UAE
Dubai permits full operation to FTX subsidiary FZE via first MVP license
On Friday, FZE, a subsidiary of crypto exchange FTX, was awarded Dubai’s first Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license, allowing full operation of the exchange in the region. Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued the operating license to FZE under the MVP program, which according to Helal Saeed Almarri, the director general of Dubai WTC Authority, is designed for secure and sustainable growth in Dubai. For now, the FTX FZE exchange’s operations are in the test phase and will be focused on providing various crypto services. According to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, the newly licensed exchange will operate under a model incorporating regulatory oversight and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliance controls catering to Tier 1 international financial markets. In addit...
Dubai to ramp up metaverse efforts with 40,000 new jobs
One of the leading crypto hubs in the Middle East, the emirate of Dubai, launches the Dubai Metaverse Strategy that aims to turn it into one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies. The strategy promotes Dubai’s ambitions to support more than 40,000 virtual jobs by 2030. On July 18, the Emirates News Agency reported about the launch of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy by Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Al Maktoum hopes to transform the emirate into a global tech capital, focusing primarily on artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3. Dubai Metaverse Strategy goes in line with the objectives of the United Arab Emirates AI Strategy to enhance the nation’s status as one of the world’s leading countries in futuristic se...
UAE launches the world’s most expensive modern postage stamp
The United Arab Emirates has launched the world’s most expensive modern postage stamp to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country’s foundation day. Emirates Post Group, a government-owned post office launched the first edition of the modern postage stamp with four editions. Each physical stamp in the collection comes with a digital version. [embedded content] The most expensive edition is the “Golden Jubille 2021,” which has a total of 2021 pieces and costs a 2021 AED ($550 USD). Each stamp contains one gram of gold The second stamp is called the “Spirit of the Union – 1971” which symbolizes the establishment of the UAE by the founding fathers. Guess what, the third stamp is “Year of the 50th – 2021” while the fourth one is the “Projects of the 50th 2071” — representing the futuristic...
Crypto.com gets nod in Dubai and FTX launches in Japan
Two out of the top 10 largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume will expand into new markets, with Crypto.com obtaining a provisional crypto license in Dubai and FTX launching in Japan. Crypto.com announced on June 2 that the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) provided the exchange with provisional approval of its Virtual Asset License giving the company the go-ahead based on initial compliance checks. The exchange said that VARA will carry out further due diligence and other mandated requirements before its full operating license is issued which it expects to happen in the “near term” Crypto.com said in March it would create a regional office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) largest city after it enacted new laws for crypto and created VARA with the goal of making Dubai a ...
Kraken awarded crypto trading license in the United Arab Emirates
Californian crypto exchange Kraken becomes the second virtual asset platform after Binance to receive regulatory approval to operate in the Abu Dhabi international financial center and free zone, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). In a CNBC interview, Kraken’s managing director Curtis Ting explains the importance of diversifying trading pairs to local currencies instead using the traditionally available United States dollar or Great British pounds in global markets. With the new operational license in Abu Dhabi, Kraken aims to better integrate with local banks and payment service providers. According to Ting, this will help the crypto exchange bring global-level liquidity to the United Arab Emirates region. Citing Dubai’s existing massive trading volumes, lik upwards of $25 billion worth of c...
Law Decoded: Arab States of the Gulf open up to digital asset services, March 14–21
Last week got off to an antsy start as the clause that many interpreted as a direct route to ban proof-of-work-(PoW)-based cryptocurrencies made a sudden comeback to the draft of the European Union’s key directive on digital assets. Many in the crypto policy space got immediate flashbacks to other instances of harmful last-minute additions to must-pass legislation days and hours before the vote. It all ended well, though, as the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs voted against the draft that contained the hostile language. Over in the United States, monetary policy kept growing more political, as evidenced by Sarah Bloom Raskin, President Joe Biden’s pick for the Federal Reserve’s vice chair for supervision, being forced to withdraw her nomination due to a Senate gridlock. Ukrainia...
