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OKX Middle East Receives MVP Preparatory License From VARA in Dubai – Blockchain News, Opinion, TV and Jobs

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UAE to serve as strategic global and regional business hub, OKX to expand to 30 staff

OKX, the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume and a leading Web3 technology company, today announced that OKX Middle East Fintech FZE (OKX Middle East) has received a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) Preparatory license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

The UAE is a key strategic growth and business hub for OKX globally and in the region, and the company plans to scale OKX Middle East’s operations. As part of this effort, OKX has opened a new office in Dubai World Trade Center, and will seek to expand its number of Dubai staff to 30 with a focus on local hires and senior management. OKX also plans to extend its nine-figure brand partnerships to the UAE with customer and fan-focused activations and activities.

The MVP preparatory licence allows approved licensees to fulfill all pre-conditions required to undertake MVP operations within the VARA regime. Once licensed to be operational, OKX Middle East will be able to extend its approved suite of duly regulated virtual assets activities and will provide spot, derivatives, and fiat services, including USD and AED deposits, withdrawals and spot-pairs, to institutional and qualified retail customers.

OKX Global Chief Commercial Officer Lennix Lai said: “We’re thrilled to receive the MVP preparatory license from VARA. Regulated entities are the future of digital assets and capital markets and Dubai and VARA have succeeded in creating a unique environment where VASPs can thrive. With the expansion into a new office this year, we are focused on hiring local staff and senior management. The MENA region has incredible potential as a center of excellence for Web3 and virtual assets, we look forward to the opportunity to expand the already growing ecosystem across the region.”

OKX Global Head of Government Relations Tim Byun said: “Dubai and VARA are world leaders in crypto regulation by establishing the most timely, comprehensive and built from-the-ground-up framework for virtual assets and Web3. Licensing in Dubai is a critical element of OKX’s global regulatory compliance strategy. In today’s uncertain market environment, it’s of the utmost importance for VASPs to be highly secure, transparent, compliant and backed by strong, clear regulation. Under VARA’s comprehensive framework, all operators must meet high standards of compliance, risk management, security and consumer protection, benchmarked against well-known existing regulatory principles for traditional financial services. This provides confidence to operators and customers alike, and positions the crypto and Web3 industry in MENA for increased participation and overall growth in the near and long term.”

OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said: “We’ve been waiting to enter the UAE and we want people here to experience our products first hand. We’re different – we do things in a measured and transparent manner. May was our seventh consecutive month of publishing our proof of reserves, making us the only crypto exchange globally with that commitment. We’ve done that while out-innovating the industry in Web3 with our leading decentralized ecosystem. We’ve also launched numerous new security features while adding more depth in markets. This attitude is consistent with the brand partners who represent us, Manchester City Football Club, McLaren Racing, and the Tribeca Festival. We take our time, and do things the right way.”

For more information on OKX, please visit OKX.com.

OKX is a world-leading technology company building the future of Web3. Known as one of the fastest and most reliable crypto trading platforms for investors and professional traders everywhere, OKX’s crypto exchange is the second largest globally by trading volume and is trusted by more than 50 million users.

OKX’s leading self-custody solutions include the Web3-compatible OKX Wallet, which allows users greater control of their assets while expanding access to DEXs, NFT marketplaces, DeFi, GameFi and thousands of dApps.

OKX partners with a number of the world’s top brands and athletes, including: English Premier League champions Manchester City F.C., McLaren Formula 1, The Tribeca Festival, golfer Ian Poulter, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

OKX is committed to transparency and security and publishes its Proof of Reserves on a monthly basis.

Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority [VARA] is the world’s first specialized regulator for the Virtual Assets sector. Established in March 2022, following the effect of Law No.4 of 2022, VARA is the competent entity in charge of regulating, supervising, and overseeing VAs and VA activities in all zones across the Emirate of Dubai, including Special Development Zones and Free Zones but excluding the Dubai International Financial Centre.

VARA plays a central role in creating Dubai’s advanced legal framework to protect investors and establish international standards for Virtual Asset industry governance, while supporting the vision for a borderless economy.

This announcement is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide any investment, tax, or legal advice, nor should it be considered an offer to purchase, sell, or hold digital assets. Digital assets, including stablecoins, involve a high degree of risk, can fluctuate greatly, and can even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.

For more information on OKX, please visit OKX.com.

Contact

Marc Rognon
media@okx.com



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Justin Sun Says TRON Team Designing New Gas-Free Stablecoin Transfer Solution

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Justin Sun has announced that developers are now working on a stablecoin transfer solution that can function without gas fees on the TRON (TRX) network.

The crypto billionaire says the new service is set to roll out later this year, initially on TRON before expanding to Ethereum (ETH) and other EVM-compatible chains.

