The UAE has quickly made its place in the world of cryptocurrencies, having created a friendly environment for the cryptocurrency community, to become a magnet for companies and investors around the world. in this emerging sector.
The UAE has already managed to attract the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world in terms of transaction volume, eventually becoming its headquarters, which prompted some to call the UAE “Wall Street Crypto”, in so that local bankers, lawyers and executives of leading technology companies are considering a professional move to this emerging market and take advantage of it.
“We see a lot of interest from employees of traditional financial institutions who would like to work for us,” said Richard Teng, head of the Middle East and North Africa region at Binance.
In February, Binance named Vishal Sachindran, a former banker of the Bank of New York Mellon, director of the Middle East and North Africa region in the United Arab Emirates. According to Bloomberg and Al Arabiya.netalso Robbie Nakarmi, the consultant senior of the company, joined late last year after nearly a decade as a merger and acquisition attorney.
On the other hand, the former banker of Bank of America and Jefferies, Ahmed Ismail, launched HAYVN, an investment bank in digital currency based in Abu Dhabi, with Chris Flinos, a colleague of Bank of America. You said several banker friends recently quit their jobs to launch digital investment funds.
“It all starts from the top,” Ismail said. “We have seen the UAE take a huge push in developing a world-class infrastructure and regulatory environment for crypto companies to thrive and transform into their home.”
One of the latest people to enter the cryptocurrency industry was Amir Tabish, former head of global markets at Emirates Investment Bank, who became CEO of DeFi brokerage Securrency Capital in Abu Dhabi last June after 16 years in traditional banking.
In his new role, he said he is looking to hire more bankers to help “bridge the gap” between traditional and digital finance.
This stems from the fact that the high rate of inflation forces more investors to consider investing in digital assets as a potential hedge, but many who have recently switched to crypto assets have been shocked by the heavy losses. The value of Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has nearly halved since its peak last November.
The crypto-friendly policies of the UAE, in contrast with the strict regulations in other jurisdictions have attracted the largest companies.
Last month, hedge fund Crypto Three Arrows Capital revealed its plan to move its Dubai headquarters from Singapore, which has been more cautious with its regulatory approach to virtual currencies.
Meanwhile, UAE authorities are trying to strike a delicate act of balance as they promote the friendly business environment that has made Dubai an attractive home for many of the largest financial firms, while also trying to overcome concerns about financial volatility and crime hindering the cryptocurrency industry.
Ola Dudin, CEO of Dubai-based BitOasis, said the UAE government has shown a strong commitment to addressing illicit financing issues in the industry and that centralized exchanges like its platform offer local investors a way safer to invest in virtual resources compared to other platforms.
The growth of the establishment
Dubai Multi Commodities Center said it has registered a number record of 665 new companies in the first quarter of 2022, supported by the influx of cryptocurrency and blockchain businesses.
According to the DMCC, the industry accounted for 16% of all companies registered in the first quarter.
According to Yahya Badawi, co-founder of the cryptocurrency platform Rain, which received initial approval from ADGM in January, this stems from the fact that cryptocurrency has also become more common in real estate purchases and even restaurant settlements, indicating a wider appetite for it.
Currently, the UAE is the third largest cryptocurrency market in the Middle East, after Turkey and Lebanon, with a transaction volume of around $ 26 billion, according to data collected by Chainalysis from July 2020 to June 2021. While the Cryptocurrency footprint in the region is relatively small compared to the rest of the regions of the world, and data showed that it grew by around 1500% from the previous year.
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