylon Voice for Metaverse as Media Wallet with Digital ID – VoicePrint, that is Face ID did for iPhone.

Del Monte Produce acquires 39 percent of Jordanian Blockchain food traceability startup Decapolis

Del Monte Produce acquires 39 percent of Jordanian Blockchain food traceability startup Decapolis

Fresh Del Monte Produce a global integrated producer, distributor, and marketer of fresh and fresh cut fruits and vegetables has  acquired a 39 percent stake in Jordanian Blockchain driven food safety and traceability startup Decapolis. 

The investment is part of Fresh Del Monte’s technology-driven mission to offer best-in-class, innovative solutions for its products and services, and to provide sustainable solutions that other businesses and industries can benefit from.

The two companies plan to roll out Decapolis Food Guard (DFG)™, the blockchain-based traceability solution, across all Fresh Del Monte business segments, starting with Fresh Del Monte’s pineapple operations in Costa Rica. 

Decapolis Food Guard provides full traceability solutions through the DFG chain of records which capture assessments at each stage of production, from planting to distribution through the use of QR codes. Deploying blockchain technology ensures data remains immutable and QR codes on product labels certify end-to-end traceability. Anyone who scans the QR code will be able to see a complete log of product information from farm to fork. This traceability process allows for trusted record keeping in the supply chain, whether it impacts consumer knowledge, food safety, or quality analysis. Fresh Del Monte and Decapolis also plan to provide the Decapolis Food Guard (DFG)™ to other interested businesses.

Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Fresh Del Monte Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Now more than ever, consumers are very cognizant of what goes into their food. With this blockchain technology, they’ll know exactly what has gone into the product, and where it has traveled until the moment it was purchased for consumption. We’re excited to begin rolling out this traceability solution to all Fresh Del Monte products.” 

Decapolis has successfully developed and deployed this solution in the private and public sector, spanning four continents. 

Abedalrhman Habashneh, Decapolis Founder and Chief Executive Officer added, “We are in the business of doing good. We embark on this endeavor with full confidence in our company, our offerings, service, and the people we serve. It will surely be a promising and fruitful venture, a force multiplier to work that positively impacts communities, families, and the future of healthy living and technology for good. We remain steadfast in moving towards our vision of becoming the leading global reference platform for compliance and certification for food trade worldwide.” 

UAE takes top spot globally in attracting crypto FDI in 2022

UAE takes top spot globally in attracting crypto FDI in 2022

According to a recent report by FDI markets published in FDI Intelligence, UAE topped the list of countries with most crypto related FDI projects. UAE had a whopping 15 projects making it number one. It was followed by the USA which attracted 11 crypto projects; Brazil came in third with 7 projects, followed by UK, Lithuania at 4th place with 5 crypto projects, then Singapore in fifth place with 4 projects, followed by Canada, Australia, ( 3 projects each) and France, Sweden with 2 projects 

Some 98 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects were announced in crypto related activities in the first half of 2022, an increase of 145% from the same period in 2021. This number was higher than any pre-recorded database since 2016. It was also double the figure for the whole of 2021.

Most of the companies who announced FDI projects in H1 of 2022 were those that involve crypto services, such as crypto exchanges, who set up new physical presence in foreign countries.

This is true of UAE which attracted the likes of Binance, OKx, Huobi, crypto.com, FTX, and many others in 2022 since it announced its virtual assets regulatory authority. Today the UAE boasts of over 1200 crypto blockchain related entities and is seeking to attract 5000 Blockchain and metaverse companies in the next 5 years.