NEOPLY Receives Support from Abu Dhabi for Blockchain Expansion in UAE

Bitay Ventures into Expanding UAE Crypto MarketTurkey’s Bitay, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Istanbul, has taken the decision to enter the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market.The company announced the development via a press release published on Thursday.Bitay General Manager Niyazi Yilmaz expressed his satisfaction in having made the move, stating: “The UAE provides a stable regulatory environment for crypto exchanges. It will serve as more than just a market for Bitay, it will be our technology base, central to our global blockchain strategy.”Photo by Aldo Loya on UnsplashGovernment-aided kickstartBitay sprang to life in 2018 following the award of a research grant by the Turkish government. The business has been operational in Turkey over the course of the past five years, but took the decision to expand on a global basis in 2021. The upshot of that decision saw the company obtain a Money Services Business (MSB) license in 16 states in the United States. Beyond that, the firm has made efforts to extend its services to customers across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.Last year, Bitay entered the Indian market, and as part of that process, it established an office in Gurgaon. At that time, the company claimed that India, the Turkic countries, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and selected countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) were its priority markets.Stablecoin USPThe company feels that it has something additional to offer the UAE market by comparison with other platforms that will provide it with a unique selling proposition (USP). It will also offer AEDD, a stablecoin that is pegged to the UAE's local currency, the United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED). Yilmaz explained: “AEDD is not just a stable coin, but a testament to the investment and trust we place in the UAE’s digital future.”To further bootstrap the launch of the platform within the UAE, Bitay is offering some preliminary incentives to encourage UAE residents to use the service. To that end, it’s launching an “Advantageous 2nd Sales Period” campaign. The offering will incorporate 25% discounts on its native exchange token, accompanied by a yield bonus of up to 30% on USDT-based investments.Native token offeringThe company claims that its native token achieved a 330% surge in value within its first year. That said, exchange tokens have been the subject of controversy more recently. The reliance of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX on its native FTT token was a key factor in the downfall of the platform in 2022. Similar concerns have been raised with regard to global crypto exchange Binance relative to its native BNB token, albeit that any such assertions remain a matter of speculation.A progressive regulatory approach to virtual assets over the course of the past 12 months in the UAE has seen proponents of digital currency heap praise on the country. It has also led to a number of sizable crypto platforms attaining licensing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, while others have established offices or headquarters within the UAE.

IEEE to deploy skill certificates on blockchain for Indian membersThe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a professional association boasting a membership of over 75,000 in India, has chosen the Avalanche blockchain as the primary settlement layer for issuing tamper-evident certificates.Photo by Vishnu Mohanan on UnsplashIntegrating Avalanche blockchainIndia holds the second-largest IEEE membership base globally outside the United States, making this move a significant development in secure credentialing.According to a report by Cointelegraph on Wednesday, Avalanche’s C-Chain will serve as the key settlement layer for IEEE’s certificate issuance due to its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The decision aims to provide an ecosystem that meets the requirements for tamper-proof, instant and secure verification processes for all trainees and users receiving IEEE credentials.Zupple Labs collaborationThe blockchain certificates will be issued through LegitDoc, a blockchain-based credential lifecycle management system developed by Zupple Labs. Neil Martis, Co-Founder of Zupple, noted that the Indian public sector has shown increased willingness to implement full-fledged blockchain projects over the past 12 months, moving beyond pilot initiatives.This is the latest project in recent weeks that has seen Zupple Labs play a key role in enabling the real-world use of blockchain. Through a collaboration with the Indian Web3 startup in October, the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) streamlined its purchase order process, issuing tamper-proof digital purchase orders via LegitDoc.Avalanche expands into IndiaDevika Mittal, Head of Avalanche’s India arm, emphasized the significance of Avalanche’s EVM compatibility in simplifying the deployment of widely used applications, including credential registries and identity management. She pointed out that reputable institutions like SK Planet and JP Morgan Onyx prefer Avalanche as their go-to blockchain.Mittal has been a key hire for Avalanche blockchain developer Ava Labs recently as part of its efforts to target significant expansion within India. Earlier this year, the company collaborated with China’s Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing subsidiary of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group, assisting with the building of a launchpad that will enable the deployment of metaverses.The partnership between IEEE and Zupple Labs is poised to bring about the issuance of numerous tamper-proof engineering credentials in India. This collaboration underscores the growing acceptance of blockchain in education credentialing, setting a powerful precedent for broader participation in the Web3 landscape.In an interview, Martis expressed the flexibility of their approach, stating:“We would be experimenting with new platforms as additional parallel settlement layers as suitable new tech emerges.”This reflects an openness to exploring evolving blockchain technologies while maintaining a commitment to ensuring the immutability, longevity and security of the solutions.The IEEE-Zupple Labs collaboration aligns with the trend of blockchain integration in educational and professional spheres, offering a glimpse into the future of secure and efficient credentialing systems. As the second-largest membership base outside the United States, India plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of blockchain adoption within professional associations like IEEE.

At the Foresight 2024 Hong Kong Summit on Aug. 11, Gary Tiu, director and head of regulatory affairs for OSL, a crypto market custodian, exchange and prime brokerage, outlined in a panel discussion that the crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) market in the Chinese autonomous territory is challenged insofar as it lacks market incentives.Photo by Cecelia Chang on UnsplashThe intermediary problemTiu’s company hosted the event, alongside Foresight News and crypto publication The Block, who reported on Tiu’s comments. The OSL executive said that when it comes to funds and structured products in Hong Kong, there’s a “very rich layer of intermediaries— brokers, banks, private banks, retail banks, etc.” involved. Tiu explained that they make a lot of money from the distribution of such products, resulting in unlisted products being marketed far more effectively by comparison with listed products. It’s against that backdrop of misaligned incentives that Tiu identifies challenges for crypto ETFs on the public markets in Hong Kong. He stated: “So I think the incentive system in Hong Kong is one of the reasons why ETFs do have a bit of a hard time growing as a financial instrument.” In the case of ETFs, the OSL executive explained that equity brokers take just a few basis points in commission, only about 1-2% of what they make on the sale of structured products. Bias against Bitcoin and EtherTiu is also of the belief that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether have a reputational problem among Hong Kong’s investment community, stating: “I think there is still a bit of a bias in the eyes of the regulators and also in the eyes of the financial institutions, that somehow bitcoin ETF is just this unique class of risk that you need to be extra cautious about.” Chen Zhao, who heads up the digital assets section of Hong Kong-based independent financial advisory firm Fosun Wealth, chimed in with his own concerns. According to Zhao, the crypto ETF products currently marketed in Hong Kong are lacking in terms of the depth of dealers and brokers offering the products. Zhao explained that there are three main types of market participant active on the Hong Kong markets, namely western institutions, Hong Kong-based institutions and their counterparts from mainland China.  Zhao stated: “Chinese brokers and dealers, they’re not allowed or they choose not to deal with the product, and for the western financial institutions, they don’t have the necessity of dealing the products because they acquire more fees and incentives, and have easier access to the U.S. ETFs.” While progress is far more modest by comparison with the U.S. market, the Hong Kong crypto ETF market continues to develop, with spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs setting a record trading volume last week. In the same week, Mox Bank, a subsidiary of British banking multinational Standard Chartered, launched trading services relative to spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products in Hong Kong. Last month, OSL CEO Patrick Pan, anticipated that an Ethereum ETF product that incorporated staking would launch in Hong Kong within six months. Many commentators have suggested that institutional interest in Ethereum ETFs will begin in earnest once a yield-producing staking product hits the market.