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UAE’s high stakes crypto bet poised for crucial test as Bitcoin rebounds

A logo of the digital currency Bitcoin is pictured on an ATM in a mall in Hong Kong on November 1, 2022. - In contrast to mainland China where crypto has been all but banned, Hong Kong is looking to relax regulations and claw back some of the business that has left and is exploring whether to legalise crypto trading by retail investors. (Photo by Peter PARKS / AFP) (Photo by PETER PARKS/AFP via Getty Images)
To:

Al-Monitor Readers

From:

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst, Al-Monitor

Date:

April 10, 2024

Bottom Line:

A UAE wealth fund is capitalizing on the downfall of disgraced cryptocurrency exchange FTX: a March 22 court filing revealed that a Mubadala-linked investment firm had struck a deal to buy a roughly $500 million stake that the bankrupt crypto company holds in the artificial intelligence startup Anthropic. Alongside demonstrating another big money Gulf bet on AI opportunities, this underlines how the UAE continues riding the ups and downs of the volatile crypto industry. Despite turbulence, the UAE continues serving as a friendly jurisdiction for crypto as others crackdown — most recently evidenced by Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com announcing on April 9 that it received full operational approval from Dubai’s crypto regulator. With Bitcoin’s price rebounding, the UAE could be primed to reap rewards after gambling on the scandal-plagued industry.