Within Abu Dhabi’s free economic zone, a brand-new entity focused on blockchain and cryptocurrencies has been established. The group intends to support crypto and blockchain growth throughout Asia, North Africa, and the Middle East.
The Formation Of MEAACBA
The Middle East, Africa, and Asia Crypto & Blockchain Association (MEAACBA) has been established. MEAACBA was formed on November 8 at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). In the heart of the city’s commercial core lies the ADGM, a free economic zone. However, the area is bound by a unique set of civil and business laws. Financial technology (fintech) firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the focus of this special economic zone.
The non-profit group will try to facilitate regulatory solutions, according to the material on its website. The company will also endeavor to develop business opportunities and make educational investments. Jehanzeb Awan will lead the board of directors, and the company’s headquarters are in Dubai. Awan is the founder of a global risk and compliance consulting firm.
Other supporters of the organization include Richard Teng, Stuart Isted, and Ola Doudin. Teng oversees the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area for the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. Isted oversees operations for the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com throughout the Middle East and Africa. Doudin is the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange BitOasis.
Awan hoped the firm would benefit from this unique and vibrant location. He aims for a cooperative, community-based approach to foster industrial development in MENA. Awan continued by saying that the Association would help the region.
He stressed that it would provide a vehicle for collaboration between regulators, governmental organizations, banks, and advising, legal, and tax businesses to solve the most urgent concerns. As a result, the industry could tackle the fundamental problems more successfully, he said.
MEAACBA Will Comply with The Financial Services Regulatory Authority
Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, the chairman of ADGM, also commented. He said MEAACBA’s entry would contribute to developing a more “progressive financial sector” in the region. This was expressed in his announcement that MEAACBA will be affiliated with ADGM.
The free economic zone of ADGM is governed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). In September, the regulatory body released “Guiding Principles” to help the digital asset sector through the regulatory obstacles. These “Guiding Principles” are released concurrently with the founding of MEAACBA.
The ideas of the regulatory body are said to be “crypto-friendly.” Nevertheless, the ideas adhere to some strict international anti-money laundering standards (AML). Additionally, it complies with United Nations-established combating the funding of terrorism (CFT) guidelines.
A recent survey shows that the Middle East and North Africa have the fastest-growing cryptocurrency sectors. Over a year, $566 billion in transactions took place in the MENA region. This had a start date of July 2021 and an end date of June 2022. It was an increase of 48% over the previous 12-month period.
Cryptocurrencies are used in several of these emerging nations to protect savings. It is also used for remittance payments to control inflation in shaky economies.