South Korean cryptocurrency-only exchange Cashierest to close its doors

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority has announced a ban on cryptocurrency mining on farms, addressing concerns over the misuse of agricultural land.Photo by Kamil Rogalinski on UnsplashClaims of farm misuseAccording to the Khaleej Times, the Authority has informed UAE farmers that their lands are not to be used for Bitcoin and crypto mining. This activity is deemed a “misuse of the farm for purposes other than its intended use.” The new regulation aims to preserve the primary agricultural function of these lands and imposes penalties of up to 10,000 United Arab Emirates Dirhams (approximately $2,722) for violations. Cryptocurrency mining requires significant computational power and electricity, which conflicts with the farms’ intended agricultural use.  Broader support for miningDespite this specific restriction, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) maintains a supportive stance towards cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency mining beyond a farm setting. In 2023, the country emerged as a notable player in the global Bitcoin mining industry, with a combined mining capacity of around 400 megawatts, contributing approximately 4% of the global Bitcoin hash rate. It’s proven to be a popular place in which to locate a mining facility as the country has a robust infrastructure. Stable power is essential in order for miners to be able to run their machines in a sustainable manner. Additionally, the government has generally been supportive of the activity, fostering a conducive environment for both crypto and Bitcoin mining and blockchain technology more generally. Furthermore, the country occupies a strategic location at the crossroads of major trade routes. Regulatory clarity has also been provided by the authorities in the UAE with regard to how crypto mining activity is to be carried out. While this latest move against mining within a farm setting is a restriction, it still feeds into that overall framework of regulatory clarity and certainty. Attracting mining firmsGiven the aforementioned reasons in support of mining in the UAE, the Middle Eastern country continues to attract cryptocurrency mining firms.  In December of last year, a Dubai-headquartered Bitcoin mining company, Phoenix Group, struck a $380 million deal with Chinese mining equipment manufacturer MicroBT. That same month, the company was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). In May 2023, Abu Dhabi-based digital assets development company Zero Two entered into a partnership with North American crypto miner Marathon Digital with a view towards developing the region’s first large-scale crypto mining facility. Beyond mining, the location is also proving popular for crypto firms more generally. In May 2023, Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analytics company, established its regional headquarters in Dubai. Similarly, Blockdaemon, a provider of institutional infrastructure, expanded its operations in Abu Dhabi, facilitated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a key financial regulator. Speaking at the Dubai FinTech Summit recently, Reece Merrick, Managing Director of enterprise blockchain company Ripple for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, said that “the UAE has done a remarkable job in really putting itself in a position to be the global crypto hub.”

Dubai’s VARA grants WadzPay ‘initial approval’ of trading licenseIn the latest demonstration of the emirate’s crypto-friendly credentials, Dubai regulator, the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), has granted an “Initial Approval” license to WadzPay.WadzPay was founded in 2018 in Singapore as a business-to-business (B2B) technology firm that concentrates its efforts on enabling digital asset-based transaction processing and settlement. This licensing approval is a significant step forward for the startup, as it inches closer to obtaining a full-fledged Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license.Photo by Paul MARSAN on UnsplashGearing up for service roll-outWith this approval in hand, WadzPay is gearing up to offer a range of virtual asset services, specifically under the forthcoming VASP License for Transfer and Settlement, as well as Broker-Dealer trading activities.That said, the current VARA license places certain restrictions on WadzPay’s offerings. While WadzPay is known for providing a wide array of services to businesses (B2B) and individual users through its B2B2C platform, the “Initial Approval” license limits its scope to only a subset of its virtual asset products and services.Flurry of approvalsDubai has taken center stage in the realm of crypto-friendly jurisdictions, granting a flurry of operational licenses to numerous crypto firms and exchanges in recent months. The regulatory framework in Dubai is underpinned by robust guidelines for VASPs. To operate fully within this framework, crypto firms must navigate a meticulous three-tier licensing process, starting with provisional approval, followed by a minimal viable product (MVP) license, culminating in a total market product license.One of the recent beneficiaries of VARA’s approvals is Backpack, a virtual currency wallet provider. Last month, Backpack received its VASP license, allowing the introduction of the Backpack Exchange to the market. However, similar to WadzPay’s situation, Backpack’s license comes with certain limitations.It permits the offering of crypto exchange services within Dubai but restricts the rollout of other virtual asset services. The Backpack Exchange sets itself apart with advanced features, including zero-knowledge (ZK) proof-of-reserves, multi-party computation (MPC) for secure custody and lightning-fast order execution capabilities.Nomura portfolio company approvalsKomainu, a collaborative venture involving financial heavyweights like Nomura, CoinShares and Ledger, is another notable success story. After a diligent licensing journey, Komainu secured its full operating license from VARA, approximately 10 months after obtaining its MVP license in November 2022.Laser Digital, a crypto division under the vast umbrella of financial giant Nomura, also earned its operational license from VARA in August. Through its dedicated subsidiary, Laser Digital Middle East FZE, based conveniently in Dubai, Nomura has showcased its VASP license. The permit enables the firm to offer a suite of services, including brokerage, virtual asset management and investment offerings within the emirate.Notably, Laser Digital’s licensure followed closely on the heels of Binance, the global crypto exchange. Binance secured its operational minimum viable product (MVP) license from VARA, paving the way for providing crypto exchange and virtual asset broker-dealer services within the region.This flurry of licensing activities and approvals in Dubai is suggestive of the emirate’s commitment to fostering a progressive and regulated crypto environment.

South Korean blockchain firm Ozys announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Creder, a company dedicated to integrating traditional assets into the blockchain realm, to tokenize physical assets like precious metals into real-world assets (RWAs), according to Korean news site Digital Today on Thursday (KST). "Gold is one of the major RWA assets as the market value of assets linked with physical goods is increasing in the global market. We will take a transparent approach in expanding the RWA token ecosystem and showcase our business performance through our cooperation," said Lim Dae-hoon, CEO of Creder.Photo by Jingming Pan on UnsplashDriving innovationAs a member of the Klaytn ecosystem, internet juggernaut Kakao’s blockchain, Ozys operates platforms like Allbit.com, a layer 2 decentralized exchange (DEX), and a cross-chain token transfer platform dubbed Orbit Bridge. The firm utilizes blockchain-based technologies like smart contracts and Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) to develop and run its platforms. Meanwhile, Creder is currently working on The Mining Club, a project that mints solid gold into NFTs for safe storage and transfer. The gold NFTs are available for purchase on the NFT marketplace OpenSea. It is also developing Gold Station, a platform that allows for the digitized purchase, storage and investment of gold through the Gold Pegged Coin (GPC). GPC is a physical gold-based RWA issued on the Klaytn network. Expanding the scope of Web3The two companies will work together to onboard GPC to KLAYswap – Klaytn’s on-chain swap protocol – which will be issued via smart contract on Jan. 3. The two companies also plan to tokenize other precious metals like silver, copper and palladium. By combining physical assets and blockchain technology, the companies aim to expand the Web3 ecosystem and lead next-generation markets. "The tokenization of gold, which is considered a safe asset, is expected to diversify the Web3 ecosystem," said Choi Jin-han, CEO of Ozys. "We plan to explore various collaborations with Creder, starting with the onboarding of the gold-based token GPC on KLAYswap."