Ornella Hernandez

<div id="highlights-block_627e8d88d2ee3" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Emirates is onboarding new staff to manage metaverse and NFT projects</li>
 <li>Emirates COO Adel Ahmed Al Redha revealed the news at the Arabian Travel Market</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Emirates, the largest airline in the United Arab Emirates, announced its intention to add bitcoin as a payment option and to make NFT collectibles tradable on the company’s website. 



The Dubai-headquartered airline also hopes to use blockchain technology in tracing aircraft records, as <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2079876/business-economy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a> by Emirates’ chief operating officer Adel Ahmed Al Redha in a media gathering held at international travel trade show, the Arabian Travel Market. 



The COO did not say when the new features would be available but revealed plans to recruit new employees who will focus on implementing and managing crypto payments, blockchain tracking, metaverse and NFT (non-fungible token) projects. 



He added that these blockchain-related plans are part of the carrier’s strategy to better “monitor customer needs” and make operations, training and website sales more “interactive” processes. 



Emirates first made public in April its <a href="https://www.emirates.com/media-centre/emirates-to-launch-nfts-and-experiences-in-the-metaverse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">plan</a> to spend “tens of millions of dollars” on a strategy to extend its services to the metaverse and to develop collectible and utility-based NFTs, with a launch anticipated in the upcoming months.&nbsp;



As more Dubai-based businesses embrace blockchain and crypto, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has also made its official foray into the metaverse. The cryptocurrency regulator recently <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/dubais-crypto-regulator-buys-land-in-the-metaverse-for-headquarters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acquired land in The Sandbox metaverse</a> with plans to establish a virtual headquarters, or “MetaHQ.”



A number of other airlines already accept cryptocurrency as payment. Latvian airline airBaltic was the world’s first to accept bitcoin payments for its flight tickets back in 2014. It now <a href="https://www.airbaltic.com/en/airbaltic-bitcoin-payments-extended-by-various-crypto-currencies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">also accepts ether and dogecoin</a>.&nbsp;



In October 2021, El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/volaris-el-salvador-set-accept-bitcoin-2021-10-19/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced</a> the Central American nation’s low-cost airline Volaris would accept bitcoin, but that plan has not yet been implemented.

Emirates Airline To Accept Bitcoin Payments and Launch NFT Collection

Casey Wagner

<div id="highlights-block_62717216df8e7" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>VARA did not provide details about when MetaHQ will be accessible to users or information about the cost of the digital land</li>
 <li>The US is also expanding its crypto regulatory presence by adding 20 positions to its SEC watchog unit</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Dubai’s cryptocurrency regulator has become the first such national watchdog to acquire land in the metaverse with plans to establish a virtual headquarters.



Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) will create its “MetaHQ” using The Sandbox metaverse platform, according to a Tuesday <a href="https://www.wam.ae/en/details/1395303044162" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a> from VARA to the WAM news agency.&nbsp;



MetaHQ plans to provide digital users access to regulatory resources within the virtual environment, something that will become increasingly important as digital presence increases, the statement said.&nbsp;



&#8220;By expanding VARA’s resources to a borderless audience through the Metaverse, Dubai is creating a prototype Decentralised Regulator Model, inviting international thought leaders &#8211; global authorities, governance custodians, and industry shapers &#8211; to participate, exchange knowledge, and problem-solve collectively so that we enable the dynamic virtual assets sector to build economic resilience, accelerate social inclusion, and address environmental sustainability,” Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in the statement.&nbsp;



The development comes as the United States likewise moves to increase regulatory oversight of digital assets — albeit in the physical world.



The SEC <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-78" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">announced Tuesday</a> that it will be adding 20 members to the unit responsible for protecting investors in crypto markets and from cyber-related threats.&nbsp;



The newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, formerly known as the Cyber Unit, will now have 50 team members, including the new hires, the SEC said.&nbsp;



&#8220;The U.S. has the greatest capital markets because investors have faith in them, and as more investors access the crypto markets, it is increasingly important to dedicate more resources to protecting them,&#8221; SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement.&nbsp;



The new SEC positions will focus on regulating cryptocurrency exchanges, lending and staking, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and more.



