The UAE has been “proactive” in positioning itself as a crypto hub, panellists at the AB UAE Conference said. The conference was held at the Museum of the Future on Thursday.
“What I like about what they [the UAE government] has done here, is that they have allowed the germination of crypto to happen,” Web3 founder and Arts DAO co-founder chief executive officer Anas Bhurtun said.
Echoing the same sentiment, Chainalysis regional director Suzana Obradovic, “the UAE government has been upfront in providing practical innovation. They are very vocal about their support for the industry, for regulating it in general, thus making it accessible to everybody.
Obradovic added: They [the UAE government] are fully engaged with cypto companies in a lot in different levels, to make sure that everything is watered down in a secure way. So, by all means, the UAE is probably the best place to be in the whole world, especially if you want to be ahead of the curve.”
The need for regulations
In January, the UAE Cabinet introduced a new regulation and an independent regulatory authority for virtual assets and virtual asset service providers – a move which marks the state’s first regulatory regime for the sector at the federal level.
The Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law and the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) would oversee the growth of the virtual asset business environment including regulation, governance and licensing.
When asked about the need for regulations in the crypto market, Emmanuel Alamu, the global head of OTC, Rain said that “the FTX situation” was an eye-opener.
“It showed us how much we need regulations, and I think it is good that we need these regulations as it will help people place their trust on the crypto market.”
He further explained: “The market is resilient. We are still trying to figure out the right way to do things. It is a very young market, and will be hit last in case of economic challenges, however, we need time to learn, especially since it a market that is over sensationalised.”
Crypto comes with its challenges
With its many challenges, the crypto market is set to see a “dystopian” future, Art DAO’s Bhurtun said. “Firstly, if this all works out, we solve UX, tech, infrastructure, everything – what happens I see is you will not have Fiat anymore. Fiat already is digital in some way it will be tokenised in the form of a stablecoin. You will transact with your phone. You will not use cash, you may even pay with fingerprints or your eyes,” he said.
Bhurtun also said that crypto is suffering the same cycle banking faced in the past.
While UAE has positioned itself as an emerging global hub, Dubai is the “apex” for the market, according to OTC, Rain’s Alamu.
“The energy of the leaders of the emirates, for what they want to actually do for pushing forward blockchain technology, metaverse through initiatives is very, very promising,” he said adding that “Dubai changes from Sunday to Thursday to Monday to Friday, all of which seems to be a very small change. But when you see it on the grand scheme of things, it means that you know, Dubai is really setting itself up in the UAE setting itself up to be that global hub.”
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