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UAE Blockchain News

Ghaf Labs, a boutique consultancy and advisory firm based in Dubai, has partnered with the Sui Foundation to support the growth and proliferation of the Sui blockchain protocol and its associated ecosystem.



Sui is a unique Layer 1 blockchain and smart contract platform designed to make digital asset ownership fast, private, secure, and accessible to everyone. Ghaf Labs&#8217; partnership with Sui Foundation aims to drive their expansion within the UAE and the MENA region, fostering the growth of web3 adoption.



Ghaf Capital Partners, a private investment firm founded in 2019, has established itself as a pioneering player in the web3 investment space with an impressive portfolio of 75 companies.



In response to the increasing demand from companies seeking exposure in the MENA region, Ghaf Capital introduced Ghaf Labs. It is a boutique advisory and consultancy service dedicated to web3 ventures, which provides personalized attention to several clients each year.



Ghaf will provide holistic support to the Sui Foundation through a groundbreaking partnership by sharing their expertise and market insights. The Sui Foundation has ambitious plans to expand its ecosystem in the UAE by engaging in university partnerships, discussing with regulators, organizing regional hackathons, and supporting local web3 projects.



To kick off its presence in the region, the Sui Foundation plans to participate in several prominent web3 summits in the UAE during Q4 of 2023, including the Future Blockchain Summit, World Blockchain Summit, and Global Blockchain Congress.



The Sui Foundation will also host a monthly meet-up in Dubai called &#8220;Sui Connect.&#8221; This event aims to foster community building and stimulate the local ecosystem.



Sui&#8217;s innovative use of Web3 technologies includes Sui Move, a dialect of the programming language originally developed at Facebook to power the Diem blockchain. Sui Move is specifically tailored to address the challenges that traditional EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) poses for blockchain engineers in developing Web3 enterprises.

Ghaf Labs

Web3

Ghaf Labs, Sui Foundation Cooperates for Enhancing Web3 in UAE

The UAE&#8217;s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MCCE) has partnered with the Industrial Innovation Group and the Venom Foundation to develop a carbon credit system.



Countries and organizations use <a href="https://upyo.com/en/news/tags/uae-blockchain">blockchain technology</a> to track carbon credits, which can be securely sold or traded due to the data&#8217;s immutable nature on-chain. This enables the MCCE to sell or issue credits to businesses, and credit holders can either use the credits to emit a specific amount of carbon over a given period or sell and trade them to offset other organizations&#8217; emissions with complete transparency.



The leaders of the UAE have made changes to their agenda regarding climate change and carbon offsetting. Their ultimate objective is to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. The UAE is investing heavily in clean energy projects as the government has promised to invest at least $54 billion in this aspect by 2030.



Venom Foundation partnered with Iceberg Capital Limited to launch a $1 billion venture fund for Web3 and blockchain companies. The Venom Ventures Fund (VVF) aims to pump investments in protocols decentralized apps (Dapps) of Web3, which focus on GameFi products and services, DeFi, payments, asset management, and banking services to be a pioneering supporter for coming entrepreneurs and digital technologies.



Indeed, the fund made its first investment, leading Nümi Metaverse&#8217;s $20 million funding round. Nümi Metaverse is a universal platform for creators, innovators, and followers. It will debut its &#8216;Visual Novel&#8217; this year, a mini-game experience with a range of special rewards for players.



Although the UAE is ranked 33rd worldwide for total emissions, a recent report indicates that it ranks sixth globally for per capita emissions based on data from 2020.

Blockchain

UAE Utilizes Blockchain Technology in Developing Carbon Credit System

RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), a free zone in the UAE&#8217;s Ras Al Khaimah allocated for crypto companies, inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the HBAR Foundation to support its ecosystem members.



According to the deal, RAK DAO&#8217;s members will be granted a program that helps them to access to leverage the use of the Hedera blockchain, Cointelegraph reported.&nbsp;



&#8220;We&#8217;re thrilled to join forces with the @HBAR_foundation, empowering entrepreneurs to build on the #Hedera network. This collaboration opens doors to a comprehensive grant program, expert support, and a thriving #ecosystem to scale innovation,&#8221; RAK DAO tweeted. 



In this regard, RAK DAO Chairman Sheikh Mohammed bin Humaid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi told Cointelegraph that cooperation with HBAR Foundation will enhance the sustainable growth of RAK DAO&#8217;s ecosystem and push Ras Al Khaimah to be a global leader in the digital economy.



&#8220;By creating and enabling the world’s first licensed Web3 ecosystem, we are facilitating the seamless exchange of information, connecting businesses across sectors, and paving the way for synergistic relationships to flourish,&#8221; Sheikh Mohammed noted.&nbsp;



Under the MoU, RAK DAO&#8217;s startups will get specialized support in the fields of technology, business development, and marketing, in addition to adopting new ideas in the Web3 space. RAK DAO and HBAR will cooperate in launching other initiatives, including startup pitching sessions, and debuting joint projects such as venture studios or accelerators.



The UAE free zone is a purpose-built and innovation-enabling free zone for non-regulated activities in the virtual assets sector. It is considered the first of its type in the world as it will be specialized for digital and virtual asset companies, which are working in the fields of the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, DAOs, NFTs, virtual asset wallets, and Web3-related activities.