VARA did not provide details about when MetaHQ will be accessible to users or information about the cost of the digital land.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Dubai’s Crypto Regulator Buys Land in the Metaverse for Headquarters

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_623202b2af123" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Dubai revealed its first cryptocurrency legislation proposal last week</li>
 <li>Competing exchange FTX was also recently granted a license to operate in the region</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Binance was granted a virtual asset license by Dubai’s regulator as the crypto exchange seeks to expand further in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).&nbsp;



Under the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), Binance will be allowed to offer limited exchange products and services to pre-qualified investors and professional financial service providers, the company announced Wednesday.



VARA will monitor its licensed service providers to determine if they may open to the retail market.



Changpeng Zhao, founder and CEO of Binance, called Dubai a “progressive regime” targeting uncompromised governance and market security.



“The collaborative way in which Binance has been engaged to bring proven industry compliance-leading experience to the Dubai ecosystem is indicative of the unique operating model that the VARA is creating for the global industry,&#8221; he said in a statement.



The company is hiring engineers, as well as roles in sales, compliance, human relations and talent acquisition in the UAE, job postings on Binance’s website indicate.



A Binance spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Binance’s move into Dubai comes after the emirate last week <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/dubai-is-the-latest-government-to-roll-out-crypto-law-set-up-regulator/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed its first cryptocurrency legislation</a>, overseen by a new regulatory agency. The 56-page <a href="https://dfsaen.thomsonreuters.com/sites/default/files/net_file_store/CP143_Regulation_of_Crypto_Tokens.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proposal</a>, released by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), focuses on “crypto tokens,” but excludes non-fungible tokens (NFTs), central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and utility tokens.



&#8220;The new VARA is symbolic of Dubai&#8217;s confidence in the potential of this future economy driver — if introduced with prudence and legitimacy,” Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, said in a statement. “To this end, our regime is structured to catalyze collaboration, foster innovation and most critically secure public interest.”



Crypto exchange FTX <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-granted-crypto-license-with-dubai-hq-in-sights/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">was granted a license</a> to operate within the emirate, Bloomberg reported Monday, and the company will now seek to establish a regional headquarters in the city of Dubai.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.

Binance Granted License To Operate in Dubai

<div id="highlights-block_6228de67b8c9b" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Dubai Financial Services Authority reveals report on crypto token regulation</li>
 <li>Proposal calls for “privacy tokens” and “algorithmic tokens” to be banned</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Dubai has revealed its first cryptocurrency legislation, overseen by a new regulatory agency.



“The future belongs to whoever designs it,” Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum wrote in a tweet Wednesday, translated to English. “Today, through the virtual assets law, we seek to participate in the design of this new and rapidly growing global sector. Our step is a leap towards the future aimed at developing this sector and protecting all investors in it.” 



The 56-page <a href="https://dfsaen.thomsonreuters.com/sites/default/files/net_file_store/CP143_Regulation_of_Crypto_Tokens.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proposal</a>, released by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) Wednesday, focuses on crypto tokens and follows an October report on digital tokens.



The proposed law focuses on “crypto tokens,” which does not include <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/the-investors-guide-to-nfts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">non-fungible tokens</a> (NFTs), central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and utility tokens, including play-to-earn gaming tokens with “non-financial” uses.



“We are proposing to exclude NFTs from the scope of our current proposals on the basis there is no Financial Service being provided,” the report said. “However, this comes with a strong caveat that this exemption will depend on the characteristics of the NFT and its function, and not what terminology or marketing terms are used.”



The Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law calls for the ban of “privacy tokens,” designed to obscure token holders and trading patterns, and “algorithmic tokens,” which interfere with supply and demand to control price.



The proposal is currently in the public consultation and amendment phase. The next step is to submit it to higher government authorities for approval.



The final version of the law will be made public once it is complete.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Subscribe to the Empire newsletter</a>.