Crypto friendly regulation from GCC Central Banks creates an oasis for fintech and crypto innovation from regulatory storms at home

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Legislation is likely to effectively ban stablecoins USD Tether (USDT) and USDC by requesting stablecoins issuers to build up a sufficiently liquid reserve, with a 1/1 ratio and partly in the form of deposits which, USDT and USDC are unlikely to do. The legislations is also designed to make life tougher for crypto exchanges. In the US, regulators are trying to separate the bad actors in the crypto space — those actively committing fraud — from those who want to advance crypto and its market infrastructure, according to Dawn Stump, the former commissioner at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The Central banks of GCC countries on the other hand have made huge strides in lightly regulating crypto assets.

The Central Bank of the tiny gulf emirate of Bahrain (CBB) enacted banking regulations for digital assets allowing cryptocurrencies as an official method of payment since 2019. The CBB regulation allows banks in Bahrain to work with exchanges so that customers can withdraw and deposit their money easily. CBB launched FinHub 973, a virtual platform to allow fintech companies to test their solutions through the regulatory Sandbox and connect with the hub’s global network for funding and business opportunities. FinHub 973 is all about supporting innovation in the sector and is a good example of the driving forces behind the region’s shifting fintech landscape. The Saudi Central Bank and Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates have been working together to learn how the two banks can adopt blockchain and digital payments. Saudi Arabia's Financial Sector Development Program (FSDP) launched the Fintech Strategy Implementation Plan in June 2022 to make Riyadh a global Fintech hub. In contrast to their Gulf neighbours, Qatar currently has a ban on cryptocurrency trade with the exception of security tokens in 2020. In most other countries, digital assets fall under the jurisdiction of securities regulators, not central banks.

In Saudi Arabia, the fintech sector generated approximately $157.2 million in venture capital (VC) investments in the first eight months of 2021, up staggeringly from $7.8 million in 2020 and $18 million in 2019. In 2022, the Saudi VC market witnessed a record funding of $584 million in the first half, a 244 percent increase in comparison to the same period in 2021. Saudi Aramco's Prosperity7 Ventures, a one-billion-dollar Venture Capital fund aims to build on this success by identifying ground-breaking companies with exceptional leadership in diverse industries deploying disruptive technologies with the ability to scale and transform.

Skype finally freely available in UAE - NRIs and expats can now make free calls home

Skype has now finally been unblocked in the UAE and subscribers to internet suppliers in the UAE can now download skype and make free skype to skype calls as reported by Yahoo!Finance today. This feature will now allow expat families to stay better connected through free skype chat with family members in home countries.


The average UAE expat spends anywhere from US$20 to US$210 in monthly communication charges with family members in home countries and this unblocking of skype will help reduce communication costs to near zero.