The city of Abu Dhabi is looking to attract more Web3 with its latest initiative. The initiative is a partnership between two of the city’s agencies—Access Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO)—and Web3 identity and NFT domain name service provider, Unstoppable Domains.
According to a press release, all women living in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi are to be given a free digital currency, NFT, and blockchain domain name when they sign up on the platform. The initiative aims to get more female participants in Web3, the next iteration of the internet.
The initiative was unveiled during a reception for delegates from “Women in Web 3,” a group of tech entrepreneurs from the United States. Speaking at the event, Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director-General of ADIO, highlighted that the initiative would greatly empower women.
“Abu Dhabi is ensuring the future of Web3 is built around a powerful infrastructure that appeals to all members of the community. By supporting initiatives that invite and uplift women, we can champion diversity early in the Web3 era,” he said.
ADIO is the government hub responsible for attracting and facilitating investment in the Emirate. By its estimate, at present, only about 5-7% of market participants in the digital currency market are women. Similarly, only 12% of blockchain industry participants are women.
Abu Dhabi and the UAE gunning to become digital currency hubs
Aside from this initiative, Abu Dhabi has been looking to become a global digital currency hub. The city has been rolling out regulations and setting up oversight bodies to help achieve this. The financial free zone is also looking to provide regulatory clarity for other aspects of the digital assets market. The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) proposed regulations for the blooming NFT market back in February.
Abu Dhabi’s enthusiastic embrace of the digital assets market is reflected in other member cities of the UAE. The country’s digital assets firms licensing regime has seen the local digital currency market skyrocket by 1500% in trading volume.
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