- The Coinbase CEO will hold meetings with politicians and regulators
- There are currently about 500 startups based in Dubai
- And more than 11% of the population owns cryptocurrency
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said that the United Arab Emirates could serve as an international crypto hub for the Middle East as well as parts of Africa and Asia.
The exchange’s co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong said he and his team will hold a series of meetings this week with policymakers, regulators, partners, web3/crypto founders and customers.
Armstrong will also speak at the first Dubai Fintech Summit.
“Crypto and web3 are huge economic and technology diversification opportunities for the UAE, the region has the potential to become a strategic hub for Coinbase,” Brian said.
The Coinbase statement said the UAE has a great chance to become an international hub because it is home to about 500 startups and over 11 percent of the population owns digital assets.
Company aims to attract 1 billion users to cryptocurrencies. To that end, Coinbase launched an international futures exchange last week.
The company believes the Arab Emirates will help reach its goal of 1 billion users, and here’s why:
- More than 85% of the UAE’s population is foreign and the country is the world’s second largest remitter;
- The UAE is the sixth largest cross-border wealth management center;
- About $500 billion of individually invested wealth from residents of other countries is stored in the UAE.
“The region is a leader in developing the web3 ecosystem, making it an attractive place to invest.
It’s too early to say, this is the first time we’ve visited the region, but it certainly won’t be our last visit,” Coinbase said in a statement.