Dubai establishes virtual asset regulator and announces new crypto law
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates who holds several positions including prime minister, has announced a new law on virtual assets as well as the establishment of a crypto regulator. In a Wednesday announcement, Sheikh Al Maktoum said he had issued a law creating a legal framework for crypto in the Emirate of Dubai aimed at protecting investors and “designing much-warranted international standards” for industry governance. In addition, the ruler said a newly formed Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, or VARA, would have enforcement powers in the Emirate’s special development zones and free zones with the exception of the Dubai International Financial Centre. “Approving the virtual asset law and establishing the Dubai Virtual As...
Esharah deploys thousands of Airbus Tetra handheld communication devices to secure Expo 2020
Ali Bahlooq_GM_Esharah Esharah Etisalat Security Solutions, a subsidiary of UAE government entity Professional Communication Corporation (Nedaa) and the Official Secure Systems Provider of Expo 2020 Dubai, has deployed its state-of-the-art, mission-critical communication solution at the Expo site where it currently runs its Operations Center. Esharah has made available thousands of Airbus TETRA handheld communication devices to first responders assigned to the Expo to help ensure safety and security at the ongoing grand global event. Dubai Police, Dubai Civil Defense, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS), and Expo security and site management teams, among others, that are operating at Esharah’s command and control center can easily connect with their staff on the field who are c...
Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends UAE flights
Saudi Arabia has suspended flights to three countries, including the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, to protect against a coronavirus variant, the interior ministry said Saturday. The move comes seven weeks after the oil-rich kingdom permitted fully immunised citizens to travel abroad, after a ban on foreign trips that lasted more than a year. The UAE, and especially Dubai, is a key leisure destination for Saudis. Flights to and from the UAE, alongside those to Ethiopia and Vietnam, will be suspended from Sunday, an interior ministry official said, quoted by the state news agency SPA. Saudi citizens and residents returning from these countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days, it added. Citizens would be banned “from travelling directly or indirectly, without obtaining prior p...
UAE ratifies extradition deal with South Africa as hunt for Guptas intensifies
The United Arab Emirates has ratified a 2018 extradition treaty with South Africa, its embassy in Pretoria said on Wednesday, a move that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government hopes will lead to the return of the Gupta brothers to face corruption charges. South Africa signed the treaty with the UAE in late 2018, part of Ramaphosa’s effort to crack down on those accused of corruption and influence peddling under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. It was ratified in April, UAE’s embassy said in a statement. The Gupta brothers – Atul, Ajay and Rajesh Gupta – are accused of using connections with Zuma to win contracts, misappropriate state assets, inappropriately influence cabinet appointments and siphon off billions of rand in state funds. The Indian-born brothers, who have repeatedly denied wrong...
Saudi and UAE condemn Israel over Palestinian clashes at Al-Aqsa
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday condemned Israel’s plans to evict Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers, following a night of violence in Jerusalem. Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque late on Friday. The clashes at Islam’s third holiest site and around East Jerusalem, which injured 205 Palestinians and 17 police officers, came amid mounting anger over the planned evictions. “Saudi Arabia rejects Israel’s plans and measures to evict dozens of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem and impose Israeli sovereignty over them,” the kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried on Saudi-owned Al Arabiya. The UAE, which normalised relations with...
UAE waives extra coronavirus test for Nigerians
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has removed the rapid antigen test requirement for Nigerians travellers. This is according to a March 24 letter from the protocol department of the UAE ministry of foreign affairs seen by newsmen. The federal government had suspended Emirates Airlines after it announced an additional test requirement for Nigerian travellers in addition to the PCR test mandated by the presidential task force on COVID-19 (PTF). Agreeing to remove the test requirement, the UAE government demanded that the number of passengers on inbound flights to the UAE must not exceed 200 for two weeks. It also said only direct flights between the UAE and Nigeria are allowed. “Passengers need to present a valid negative PCR test conducted within 48 hours before boarding,”. “Provide the Embass...
