29th April 2022 - Middle East

Cryptocurrencies have emerged as one of the most popular investments currently, maybe even more so than the meme stocks that broke the internet earlier last year.

With Dubai being the latest crypto hub in vogue, the move of?regulating the cryptocurrency ?industry has enticed various businesses across the globe to accept the city as the land of opportunities. This has resulted in various entrepreneurs moving from countries such as India and Singapore. Dubai would constantly have to strive to create a favorable ecosystem for such businesses to make money and to have a thriving global economy.

Top news this week included UAE-based real estate giant DAMAC properties accepting crypto as a form of payment, Mashreq bank entering partnership with UAE KYC blockchain platform. Dubai hosting the first NFT pay-per-view sports event with Floyd Mayweather , and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) listing the Kraken group to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in the financial free zone.

Latest Investment News:- Grizzlyfi & Cross the Ages

Ecosystem Organisation Insights:- MetaMansions by KEYS Token

This Week in NFT's:- MoonBirds by Nicolas Genovese

Education:- Elliptic Curves and ECDSA with Prof. Dr.?Fabian Sch?r ?

So here's what else happened this week in Crypto

In the News

• When Bitcoin companies began pouring into his small town in Switzerland in 2013, Ralf Glabischnig was an IT consultant turned entrepreneur running a coworking space. It helped turn the town into ground zero for some of the earliest crypto companies, the Ethereum Foundation among them.?Today, Glabischnig wears many hats, working across timezones to help build both Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates into regional powerhouses of the blockchain revolution. He holds decentralization dear to his heart — of regulations, companies and power — which he hopes will create an increasingly heavy counterweight to the powers that be. Cointelegraph

• UAE based real estate giant DAMAC properties to accept crypto as a form of payment. DAMAC is poised to transform the future of real estate as one of the first developers to make it possible for clients using cryptocurrencies to acquire property in UAE.?Khaleej Times

• Mashreq bank enters partnership with UAE KYC blockchain platform. Customers' data quality in the UAE will be greatly enhanced by using the UAE KYC Blockchain Platform, which will allow the network to grow and develop into a more complete ecosystem for consumer data.?Al Bawaba

• Dubai will host the first NFT pay-per-view sports event. Ticket holders to the Mayweather vs. Moore exhibition battle will have access to exclusively pay-per-view on May 14th. Investing.com?

• Saudi Arabia National used crypto to purchase a pre-Owned 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580. The Jeff Wyler Automotive family sold a certified pre-owned 2021 Mercedes-Benz S580 to a Saudi Arabian customer at its Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell shop.?Used Car News

• Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) said on Monday it has licensed the Kraken group to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform in the financial free zone. Kraken is the first global virtual assets exchange group in the United Arab Emirates to receive a full financial license from the ADGM, it said. Kraken MENA (Middle East and North Africa) aims to provide access to virtual assets through regulated funding, trading, and custodial services in dirhams, UAE's currency. Reuters

• The Central African Republic has accepted bitcoin as a means of payment, as the country’s National Assembly unanimously voted on a bill that legalized crypto, offered a regulatory framework, and accepted bitcoin as legal tender. This makes the Central African Republic the first country on the continent that accepts bitcoin as a currency. Bein Crypto

• Arab sports media Kooora enters partnership with Sphera world and UAE Deca4. With 25 million unique monthly visitors, Kooora is one of the leading Arab sports media platforms and strives to expand by making a significant effort to integrate into the Web3.0 ecosystem.?Unlock BC

• Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plans to embrace blockchain across its government. More has to be done, according to Saudi official Prince Bandar Bin Abdullah Al Mishari, in order for the kingdom to effectively develop blockchain-based solutions.?Bitcoin.com

• Yoshi Markets and Tezos Gulf Collaborate to Develop Digital Tokenized Asset Ecosystem. The FSRA quickly announced the signing of a settlement agreement with Tezos Gulf, to work and build the emergent securitized digital token house on the Tezos blockchain.?Zawya

• Cypher Capital,?a venture capital firm located?in the UAE, today announced that it has invested in blockchain GameFi entity, "Cross The Ages (or CTA)", an immersive metaverse gaming platform utilizing NFTs and tokenomics. Built on the Polygon platform,?Singapore-based Cross The Ages received investments of?$12 million?in its seed funding round.?The funding will be utilized to further develop the game's eponymous platform and retain talent. GCC Business News

Top 10 Crypto Currencies this Week

Learn to Earn

??Interested to learn more on Elliptic Curves and ECDSA? Subscribe to the YouTube channel of the?Center for Innovative Finance (Universit?t Basel) ?and get immersed in the?blockchain?and?crypto?space with Prof. Dr.?Fabian Sch?r ?and the University of Basel’s open crypto lectures!

Latest Investment News

Grizzly.fi has joined the Crypto Oasis Sentio portfolio with the mission of making #DeFi accessible to everyone.?

Grizzly.fi, created by a Swiss Tech Company, aims to be an aggregator where #liquiditymining is made easier than ever before.?The one-click investment process, optimised returns and the TradFi gateaway are all features that position Grizzly.fi as a reliable platform to invest in a safe way and with a friendly user experience.?

Cypher Capital,?a venture capital firm located?in the UAE, today announced that it has invested in blockchain GameFi entity, "Cross The Ages (or CTA)", an immersive metaverse gaming platform utilizing NFTs and tokenomics.

Built on the Polygon platform,?Singapore-based Cross The Ages received investments of?$12 million?in its seed funding round.?The funding will be utilized to further develop the game's eponymous platform and retain talent. GCC Business News

Ecosystem Organisation Insights

In this week's edition of innovative initiatives happening within our Crypto Oasis Ecosystem, we would like to introduce Meta Mansions an initiative that connects the physical and digital worlds through community building.?

?MetaMansions, KEYS Token first-ever luxury #nft community launched along with leading architects and artists in the past weeks counts with 8,888 elite and luxury residences built inside the KEYS Metaverse on the Ethereum blockchain. The immersive initiative with a true-to-life user experience will enable users to create interactive communities that bridge digital and physical realms.?

Those who mint a Meta Mansion will be airdropped a plot of land in the KEYS Metaverse that will become a fully interactive, customizable, and livable environment. Features include eight unique biomes within the KEYS Metaverse, exclusive skins and texture packs, and more. Users will be able to monetize their mansions as well as gain unique access, benefits, and discounts within the KEYS Metaverse.?

This Week in NFT's

Thinking that the NFT hype is over is far from true. While google searches are down and the masses are not yet buying into NFTs, the latest blue-chip project: Moonbirds had the biggest NFT drop of all time within two weeks. They sold $85 million worth of NFTs within just a couple of hours. Moonbirds are another take on the CryptoPunks, which is essentially a digital collectible profile picture (PFP). The art experts in the scene were very disappointed with the work, however, the crypto community thinks the promised utilities and marketing will make up for it.

?“The utility is going to be special” stated the project driver and Silicon Valley star Kevin Rose. Part of the utility will be the release of a token, which can be staked or “nested” in combination with your PFP NFT. The acquirers have access to a special chat application, where you are only granted access to when you own a Moonbird. The Crypto community has always thrived on good stories and promises, Kevin Rose has given this story the right catalyst to aim for the moon. If the 100’000$ entry ticket to this community in combination with a JPEG file is worth it, is a question only time will tell.

?

That's it for this week. We'll be back next Friday with more news updates.

Have a Great Weekend.