A multi-jurisdictional Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post …

Binance marked its presence among the Middle East investors by running various licensed operations in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other regions. Targeting efforts in United Arab Emirate's (UAE) mainstream corporate sector, Binance partnered with business lender Virtuzone, allowing new entrepreneurs to repay loans using cryptocurrencies. Virtuzone joins the list of mainstream businesses in the UAE, such as JA Resorts and Hotels and Majid Al Futtaim, to officially accept cryptocurrencies after integrating Binance Pay into its payment gateway. In addition, by providing businesses the option to repay seed and other forms of funding through cryptocurrencies, the company intends to reduce barriers …

Amid Dubai moving forward with a new license program for cryptocurrency service providers, local regulators are introducing additional marketing and advertising rules for the industry. Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), the city’s dedicated crypto regulator, reportedly announced new regulatory guidelines on marketing, advertising and promotions of virtual assets on Aug. 25. In the rules, the VARA referred to all forms of outreach, communications and advertising, dissemination of information, building awareness, customer engagement, investor solicitation and others, the local news agency Gulf News reported. The guidelines cover all virtual asset-related communications and entities publishing information on Dubai-based media websites, search …

Despite the ongoing cryptocurrency market decline and associated forced layoffs in major crypto firms, a career in crypto doesn’t turn less attractive to many traditional finance executives. European crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider 21Shares announced three major hires on Wednesday to expand its presence in countries like France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates. Marina Baudéan, 21Shares’ newly appointed head of France, Belgium and Luxembourg, is debuting her crypto career after working for more than 15 years at the British universal bank Barclays. Baudéan is confident that crypto is “all about the next generation of technology,” and it’s here to …

The crypto market crash in April saw most cryptocurrencies lose more than 60% of their valuation from the top, leading to an overall downturn in trading activity, investor interest and venture capital investment. A recent study has highlighted nations' growing curiosity and interest in crypto after the April crash. The research was based on Google Trends data of popular crypto search terms that often reflect increased interest in the crypto market. The search history of each nation was then compiled to give an overall search score. The countries at the top of the list appear to be most eager to …

The 2.8-million nation of Qatar is going to join a growing range of countries experimenting with the central bank digital currency (CBDC) concept. The Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is currently “in the foundation stage” of issuing its digital currency. On Tuesday during the “Inflation Test” session at the Qatar Economic Forum, QCB Governor Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al Thani revealed that the bank is working to find technological solutions for its CBDC. Right now the project is in its early stage, Al Thani specified: “Many central banks are now considering to issue CBDC, and we are not an …

Major cryptocurrency trading platform Huobi continues expanding its global presence by securing new licenses in New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. On Friday, Huobi Group obtained the Innovation License under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), securing the company’s first-ever license there. The DIFC license is not a trading license but rather authorizes Huobi to incentivize technology startups to set up operations in Dubai, Huobi Group chief financial officer Lily Zhang told Cointelegraph on Monday. The license unlocks a number of benefits like access to the local tech ecosystem and preferential treatment for technology research and developments, capital flows …

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. 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 …

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 Thursday 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 …

Emirates, the largest airline in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced that it has plans to implement Bitcoin (BTC) payments and launch nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to be traded through the company's websites. In a media gathering held at the Arabian Travel Market, the chief operating officer of Emirates, Adel Ahmed Al-Redha reportedly stated that the Dubai-based airline will be onboarding new employees who will be focused on blockchain-related projects such as the crypto payments, blockchain tracking, metaverse and NFTs. According to Al-Redha, the airline is looking into using blockchain to keep aircraft records. Additionally, the airline executive also noted that …

The Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority, or VARA, has purchased land in the virtual reality world The Sandbox (SAND) as part of its plans to set up a metaverse headquarters. In a Tuesday announcement from Emirates news agency WAM, VARA said the metaverse entry was aimed at facilitating “collaborative engagement” between virtual asset service providers, international regulatory authorities, and industry leaders. In addition, the Dubai regulator said establishing its “MetaHQ” office could help reach “younger licensees” entering the virtual world. "By expanding VARA’s resources to a borderless audience through the Metaverse, Dubai is creating a prototype Decentralised Regulator Model, inviting …

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 …