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Cryptocurrency

Binance Blockchain Week 2024 in Dubai 'proved how the right setting can turn an audience into a real community'

Binance powers crypto dialogue with community events 

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, is helping to unite the industry, facilitate connections and drive conversation through its calendar of live and online events. Kim Murphy, its head of global event marketing, gives us the lowdown Why are events so important to Binance and the industry?  Events bring crypto to life. They […]

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Abu Dhabi investor buys $25m in Trump crypto coins

DWF Labs, an investment company based in Abu Dhabi, has bought $25 million of a cryptocurrency linked to Donald Trump. The company describes itself as a next-generation Web3 investor and cryptocurrency trader. Web3 includes concepts such as decentralisation, blockchain technologies and token-based economics. It said in a statement that it bought $25 million of World […]

'Investors need to be careful. Anything that is not bitcoin is very risky,' said one crypto expert after Mantra's token OM crashed

Abu Dhabi backers deny selling crypto before $5bn crash

The Abu Dhabi backers of a Dubai-licensed cryptocurrency business have denied wrongdoing after its token’s market cap dropped by more than $5 billion in a matter of hours, raising alarm among investors. Mantra, a Hong Kong-based blockchain company focused on tokenising real-world assets, is backed by Abu Dhabi’s Shorooq Partners, which led an $11 million […]

M79HAK Professional Broker Consults Stock Exchange Trader at His Workstation. Multi-Ethnic Team at Stock Exchange Office is Busy Selling and Buying Stocks

Gulf investors pile into crypto to hedge against risk

Institutional investors in the Gulf are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies to better manage their risk. Global currency fluctuation and sustained inflation are encouraging investors to add bitcoin and other digital assets to their portfolios, according to a study by Singapore-based QCP, a digital asset trading company. Notable institutional Gulf investments in crypto so far this […]

Binance CEO Richard Teng said the company is committed to partnering with global regulators to "establish transparent, responsible, and forward-thinking policies for the crypto industry"

MGX makes $2bn crypto investment in Binance

UAE technology investment company MGX has invested $2 billion-worth of stablecoins into Binance, the world’s largest exchange for digital tokens by trading volume and users, according to a statement. Binance said on Wednesday that acquisition of a minority stake in MGX is the “biggest-ever” injection of funds into a crypto company, the largest investment ever […]

A cryptocurrency exchange shop in Istanbul, Turkey. Hyperinflation over the past few years has pushed Turks toward embracing cryptocurrencies

Currency woes underpin Mena preference for stablecoin

Cryptocurrency traders in the Middle East and North Africa prefer stablecoins over single crypto currencies like Bitcoin, data show. Stablecoins made up 52 percent of all cryptocurrency transactions carried out in the Mena region in the year to June 2024, according to New York-based blockchain analysis company Chainalysis.  That is more than the 17 percent […]

Man works at laptop. Online searches for bitcoin prices more than doubled after President Trump’s post on his Truth Social network

UAE interest in crypto jumps after Trump’s ‘strategic reserve’ call

Interest in cryptocurrencies has accelerated in the UAE after a rally in prices that followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of plans to create a so-called crypto strategic reserve. Online searches for bitcoin prices in the UAE more than doubled following Trump’s announcement on his Truth Social platform at the weekend, data from Google Trends showed. […]

Bybit customers withdrew more than $5bn from the Dubai-based exchange after the hack

Dubai crypto regulator Vara monitoring Bybit hack

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (Vara) has said it is “actively monitoring” the fallout from a $1.4 billion hack at Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange that has fallen victim to what it calls crypto’s largest heist. Dubai-based Bybit said hackers exploited a smart contract – a self-executing program that automates blockchain transactions – during a routine […]

Errol Musk, father of Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk Video length: 05:03

Errol Musk: Tower will be a ‘truly international institute’

Errol Musk told AGBI in an exclusive video interview during his visit to Dubai that the Musk Tower that is to be built in the UAE will serve as an innovation centre. It will also foster developments in science “that are ignored”, including “space-time travel and gravity”, he said. Discussions are ongoing with Abu Dhabi-based […]

