In the Muslim world, Eidiya remains a beloved tradition that unites families. This year there was a twist, with thousands of Muslims in the United Arab Emirates who presented their loved ones with digital assets.
Eidiya is a tradition of giving gifts to family members to celebrate EID al-Fitr holiday. While cash Gifts are the most common, some also gift toys and sweets for the younger family members. According to a report from a local outlet, however, many in the United Arab Emirates switched to digital asset gifts this year as adoption in the Middle East Nation Skyrockets.
Economy The Middle East reports that many who chose to gift digital assets described them as future -oriented gifts whose value would increase in the future.
“Gift digital assets This eid not only honors the tradition but also gives recipients an effort in the growing digital economy,” Bitpandas Nadeem Ladki told the outlet.
The United Arab Emirates has become a digital hub in recent years. According to the chain analysis, the country’s regulatory clarity has been the largest deviation, with regional supervisory authorities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi which makes it easier to license a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in the two cities than in most jurisdictions globally. A separate report from British consulting company Henley & Partners ranked uae third globally For adoption, with only Singapore and Hong Kong ranked higher.
The country is now reaping the benefits of its enabling policy. Economy The Middle East reports that the 50 best digital asset apps received 15 million downloads in the past year in the United Arab Emirates, an increase of 41% from year to year. Of these, 3.5 million were only in January this year. Experts projects that almost 40% of UAE inhabitants will have digital assets at the end of this year, an outstanding increase that would rank the country first globally by the population holding digital assets.
Last year, the United Arab Emirates attracted over $ 30 billion in digital assets. This is not meaningful performance; For context, in 2023, the country raised $ 30.4 billion in total foreign direct investment.
In addition to the United Arab Emirates, the rest of the Middle East has seen rapid growth in the assumption in recent years. Combined with North Africa (together as MENA), the region raised $ 339 billion in digital assets during the year ending June 2024, the chain analysis revealed. This accounted for 7.5% of the total global volume. Turkey remained the dominant power of $ 137 billion in inflows and ranked the 11th global for adoption.
However, data showed that the region’s digital asset activity is dominated by institutional operations. Transactions valued at $ 10,000 or more accounted for over 90% of the volume.
United Arab Emirates to launch Digital Dirham in the fourth quarter
While adoption of digital assets floating, the UAE central bank marches with its Central Bank digital currency (CBDC) Initiative. According to a local report, the bank intends to launch Digital Dirham before the end of the year.
When he spoke during the launch of new symbols for the national currency, Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama revealed that the central bank is aimed at a fourth quarterly launch. Residents will have access to CBDC through licensed institutions such as banks and fintechs.
The top bank will also release one Digital wallet for both individuals and merchants. The wallet will support payments, cross-border transfers, withdrawals, top-ups and redemption.
Crucially the digital dirham network will involve Blockchain technology.
“It is expected that digital dirham as a blockchain-based platform with groundbreaking capacity will significantly improve financial stability, inclusion, resilience and fight financial crime,” commented the governor, as reported of the local newspaper Khaleej Times in English.
“It will further enable the development of innovative digital products, services and new business models while reducing the cost and increases access to international markets.”
The United Arab Emirates would be the first in the Middle East to start a CBDC, and while a few countries have launched digital currencies globally, it would be the first high -income economy to take the step.
The country would also receive a trend where advanced economies have turned away from retail to wholesale CBDC. A report from Bank for International Settlements (BIS) last year revealed that only 27% of developed countries were interested in retail CBDC; However, 81% drive proof of concepts with a wholesale CBDC.
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