Dubai Free Zone Becomes First UAE Government Entity to Accept Bitcoin

A government-owned entity in Dubai has started accepting bitcoin, ether and tether as payment for its services, according to local media reports. Kiklabb is a free trade zone that helps companies set up shop in Dubai, a wealthy city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Kiklabb issues trade and other licenses as well as processes visas. The entity also leases office space to its customers on-board the Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise liner anchored at Port Rashid in Dubai. Payments for these and other services can now be made in bitcoin (BTC), the Gulf News reported on Feb. 16. Tasawar....

Dubai authorities continue driving more adoption to the cryptocurrency industry by pushing more regulatory approvals. Financial regulators in the United Arab Emirates have reached an arrangement to officially allow and support cryptocurrency trading in an economicfree zone in Dubai.The Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) announced Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) to support the regulation and trading of crypto assets within the DWTCA free zone.The new initiative establishes a framework enabling the DWTCA to issue....

Months after rolling out its first collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the Dubai Police has said it will launch the next collection at the 2022 edition of The Gulf Information Technology Expo (GITEX). People from outside the country will also get a chance to own the next Dubai Police NFT collection. First Government Entity in UAE to Mint NFTs Dubai Police is set to roll out its next collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) just months after the initial collection saw nearly 23 million people show an interest in acquiring them, a report has said. According to the report, the law....

Another government-backed project in Dubai aims to set up an attractive environment for the crypto industry. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to emerge as one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdictions as the government of Dubai has a new initiative to support local crypto development and regulation.The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), a government-owned event and exhibition venue in Dubai, will become a comprehensive zone and regulator of cryptocurrencies, products, operators and exchanges, DWTC officially announced Dec. 20. As part of the initiative, the DWTC....

In a significant endorsement of blockchain technology, the underlying innovation of bitcoin, the Dubai government will see of its documents on a blockchain. The government of Dubai will see all of its documents on a blockchain by the year 2020. The announcement was made via the Dubai Media Office’s official social media account, citing Hamdan bin Mohammed, the hereditary Prince to the crown of Dubai. Furthermore, the Prince revealed that Dubai will also be executing all its transactions on a blockchain by 2020, as a part of a new program called the “Dubai Blockchain Strategy.” Under the....