Welcome to this week’s Fortune Gulf Brief. We’ll be covering:
- Abu Dhabi lands Coinbase’s big tokenization bet
- Qatar is building EVs made for the Gulf’s scorching heat
- Gulf tourism faces an uneven recovery
- Straitened times for Gulf energy exports
In a major coup for Abu Dhabi, crypto exchange giant Coinbase has chosen the emirate as its “international tokenization hub” as it looks to bring more traditional financial assets onto the blockchain.
Coinbase, the U.S.’s largest crypto exchange, will be based out of Abu Dhabi Global Marketplace (ADGM), from where it has been granted a license to arrange deals in investments and securely hold digital assets to facilitate the launch of tokenized securities. These will be backed by real shares and issued under ADGM’s regulatory framework.
Investors will also be able to hold the assets in digital wallets, eliminating the need for a brokerage account or a correspondent banking relationship.
“This is the most significant step we have taken yet toward building the infrastructure for a more open, more accessible global financial system,” the crypto exchange said in a statement announcing the decision last week.
Abu Dhabi is keen to become a major player in that shift. In 2018, ADGM issued one of the world’s first regulatory frameworks for virtual assets.
The new hub forms part of Coinbase’s wider expansion in the UAE. The company already runs Project Diamond in Abu Dhabi, which focuses on digital debt for institutional investors, while its derivatives business is based in Dubai.
More broadly, the Gulf has been leveraging its sovereign wealth funds to invest in tokenization.
Global consulting firm Kearney predicts that close to $500 billion of GCC assets will be represented on blockchain by 2030, led by private markets, funds, and bank deposits.
You can read my full piece here on how the UAE is building its tokenization industry.
Melissa Hancock
As ever, thanks for reading, and do keep in touch with your thoughts and ideas. See you next week.
melissa.hancock@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
