Middle East, Asia and Africa blockchain association launches in Abu Dhabi
A new blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused association has been launched within the Abu Dhabi Free Economic Zone that aims to promote the development of blockchain and crypto ecosystems in the Middle East, North Africa and Asian regions.
The Middle East, Africa and Asia Crypto & Blockchain Association (MEAACBA) was officially launched on November 8 in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), a free economic zone based in the center of the city subject to its own set of civil and commercial laws. The zone was designed to promote the growth of fintech companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The non-profit organization will aim to facilitate regulatory solutions, create commercial opportunities and invest in education to support industry growth, according to its website.
The association will be chaired by chairman Jehanzeb Awan, founder of an international risk and compliance consultancy headquartered in Dubai.
Others supporting the association include Binance’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional manager Richard Teng, Crypto.com’s Middle East and Africa GM Stuart Isted, and Ola Doudin, CEO of BitOasis, a cryptocurrency exchange in the region.
Awan said he hopes the organization will bring about a collaborative and community-based approach to further industrial growth in the MENA region and “create far-reaching benefits for this very dynamic and exciting space.”
“The industry will benefit from the association as it provides a coordination mechanism between regulators, government agencies, banks, legal, tax and advisory firms to address the most pressing challenges,” he added.
ADGM Chairman Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi also stated that MEAACBA’s addition would contribute to a much more “progressive financial sector” in the region.
Related: The UAE Web3 ecosystem houses nearly 1.5,000 active organizations: Report
MEAACBA’s launch comes as the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) – the financial regulator for ADGM’s free economic zone – published a set of “Guiding Principles” on its approach to navigating the regulatory complexities brought to it by the digital asset industry in September.
The principles are said to be “crypto-friendly” while still complying with some of the strict international Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CFT) standards of the United Nations.
The MENA region is also the fastest growing cryptocurrency market in the world according to a recent study. During a 12-month period from July 2021 to June 2022, transaction volume in MENA reached $566 billion, an increase of 48% from the previous 12 months.
The use case for cryptocurrencies in many of these emerging markets has come in the form of saving savings and remittances to counter the effects of inflation in highly volatile economies.
