Blockchain is key to eliminating identity, credential fraud: Dr. Mohamed Al Hemairy on CoinGeek Backstage

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The Middle East’s blockchain ecosystem is buzzing and setting the trend for other regions to emulate. On the sidelines of the AIBC Dubai summit, one of the people spearheading this effort, Dr. Mohamed Al Hemairy, joined CoinGeek Backstage to talk about his new role as an advisory council member for the BSV Blockchain Association and how blockchain can fight fraud.

While most of the Middle East is hot for blockchain, Dubai is the undisputed leader. As Al Hemairy told CoinGeek’s Becky Liggero, the city proves that blockchain can be used to better the world for the human race and not just for the hype and quick bucks.

Al Hemairy is the head of the technology transfer office at the University of Sharjah. He was also recently appointed to the advisory board for the BSV Blockchain Association, alongside the likes of IPv6 Forum President Latif Ladid.

In his new role, he plans to “increase awareness about blockchain and also to advise about what will be the future of this technology, what applications it can serve.” He added that a future of the metaverse and NFTs is coming, and he believes BSV can play a critical role in underpinning this future.

The University of Sharjah is banking on the BSV blockchain to verify academic credentials and get rid of fake certificates and degrees. This industry of counterfeit credentials is reported to be worth billions and growing.

And as Al Hemairy told CoinGeek Backstage, “utilizing the blockchain can really help solve this issue and take out fake IDs.” He believes that governments in the Middle East and beyond could issue a unified ID on the blockchain that will be easily verifiable, drastically cutting down fraud and related crime.

The academic also delved into the metaverse, an area that has blown up over the past two years. And while there have been many use cases of this virtual world that has been proposed, from immersive marketing to gaming to social interactions, Al Hemairy sees one more use case—preserving culture.

According to him, culture is being easily lost and forgotten in a wave of new technology, globalization, and more. The metaverse can allow the current generation to preserve its traditions for future generations, especially for the Islamic community, which he believes has many traditions worth preserving.

Watch: AIBC Dubai 2022 highlights: Akon, play to earn games & using blockchain tech to do good