Eric Trump returns to UAE to pitch crypto at Dubai conference

Eric Trump, who drew enthusiastic hoots and hollers in Abu Dhabi last December when he told the Bitcoin MENA conference that his dad would unleash the power of cryptocurrencies, returns to the UAE this week to kick off Dubai’s TOKEN2049 summit.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s 41-year-old second son promises to deliver another rousing address at the gathering, which starts on Wednesday, as crypto fever builds with the imminent issue of the UAE’s own dirham-denominated stablecoin.

ADQ, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, together with First Abu Dhabi Bank and International Holding Co., announced on Monday that the digital currency will be fully regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE to build investor confidence and lessen the uncertainty inherent to bitcoins and other blockchain-based money. No date was given for the UAE coin’s debut.

“The launch of the stablecoin marks a pivotal step in our commitment to strengthening the UAE’s digital infrastructure ecosystem,” said Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Managing Director and Group CEO of ADQ.

“As we move forward towards an increasingly digital and connected economy, the stablecoin will provide a solution that is secure, efficient and scalable, while creating new opportunities for growth and value creation,” he said.

Alongside Trump, the two-day TOKEN2049 event will draw top names in the crypto industry, including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao; OKX founder and CEO Star Xu; Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets; and Mathew McDermott, Head of Digital Assets for Goldman Sachs.

UAE crypto trading platform BitOasis sold to India’s CoinDCX

UAE virtual asset trading platform BitOasis has been bought for an undisclosed amount by India’s largest trading platform, CoinDCX.

Founded in 2016 by Ola Doudin, Tarek Kaylani and Daniel Robenek, BitOasis is MENA’s first and largest crypto asset exchange, available in 15 countries across the region for users to buy, hold and sell over 60 cryptocurrencies.

The company has processed over $6 billion in trading volume and raised more than $40 million in funding from CoinDCX and other investors including the UAE’s Wamda Capital; U.S. VC funds Jump Capitaland Pantera Capital; and Berlin-based Global Founders Capital.

CoinDCX will gain market entry into MENA with its acquisition, “capitalizing on its mature market and the population’s keen interest in crypto investment,” Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder of CoinDCX, said.

Startup exits are on the rise in the region. Forty-three were sold in 2023, up from 15 in 2015, according to funding platform Magnitt.