Dubai is positioning itself to benefit from digital currencies: Bittrex CEO

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Dubai has positioned itself to benefit greatly from the rapid growth of the digital currency market in the Middle East, an industry leader believes. The CEO of Bittrex Global, one of the world’s largest exchanges believes that the city is one of the best places to set up a digital currency business today.

Dubai has grown aggressively in the past decade and is one of the world’s most important cities today. And according to Bittrex Global CEO Stephen Stonberg, the city is becoming a prominent player in the world of blockchain and digital currencies.

In an interview with Bloomberg, he stated, “The United Arab Emirates and Dubai are doing all the right things and they’re going to attract a lot of regional projects. It’s a great place to set up your token project, or run a cryptocurrency exchange.”

The UAE is traditionally an oil-dependent economy, but in recent years, it has taken to tech adoption and innovation. Blockchain is now one of the technologies that the country is focusing on, and Dubai is the city where all the big moves are happening, Stonberg noted.

In April 2021, the Dubai economic department announced that it will be expanding its blockchain-powered Know Your Customer (KYC) tool for financial institutions. The tool, according to the government, accounts for over half of all KYC verifications in Dubai.

A month later, the Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority signed an agreement with the securities watchdog to allow citizens to trade digital currencies within the free zone. There’s also a blockchain-based sugar trading exchange as adoption surges.

Stonberg added, “I think Dubai is going to do fantastically well as it embraces cryptocurrencies.”

He expects Bittrex to continue expanding its presence in the region as he anticipates that more institutions are going to look to digital assets and blockchain technology in the near future.

Dubai’s adoption of blockchain technology stems from its boldness and readiness to venture into unknown territories, Dubai Blockchain Center CEO Marwan Alzarouini told CoinGeek’s Claire Celdran.

To foster the growth of BSV enterprise blockchain, Bitcoin Association launched the BSV Hub for the Middle East and South Asia (MESA). The hub “covers a whole range of activities to support the overall growth in understanding of BSV and hopefully use of BSV in this region as well as nurturing a whole new generation of Bitcoin professions,” Bitcoin Association Founding President Jimmy Nguyen remarked.

Watch: BSV Stories – Episode 4: The Middle East’s Blockchain Race