OKX expands Middle East presence through Dubai license approval

Incheon Joins Hands with The Sandbox to Promote City in the MetaverseIncheon Metropolitan City is partnering with global metaverse platform The Sandbox to create innovative marketing content aimed at promoting its urban landscape within the virtual realm and establishing an overseas promotional network. This move makes it the first South Korean public institution to work with a metaverse platform.Photo by Jiho Choi on UnsplashThe Sandbox’s virtual worldBuilt on the Ethereum blockchain, The Sandbox enables users to employ non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for creating play-to-earn (P2E) games that can be monetized. The ecosystem’s utility token, SAND, facilitates this mechanism as it is used for in-game purchases. Currently, the platform boasts one of the highest cumulative NFT collection volumes among virtual world projects on the world’s largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea. It has also formed partnerships with over 400 entities around the world.City marketing strategyThrough this collaboration, Incheon plans to develop and introduce engaging content for users to experience the city virtually, such as a variety of events. Furthermore, the city also intends to utilize its intellectual property (IP) for activities such as NFT donation campaigns and metaverse creator training programs to implement extensive NFT content within The Sandbox’s virtual world.“We plan to continually develop content that enables people around the world to experience Incheon through our collaboration with the global metaverse platform,” said Lee Se-woong, Head of Incheon’s City Branding Division.

Korean Government Explores Methods for Reporting Statistics on CryptoLee Hyoung-il, the head of South Korea’s national statistics agency, Statistics Korea (KOSTAT), said that the organization is currently exploring methods for reporting national statistics related to virtual assets. His comments came during an audit hearing held Thursday (local time) by the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly.Photo by Алекс Арцибашев on UnsplashCryptocurrency surveysKOSTAT initiated its study into cryptocurrencies in 2022 and subsequently conducted a second survey in April this year to better understand the distribution of cryptocurrency holdings among the Korean population.Commissioner Lee emphasized the importance of enhancing the linkage and utilization of statistical data. He mentioned that the agency would combine statistical registration records with private credit information to conduct in-depth analysis of the characteristics of household debt for all households.Supporting national and municipal policiesLee also stated that KOSTAT is dedicated to creating statistical data to support policies at both the national and municipal levels. Specifically, the agency intends to formulate statistics to assess social mobility and to conduct a survey on the costs of educating young children next year.

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.”