Dubai-based cryptocurrency trading platform BitOasis is expanding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with another major funding round. BitOasis closed a $30-million Series B funding round led by Chicago-based venture capital firm Jump Capital and Dubai-based VC company Wamda Capital, according to a Tuesday announcement. Wamda previously invested in BitOasis back in 2016, leading a seed funding round of an undisclosed sum. The latest round included new investors, such as Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto trading firm Alameda Research, and Global Founders Capital, as well as existing investors, including Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group and Belgium-based investment firm NXMH. The …

BitOasis, a cryptocurrency exchange from the United Arab Emirates, has partnered with the Dubai Police Force to raise awareness about frauds related to crypto investment and trades. The exchange’s partnership with the Dubai Police is intended to help build regulations that will make crypto safe for investors in the region, BitOasis CEO Ola Doudin said. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Doudin stated: “The BitOasis team has been working very closely with policymakers and regulators to build trust and transparency into the crypto ecosystem. Partnering with Dubai Police is also a move in the same direction.” The move to safeguard investors coincides with …

Financial regulators in the United Arab Emirates have reached an arrangement to officially allow and support cryptocurrency trading in an economicfree zone in Dubai. The Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) announced Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) to support the regulation and trading of crypto assets within the DWTCA free zone. The new initiative establishes a framework enabling the DWTCA to issue necessary approvals and licenses for financial activities related to cryptocurrencies. As part of the agreement, the SCA will also supervise major crypto-related activities, such as issuance, listing, trading …

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Dubai are among the friendliest jurisdictions for the cryptocurrency industry, according to Stephen Stonberg, CEO of Bittrex Global crypto exchange. Dubai is likely to benefit from the expanding crypto market in the Middle East as local regulators increasingly accept blockchain-related technologies, Stonberg said in a Sunday Bloomberg interview. The UAE and Dubai are “doing all the right things and they’re going to attract a lot of regional projects” in the cryptocurrency industry, Stonberg said. He stated that these jurisdictions provide a “great place” to set up a token project or run a cryptocurrency exchange, …

Global banking giant HSBC has announced that it has been successfully onboarded to the regional Know-Your-Customer (KYC)-focused private blockchain backed by Dubai’s government. HSBC is the first overseas, and fourth founding member, to go live on the “UAE KYC Blockchain Platform,” which was developed by the Dubai-based Department of Economic Development, dubbed “Dubai Economy.” The UAE KYC Blockchain Platform is a national ecosystem for the exchange of verified know-your-customer data between licensing authorities and financial institutions in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Gulf News, HSBC’s addition to the platform provides investors with the option of digitally opening an …

Canada’s largest digital asset investment fund manager, 3iQ, is expanding its reach to global investors by listing its public Bitcoin (BTC) fund on a major market in the Middle East. 3iQ rolled out its Bitcoin Fund (QBTC) for trading on Nasdaq Dubai, according to an official statement by the exchange. Trading went live on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Dubai time. The new listing marks the emergence of Middle East’s first indexed digital asset-based fund, 3iQ chairman and CEO Frederick Pye previously said. Pye was optimistic about BTC price, predicting a new all-time high in 2021: “I believe that, whether it …

As a tech-friendly region, Dubai is never short of new and promising projects, including crypto and blockchain, but the influx of new cryptocurrencies makes it harder for newcomers to distinguish shady campaigns from reliable ones. The Dubai Media Office announced that the authorities have never approved a digital currency named Dubai Coin, which saw a 1,000% jump when the project launched as “the official digital currency of Dubai” earlier this week. “It’s not the official cryptocurrency of the city,” the announcement warns. “The website promoting Dubai Coin is an elaborate phishing campaign that is designed to steal personal information from …

Dubai is taking another step to embrace cryptocurrencies thanks to a new agreement between the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) and United Arab Emirates’ Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA). In a move to grow the crypto industry within the region, DAFZA will now allow cryptocurrency trading under an established regulation. As the financial markets supervisor across the UAE, the SCA will oversee the offering, issuance, listing and trading of crypto assets within the free zone. The SCA will also handle all necessary approvals and licensing for companies regarding crypto trading. Signed by SCA Acting CEO Maryam Al Suwaidi and …

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre — a free trade zone established by the Dubai Government — has signed a sale and purchase agreement with REIT Development to construct a 100,000 square foot precious metals refinery. According to a DMCC release on Wednesday, the precious metal refinery and storage facility will be the largest in the Gulf Cooperation Council and will reportedly be powered by blockchain technology. Located in the high brow Jumeirah Lake Towers area, the facility will refine and store precious metals like gold, silver, rhodium, palladium and platinum among others. These precious metals will also provide backing for asset-collateralized …

Dubai’s Department of Economic Development, or “Dubai Economy,” and the Dubai International Financial Centre are working to expand their Know Your Customer platform to financial institutions across the United Arab Emirates. The DIFC made the planned project expansion known via an announcement published on its website on April 6. According to the communique, both organizations have signed an agreement to put the necessary modalities in place to extend the KYC platform across the UAE. The project was first announced back in February 2020, with 120 companies onboarded as of July 2020, according to a Cointelegraph report at the time. The …

The Dubai Financial Services Authority, or DFSA, is continuing its efforts to create a standardized framework for cryptocurrency regulations in the megacity. According to a DFSA press release issued on Monday, Dubai's financial regulator has called on members of the public to submit comments on its proposed regulations for cryptos deemed to be security tokens. The public comments phase of the process will last for 30 days and is part of the modalities for instituting the DFSA’s “Framework for Regulating Security Tokens.” Dubai’s security token infrastructure focuses on providing regulatory clarity across three major areas of concern. The first part …

For a long time, the United Arab Emirates has been one of the most progressive crypto countries in the world. For example, government-owned licensing firm Kiklabb allows clients to pay for their visa and trade license fees via various digital assets to the Dubai Financial Services Authority, which announced its decision to work on a holistic crypto regulatory framework as part of its 2021 business plan. In fact, as a result of Dubai’s crypto-friendly policies, Ripple, a firm that has recently been in murky waters with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, announced its decision to open an office …