Steven Stoneberg, CEO of digital asset exchange Bittrex Global, said Dubai is well positioned to take advantage of the growing cryptocurrency market in the Middle East, as regulators Steps forward to accept blockchain-based technologies.
The UAE and Dubai are doing all the right things, and will attract a lot of regional initiatives, Stoneberg added, adding: The country is a great place to set up a unique digital project, or to do an exchange activity. Cryptocurrencies, backed by their being a tax haven, too, according to Bloomberg.
Dubai, the region's financial hub, has already taken several steps to boost the use of blockchain within the city in recent months, and Stoneberg expects Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds as well to allocate investments for the Blockchain sector.
The Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority signed an agreement last May with the Securities and Commodities Authority, to support the regulation, display and trading of crypto assets within the free zone.
The DMCC Free Zone opened a blockchain-based sugar exchange last year, and a Nasdaq Dubai-listed Bitcoin fund was launched in June, the first of its kind. Its kind in the region.
Stonberg stated that Dubai will do fantastically well in this area by embracing cryptocurrencies, expecting that his police, Bittrex, will have a wide presence in the market, and more customers in area.
Stoneberg considered that much of the institutional money, which goes into Bitcoin and Ethereum, is probably the real driver of the market.
