Fasset and Copper to launch in UAE

Hello, and welcome to De.Nomics newsletter, your daily digest to stay ahead in the world of Web3 and decentralized technologies at a regional focus. Today, we have plenty of trending news and stories. So, get your cup of tea and some biscuits, and let’s go ahead.
If a friend forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe for free.

The Blends Briefs
TL’DR: Here’s a sneak peek into today’s newsletter

• FTX cleared to sell $873 Million in crypto trusts.

• Bitcoin Mining could mitigate climate change.

• Binance will cease support for its BUSD stablecoin on Dec. 15. 

• Fasset obtains an operational license in Dubai.

• Copper to start digital securities brokerage in Abu Dhabi.

Global Biscuits

FTX cleared to sell $873 Million in crypto trusts.
FTX, the collapsed crypto exchange, has received court approval to sell assets held in digital trusts from Grayscale and Bitwise. The assets, consisting of more than 32 million shares across various Grayscale trusts and the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund, are valued at nearly $873 million. The bankruptcy court's decision allows FTX's advisors to sell these trust shares to recover funds for repaying creditors, including the exchange's customers. Grayscale's trusts enable investors to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies without holding the underlying assets, and the court approval comes as part of FTX's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

Bitcoin Mining could mitigate climate change.
A study from researchers at Cornell University suggests that Bitcoin mining could help mitigate climate change by accelerating the transition to renewable energy. The study focused on planned renewable energy projects in the U.S., estimating the potential profit from Bitcoin mining during the pre-commercial development phase, where surplus energy is generated but not yet connected to the grid. The researchers recommended providing economic incentives, such as carbon credits, for environmentally friendly crypto mining. They also suggested incentivizing mining operations to reinvest profits into renewable infrastructure development, creating a self-sustaining cycle for clean energy expansion.

Binance will cease support for its BUSD stablecoin on Dec. 15.
Binance has announced that it will cease support for its BUSD stablecoin on December 15, following an earlier decision in August to gradually end its support. The move comes after Paxos, the entity that issued BUSD, was ordered to stop minting the stablecoin by regulators in February. While users can redeem BUSD until February 2024, withdrawals will be halted on December 31. Any remaining BUSD balances will be automatically converted to FDUSD, a stablecoin issued by FD121 Ltd. The current 24-hour trading volume for BUSD is just under $400 million, down from around $900 million in August.

Tastes of the regions

Fasset obtains an operational license in Dubai.
Fasset, a digital asset investment platform, has obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Dubai, allowing it to cater to institutional investors, qualified investors, and retail investors. The license enables Fasset to provide broker-dealer services and offer tokenized bonds and stocks in collaboration with Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). Fasset had previously announced zero-fee trades for users in six Gulf Region countries in 2020 and launched an operating system on the Ethereum blockchain dedicated to ethical financing of sustainable infrastructure. The company has secured licenses to operate in the European Union and launched in Indonesia in August 2023.

Copper to start digital securities brokerage in Abu Dhabi.
Copper, a cryptocurrency custody and trading firm, is set to launch a brokerage service for digital securities in Abu Dhabi early next year. The new entity, Copper Securities, is working with Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) to obtain the necessary approvals by early 2024. The move follows Copper's recent acquisition of Securrency Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based division of the Securrency tokenization platform. Copper's CEO, Dmitry Tokarev, referred to Abu Dhabi as "the capital of capital," highlighting the region's accumulation of institutional assets and its attractiveness to institutional clients.

Dictionomics:   BUSD Stable Coin

BUSD is a stablecoin that is backed by the U.S. dollar and issued by Paxos in partnership with Binance. It has a 1:1 exchange rate with the U.S. dollar and is regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). BUSD can be used for transactions, payments, settlement, and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on various blockchain platforms. BUSD provides users with price stability, transparency, and low fees.

That’s it for today. If you enjoyed it, forward this issue to your colleagues. If someone forwarded this email to you, subscribe for free here to receive our issues directly in your inbox. We are encouraging whistleblowers with evidence/ If you have any stories you think we should cover, please feel free to share them and write back to us.