Saudi Arabia and the UAE have joined forces and begun further steps into the cryptocurrency world by launching their own public crypto coin.
Based on media reports this week from the UAE’s official news agency, Emirates News Agency, the Saudi-Emirati cryptocurrency is one of the seven initiatives that will be implemented in both countries.
The new coin is not for the public, rather it is a way for national and local banks to transfer money between each country. The new cryptocurrency will be the two nations first venture into cryptocurrency and will, they hope, give them a greater understanding of digital money for the future.
An excerpt from the announcement reveals more about the workings of the coin:
“The virtual currency relies on the use of a distributed database between the central banks and the participating banks from both sides. It seeks to safeguard customer interests, set technology standards and assess cybersecurity risks. The project will also determine the impact of a central currency on monetary policies.”
The joint cryptocurrency project will also look at the effect of a central currency on financial policies.
UAE – Home of Crypto?
This recent initiative is not the first foray for the two countries into the crypto world:
“In December 2018, UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) recognized ICO tokens as securities. It was also announced that they were working on a regulatory framework to be released in mid-2019.”
CNN
Furthermore, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, has begun a blockchain strategy that looks to transfer all government documents on a blockchain by 2020.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai’s tweet.
The UAE has also seen lots of crypto companies look to invest as they see the nation as the new hub for crypto with its open-minded attitude to digital currency and relatively lax regulations. Huobi has opened offices there and the UAE plans to launch a cross-border payment service in partnership with RippleNet in 2019.
With nations like Belarus, Thailand, Japan and now the UAE and Saudi Arabia now jumping on the crypto train, it appears that Asia is the main continent for digital currency! Let’s hope this sparks more adoptions of a cryptocurrency for nations, who knows where this could be in twenty years time.
