The UAE has a fertile environment for cryptocurrencies, strong willingness by the government to invest in blockchain and Web3, and a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework, said Eric Anziani, president and chief operating officer of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com.
“In emerging markets such as Latin America and Turkey, there is a strong push for stablecoins by customers due to the hyperinflation these countries have gone through,” he said during a panel discussion on FinTech at the investment conference Investopia in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
“Governments have to catch up to protect customers. Stablecoins have played a big role in such markets. These assets help preserve value amid hyperinflation.”
Investopia was launched by the UAE in 2021 and this year's event is being held under the theme “Envisioning opportunities in times of change” in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
It is one of the events within the first set of the Projects of the 50 developmental and economic initiatives announced by the government in 2021 to accelerate the nation’s growth over the next five decades.
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-biggest economy, is exploring future investment opportunities.
This comes after the Covid-19 pandemic transformed economies, paved the way for new sectors, hastened the use of advanced technology and raised the need for sustainable growth.
The global FinTech market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 11.9 per cent between 2022 and 2027 to more than $266.9 billion by 2027, according to a report by Expert Market Research.
FinTech start-ups led in both funding and number of deals in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Turkey region last year, according to data from Magnitt. The sector’s funding stood at $2.25 billion across 351 deals in 2022.
The Covid-19 pandemic hastened the adoption of FinTech, Sameh Al Qubaisi, board member of Abu Dhabi-based digital lender Wio Bank, said at Investopia.
“Mobile adoption in the UAE today is almost 90 per cent. The UAE ranks No 1 in technology usage and 13th globally, according to IMD World. This is a big leap,” he said.
Mr Al Qubaisi said Wio Bank was launched last year to solve problems for small and medium enterprises, many of which are unbanked.
The digital lender has onboarded 10,000 SMEs, which account for about 98 per cent of companies operating in the UAE.
Meanwhile, Chika Uwazie, co-founder of Afropolitan, a community-as-a-service company, said blockchain technology was becoming more popular among the African diaspora.
“There is a huge diaspora community for Africa. About $70 billion is sent back to Africa every year,” she said.
“A lot of Africans in the diaspora are using USDTs and other stablecoins to send money back home.”
Ms Uwazie suggested that blockchain technology could be used to pull money together to invest in the African continent, which is suffering from a funding crunch.
Jamie Thomson, chief executive of non-fungible tokens marketplace VulcanForged, said the “most beautiful thing” about the blockchain industry is the transparency in which users can see it evolve.
“It was only four years ago that we found that blockchain and cryptos could be used for other purposes than trading and transferring value in money transactions,” Mr Thomson said.
“Investors then toyed with the idea of entertainment in blockchain through NFTs. Play-to-earn cryptos was the next big thing in blockchain adoption. Then the concept of metaverse blew up. Now, we are just coming out of the play-to-earn myth.”
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Thanksgiving meals to try
World Cut Steakhouse, Habtoor Palace Hotel, Dubai. On Thursday evening, head chef Diego Solis will be serving a high-end sounding four-course meal that features chestnut veloute with smoked duck breast, turkey roulade accompanied by winter vegetables and foie gras and pecan pie, cranberry compote and popcorn ice cream.
Jones the Grocer, various locations across the UAE. Jones’s take-home holiday menu delivers on the favourites: whole roast turkeys, an array of accompaniments (duck fat roast potatoes, sausages wrapped in beef bacon, honey-glazed parsnips and carrots) and more, as well as festive food platters, canapes and both apple and pumpkin pies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, The Address Hotel, Dubai. This New Orleans-style restaurant is keen to take the stress out of entertaining, so until December 25 you can order a full seasonal meal from its Takeaway Turkey Feast menu, which features turkey, homemade gravy and a selection of sides – think green beans with almond flakes, roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole and bread stuffing – to pick up and eat at home.
The Mattar Farm Kitchen, Dubai. From now until Christmas, Hattem Mattar and his team will be producing game- changing smoked turkeys that you can enjoy at home over the festive period.
Nolu’s, The Galleria Mall, Maryah Island Abu Dhabi. With much of the menu focused on a California inspired “farm to table” approach (with Afghani influence), it only seems right that Nolu’s will be serving their take on the Thanksgiving spread, with a brunch at the Downtown location from 12pm to 4pm on Friday.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Scores
New Zealand 266 for 9 in 50 overs
Pakistan 219 all out in 47.2 overs
New Zealand win by 47 runs
Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
The Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Twelve books were longlisted for The Orwell Prize for Political Writing. The non-fiction works cover various themes from education, gender bias, and the environment to surveillance and political power. Some of the books that made it to the non-fiction longlist include:
- Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War by Tim Bouverie
- Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me by Kate Clanchy
- Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
- Follow Me, Akhi: The Online World of British Muslims by Hussein Kesvani
- Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni
