According to Bloomberg News, crypto executives were found rubbing shoulders with the Emirati Royals, Instagram influencers, and Wall Street bankers.
In March, the festivities were organized by Binance Holdings Ltd, the de facto home of the United Arab Emirates, which is rapidly becoming a hub for digital currencies. Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the co-founder and chief executive officer, missed the event as he had just recovered from Coronavirus, however, throughout he was at the top of the mind of all the partygoers as people drew inspiration from him about how he grew from software developers to one of the world wealthiest people. Following leads from Zhao, many are heading to UAE, as he calls the “Wall Street of Crypto“.
Career pivots
In February, Vishal Sacheendran, a former banker at Bank of New York Mellon Corp, as the UAE-based director, MENA, was tapped by Binance. Robbie Nakarni, the firm’s senior counsel in Dubai, later joined that year after around ten years as a lawyer overlooking mergers and acquisitions. They are, however, far from alone.
Ahmed Ismail pivoted in 2017. He was a former banker at the Bank of America and worked at Jefferies in Dubai. He set up the HAYVN, an Abu Dhabi based investment bank dealing with digital currency, alongside Chris Flinos, a fellow BofA alum.
Bloomberg News also reports that Amir Tabch, a former global market head at the Emirates Investment Bank, is one of the recent individuals to have decamped. He has become the chief executive officer of DeFi brokerage Securrency Capital Abu Dhabi last June after spending 16 years in traditional banking. He said that he is planning to get more bankers onboard to bridge the gap between digital finance and traditional finance.
Due to rising inflation, more investors are compelled to consider investing in digital assets as a hedge. However, many that have joined in recently suffered steep losses. Since its peak last November, the largest digital currency globally, Bitcoin has a value that is half now.
Bloomberg News reports that the crypto-friendly norms of UAE, compared to the tightening policies, have made this jurisdiction a much sought-after destination. The authorities in the United Arab Emirates are, in the meantime, trying to strike a balance as they are promoting Dubai as a business-friendly environment that has made the place home to some of the largest financial firms in the world while simultaneously trying to manage concerns related to volatility and financial crime that haunts the crypto industry.
Crypto is also becoming one of the modes of payment for buying property and paying restaurant bills. According to Yehia Badawy, the co-founder of Rain, the crypto platform received principal approval in January from the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