“Our team is developing a new solution that enables gas-free stablecoin transfers. In other words, transfers can be made without paying any gas tokens, with the fees being entirely covered by the stablecoins themselves.

This innovation will first be implemented on the Tron blockchain and later support Ethereum and all EVM-compatible public chains.

We anticipate launching this service in Q4 of this year. I believe that similar services will greatly facilitate large companies in deploying stablecoin services on the blockchain, elevating blockchain mass adoption to a new level.”

At time of writing, it’s unclear how the new service will be able to operate without gas fees.

Last month, market intelligence firm Lookonchain reported that the 24-hour trading volume of Tether’s USDT on TRON stood at $53 billion while payment giant Visa’s was only at $42 billion.

“The 24-hour trading volume of USDT on TRON Network is $53 billion, exceeding Visa’s average daily trading volume. Visa’s trading volume in Q1 2024 was $3.78 trillion and the average daily trading volume was $42 billion.”

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Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any cryptocurrencies or digital assets, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.

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Nigeria to focus on Blockchain and emerging tech with plans to deploy research centers 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Nigeria is looking to deploy research centers geared towards emerging technologies like Blockchain.

The initiative was announced by the NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuw, at the IoT West Africa Conference in Lagos. 

According to the director general, the research centers will focus on key technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), additive manufacturing, and robotics alongside blockchain tech.

The entities would be deployed across “six geo-political zones of Nigeria,” as per Inuwa.

Besides establishing these research units, the government would also aid Nigerian startups in scaling product development using these technologies. In this regard, innovation sandboxes would be leveraged to develop use cases and ultimately introduce these products to the market.

Amidst this backdrop, the NITDA has been training the nation’s populace via its 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program. By 2027, the government plans to equip three million Nigerians with the necessary skills to bolster its current initiatives.

As a broader implication, Inuwa expects a boost in foreign exchange remittances as individuals trained via these initiatives leave the country.

Shitij Taneja, managing director of Vertex Next, the organizers of the IoT West Africa conference, called Nigeria “Africa’s next Silicon Valley.” He believes that Nigeria’s large youth population and its dynamic startup ecosystem position it as a leading force.

“The reason we are hosting the IoT West Africa, which is co-located with Africa data center and cloud Expo Africa is because we see a lot of potential in the market and the growing number of youths that are working towards the development of technology.”

Taneja added that the conference also seeks to draw investors towards Nigerian startups.

Nigeria’s growing focus on emerging technologies has been quite evident over the past months. In May, the NITDA restructured the National Blockchain Policy Steering Committee (NBPSC) in a move to facilitate better implementation of its National Blockchain Policy.

The nation is also eyeing potential collaboration with the United States of America to explore the potential of AI and other emerging technologies. This is despite the nation’s recent legal tensions with the economic powerhouse involving a detained executive of crypto exchange Binance.

Per the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), a blockchain advocacy group, this development could lead to fragmented relations with global partners.



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Flare integrates LayerZero V2, connecting to 75 blockchains

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The cross-chain messaging platform LayerZero has integrated Flare, connecting the Layer 1 blockchain for data to 75 blockchain networks.

As announced on Wednesday, the integration means Flare can now connect to major blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Solana. The milestone also makes Flare accessible to multiple Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) networks, bringing over 50,000 decentralized applications (dApps) to Flare.

“This is an incredibly valuable integration for all users and builders on Flare. Deployment of LayerZero V2 will help accelerate Flare’s expansion, paving the way for builders to develop a wide variety of innovative interoperable products,” Flare co-founder Hugo Philion said.

Flare to benefit from LayerZero V2 integration

While the integration will also help any chain connect and leverage Flare’s decentralized data, there are numerous benefits to Flare.

Apart from Flare becoming a DVN on LayerZero V2, the integration also brings benefits such as secure connectivity to dApps, access to new users, and liquidity. Flare will also benefit from greater decentralization.

“Of great interest to me is the ability of LayerZero to help Flare facilitate a cross-chain money market, leveraging in addition, the integration on Flare of non smart contract tokens, such as BTC and XRP,” the Flare co-founder noted. “Other interesting angles are the ability of Flare builders to create omnichain fungible tokens or chain-agnostic NFTs. The opportunity for Flare to serve as a highly secure DVN on LayerZero V2 is of particular interest.”

LayerZero’s growing traction in crypto

Protocols leverage a key feature of LayerZero V2 – the modular security stack that allows protocols to confirm and validate cross-chain messages.

The technology behind this infrastructure is Decentralized Verifier Networks (DVNs), and networks can create their own DVNs to bolster security. Applications can also tap into LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token standard to drive DeFi growth.

LayerZero’s cross-chain messaging protocol has facilitated more than 134 million cross-chain messages and helped secure the bridging of over $50 billion in crypto.

For instance, LayerZero-based bridge protocol Stargate Finance recorded nearly $800 million worth of bridged assets in June alone.



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