In a recent interview with Forkast, Citi’s Global Head of Banking, FinTech & Digital Assets, Ronit Ghose, hinted that Dubai could be a global crypto hub.
According to Ghosh, when it comes to developing crypto policy, a top-down approach is assisting Dubai in being the go-to destination for the business when it comes to opening up shop in the emirate.
Ghosh said,
“You had very clear messages top down from the rulers of the country that we’re going to try to regulate this,”
When it comes to crypto service providers relocating their businesses, Dubai and its neighboring emirate of Abu Dhabi have been on a roll.
According to recent talks, the co-founders of Binance-backed Indian crypto exchange WazirX recently relocated to Dubai. Crypto.com and Bybit have opened offices in the United Arab Emirates, with Binance receiving cryptocurrency licenses in Dubai just days after FTX.
Why are crypto firms moving to Dubai?
About Dubai’s crypto friendliness, Ghosh says,
“There’s a pro-future or a pro-technology agenda. Larger economies, larger systems, they’re like oil tankers … and these are small places that, like a startup or a speedboat, can move faster.”
It also helps that, in comparison to some other nations, starting a business in Dubai is very simple, according to Ghose. He says,
“I’m talking generically compared to many countries. You can just look at the stats, the number of days, the number of hours spent…So the process of incorporating a business is relatively easy.”
Despite the fact that it is still early in the process, Ghose believes it is more streamlined than in prior years.
Additionally, according to a study by Checkout.com, about 54% of people in the UAE and Saudi Arabia believe that crypto should be utilized as currency rather than only as an “investment asset.” This ratio is nine percentage points higher than the global average of 45 percent, according to the study’s findings.