RAK DAO

RAK DAO’s Startups To Leverage Use of Hedera Blockchain

Over 1,650 organizations were identified as part of the UAE blockchain ecosystem by the end of 2022, according to Crypto Oasis.



In its Ecosystem Report 2022, the MENA-focused blockchain ecosystem said this number exceeded the 1,500 forecasts for 2022, as the organizations are growing more than expected previously, <a href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/metaverse/uae-jobs-more-individuals-now-working-in-crypto-blockchain-metaverse-says-report?_refresh=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Khaleej Times</a>. 



Crypto Oasis monitored a 13.6% growth in the UAE blockchain ecosystem, a matter which proves the UAE&#8217;s keenness to facilitate blockchain-related companies securing licenses and operating in the country. In addition, more than half (68%) of the 1,650 organizations (1,126 organizations) are native ones, while 32% of them (525 organizations) are not native.



The Dubai-based venture-building company pointed out that more than 8,300 individuals are working in the blockchain industry in the UAE by the end of the past year. Around 78% of these individuals are working at native blockchain organizations and only 22% are working at not native ones.



On the top, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) is now the home of more than 500 crypto firms, the biggest gathering of crypto and blockchain companies in the region. Crypto Oasis has added 200+ new organizations in the fourth quarter of 2022.



Commenting on the report, Founder of Crypto Oasis Ralf Glabischnig expressed his excitement for the growing number of new organizations, which adds more diversity to the UAE blockchain ecosystem, adding: &#8220;The possibilities for Web3 technology are vast, from finance and supply chain management to gaming and social media. However, as it&#8217;s a relatively new and emerging technology, its full potential hasn&#8217;t been reached yet and the industry is facing challenges such as scalability, security, and user adoption…we work to improve Web3 and decentralized technologies.&#8221;



Meantime, Co-Founder of Crypto Oasis Saqr Ereiqat said the UAE is committed to taking further steps to be a global digital economy hub, citing the inception of regulators like VARA and various industry events like the Abu Dhabi Finance Week and Dubai Fintech Week, as well as the launch of the Dubai Economic Agenda &#8220;D33.&#8221;



Ereiqat noted that the UAE Ministry of Economy is one of the first government entities in the world to be active in the metaverse as it released its strategy for the digital economy that seeks to double the contribution of the digital economy from 9.7% to 19.4% in the coming ten years.



The Crypto Oasis ecosystem is dedicated to building and strengthening the infrastructure for decentralized technologies in the region.

Crypto in Dubai

Over 1,650 Organizations Became Part of UAE Blockchain Ecosystem by 2022

A group of schools in the UAE begin to include lessons about metaverse, blockchain, NFTs, and cryptocurrencies for their students to qualify them for the labor market.



These schools also aim to show the potential and advantages of the metaverse to the students, <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/education/2022/11/14/uae-pupils-taught-blockchain-crypto-and-tech-skills-to-prepare-them-for-future-job-market/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the National Newspaper reported</a>.



One of these schools is Repton School Al Barsha in Dubai, which allocated an hour in its timetable every week for its pupils to make them discover areas of the metaverse, NFTs, blockchain, and game design.



Principal of Repton Al Barsha Gillian Hammond described the blockchain as the technology of the future, which her school&#8217;s pupils and teachers should be aware of.



Hammond asserted the importance of creating a safe atmosphere for the students while exploring the metaverse to become digital citizens.



She emphasized that the school cooperates with the parents to tackle restrictions, which should be in place for their children while they are online at home, adding the school educates its pupils not to share their names, pictures, or location.



“We want our pupils to understand and learn about blockchain and NFTs. We have had pupils in years four to six involved in game design,&#8221; she further said.



In 2021, the school debuted a digital passport for all pupils in cooperation with a blockchain provider.



Moreover, Repton Al Barsha launched a series of videos to educate the community about the benefits of blockchain, in addition to running an extracurricular activity on NFTs and blockchain this year for interested pupils.



Another school in Dubai, called Citizens School, marked the first school in the Middle East to accept fees in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.



Principal Tracy Moxley said the school targets creating a digital mindset for its pupils to enable them to understand the world of digital assets, NFTs, cryptocurrencies, and blockchain through project-based learning and digital literacy classes in Years 5 and 6, adding the complexity of classes increases in the secondary level.



Mark Ryan, a visual arts teacher in the primary years program at Raha International School in Abu Dhabi, pointed out that pupils are encouraged to make NFTs since last year without focusing on selling them online, saying the goal is how to track the work of these young artists on the digital space.



Ryan added that this year, he educates pupils on how to use digital spaces like Sandbox and Decentraland.



Over the past few years, the UAE has positioned itself as one of the world’s prominent hubs for metaverse and blockchain technologies. It works on enabling digital assets companies to launch their operations in the country.



The Emirati government, in July, launched the Dubai Metaverse Strategy which aims to contribute $4 billion to the emirate’s economy. The strategy targets increasing the number of blockchain and metaverse companies fivefold within five years as well as offering 40,000 virtual jobs to be one of the top 10 global metaverse economies.

UAE Blockchain News

Latest UAE Blockchain News