The price of bitcoin has risen in recent months and now stands at just over $96,000

Mubadala puts $436m into BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF

Mubadala has invested $436 million in BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund acquired 8.2 million shares in the iShares bitcoin ETF during the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Mubadala’s latest filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. iShares, managed by BlackRock, is one of the world’s largest providers of […]

People keen to trade in cryptocurrencies will look beyond Saudi Arabia to the rest of the GCC

GCC needs common policy on crypto, says Saudi academic

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states should develop aligned policies and regulations around the potential use of cryptocurrencies as a payment tool, a prominent Saudi academic and economist has said.  While the largest Arab economy generally forbids the use of cryptocurrencies, the UAE has put some policies in place to regulate their use. “Saudi […]

A wind farm project east of Addis Ababa; Ethiopia’s renewable energy resources make it an attractive location for bitcoin mining operations

Abu Dhabi’s Phoenix Group signs Ethiopian power deal

Abu Dhabi-based technology conglomerate Phoenix Group has acquired an 80 megawatt (MW) power purchase agreement (PPA) in Ethiopia. It follows just weeks after the company launched a 50MW cryptocurrency mining facility in North Dakota in the US.  A PPA is usually a long-term electricity supply agreement. The deal, secured in partnership with UAE cybersecurity company […]

A rendering of the Dubai Crypto Tower that is intended to house blockchain companies

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre announces “Crypto Tower”

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and software company Reit Development have announced plans to build a 17-storey “Crypto Tower” that they say will demonstrate the use of blockchain technology.  Blockchain will be used for tenant interactions and transactions through the use of on-chain voting mechanisms, shared resources, smart contracts and other automated services. The 150,000 sq […]

Pretty Muslim lady in hijab using smartphone and credit bank card for online shopping. Focused businesslady in headscarf standing on street and making purchase.

Gulf sets ambitious targets in its quest to go cashless

The Middle East has set ambitious targets in its bid to become a cashless society. The UAE is aiming for 75 percent of transactions to be cashless by 2026 and Saudi Arabia has set a target of 70 percent by 2030. Late last year, the process was made simpler by the introduction of Tap to […]

The North Dakota site will add more than 2.7 exahashes to Phoenix Group's processing capacity

UAE’s Phoenix Group opens US crypto mining facility

Phoenix Group, an Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange-listed company and one of the world’s leading bitcoin miners, has launched its 50 megawatt (MW) cryptocurrency mining facility in North Dakota, US. The opening of the site is part of the company’s bid to expand its capabilities and investments in the US. The company said that the facility, […]

Dubai has broken up money laundering operations worth almost $175 million

Dubai busts global money laundering gangs

Dubai has broken up two major international networks conducting money laundering operations worth a total of AED641 million ($174.5 million). The Dubai Public Prosecution referred an Emirati national, 21 British nationals, two Americans, a Czech national, and two companies owned by the Emirati national to the Criminal Court of First Instance at Dubai Courts. The […]

A bitcoin ATM kiosk in Krakow, Poland. A recent report suggests 13 nations already hold bitcoin as a reserve currency

The ‘race is on’ to set up bitcoin national reserves

The concept of national bitcoin reserves is moving from theoretical discussion to geopolitical reality. A member of Russia’s parliament has called on its central bank to consider bitcoin as a reserve asset, it was reported last week. Thirteen nations already hold the cryptocurrency, according to a report released this month by bitcoin exchange River. The […]

The Bitcoin Mena conference in Abu Dhabi, where AE Coin announced its approval

UAE stablecoin gets green light from Central Bank

UAE businesses could soon be able to accept AE Coin, the first regulated cryptocurrency in the Emirates. The AE Coin, which has just received regulatory approval from the Central Bank of the UAE, is pegged to the dirham, making it less volatile than other cryptocurrencies. Cryptos tied to a fiat, or government-issued, currency are known as […]