Saudi Arabia’s regulator, the Capital Market Authority cautioned the public against investment and speculative trading in initial coin offerings (ICOs) because of their associated high risk, potential loss of capital and fraud, state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.
Other risks include the high volatility of cryptocurrencies, opaqueness related to the valuation of the digital currencies, and the lack of regulatory oversight in the kingdom which makes protecting investors difficult, the agency quoted the authority as saying.
The warning comes amid a proliferation of advertisements to investment in cryptocurrencies, the emergence of websites and marketing campaigns on social media that target Saudi citizens and residents.
Central Bankers, regulatory authorities and officials around the world have issued similar warnings as cryptocurrencies, led by bitcoin, plunge amid high market volatility.
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Read more:
[ Abu Dhabi Global Market mulling virtual currency regulatory framework ]
[ UAE issues warning against initial coin offerings as cryptocurrencies plunge ]
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Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has lost more than half of its value since reaching a record $20,000 in December. Some analysts project the currency will fall to $900, according to Bloomberg.
World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim has likened cryptocurrencies to “Ponzi schemes” while billionaire Warren Buffet said “they will come to a bad end.”
Earlier this month, the UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority, the country's markets regulator warned investors against using initial coin offerings. The SCA warned investors against any fundraising done in cryptocurrencies, be it ICOs, initial token offerings, token pre-sale or token crowd-sale. The authority sent a circular regarding this matter.
ICOs are used by companies to raise funds in a way that a company would sell shares to the public in a fiat currency and list it on a stock exchange. Many regulators around the world have issued warnings to investors after instances of fraud in the ICO market. In 2017, some $6 billion was raised in initial coin offerings, according to Cointelegraph, a cryptocurrency news website.
This week the regulatory arm of Abu Dhabi Global Market, the emirate's financial centre, said it's considering a governing framework to supervise virtual currency exchanges and is in consultations with industry participants to chalk it out. The announcement follows preliminary guidance on initial coin and token offerings that the Financial Services Regulatory Authority made in October.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
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Video: 4K+@ 24/30/60fps, full HD+@ 30/60fps, HD+@ 30 fps
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Battery: Up to 15 hours video, 50 hours audio; 50% fast charge in 30 minutes with 20W charger; wireless charging
Biometrics: Touch ID
Durability: IP67, dust, water resistant up to 1m for 30 minutes
Price: From Dh1,849
'The Alchemist's Euphoria'
Artist: Kasabian
Label: Columbia
Rating: 3/5
