The sudden failure of FTX has left many people questioning the impact this will have on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. For instance, it remains questio
The sudden failure of FTX has left many people questioning the impact this will have on the cryptocurrency ecosystem. For instance, it remains questionable whether or not crypto hotspots will continue to flourish or if there will be a decline in innovation.
While it may be too soon to fully understand the impact of the FTX collapse, industry leaders within crypto-friendly geographies believe that the FTX failure will not hamper innovation.
For example, Dubai — which has been dubbed as one of the most innovative regions for crypto and blockchain development — continues to see ecosystem activity. Most recently, The Algorand Foundation, the organization driving the growth of the Alogrand blockchain, hosted its second annual Decipher conference in Dubai. The event took place Nov. 29–30, just weeks after FTX former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down and announced bankruptcy.
While a number of discussions circulated around the collapse of FTX, Decipher still attracted more than 1,500 attendees from around the world. Staci Warden, CEO of Algorand Foundation, told Cointelegraph that the United Arab Emirates continues to be a burgeoning blockchain capital. “This is fueled by a strong talent base in the region, a deep culture of innovation, and a diverse, engaged community,” she said.
Even with Decipher’s impressive turnout, it’s been noted that the Crown Prince of Dubai has plans to invest $4 billion to help grow the region’s cryptocurrency ecosystem. This is expected to add 40,000 jobs to the UAE’s economy over the next five years, which is impressive given that the country is already home to more than 1,000 companies operating in the metaverse and blockchain sectors.
Nilesh Khaitan, Founder of AcmeDAO — a Dubai-based platform that helps decentralized applications transact on-chain — further told Cointelegraph that rumors that the FTX collapse is impacting crypto hotspots globally may not necessarily apply to Dubai. He said:
“It’s possible that Dubai’s crypto community has been unaffected in particular, or has even seen growth, due to increased regulatory uncertainty in other regions. Dubai may continue to see growth in its crypto community moving forward, particularly if the city offers a more attractive regulatory environment compared to other regions.”
While Khaitan remains optimistic about Dubai’s potential, he pointed out that the region still needs to focus on regulatory clarity between the UAE’s central bank and UAE Free Zone regions issuing crypto-specific licenses.
“This includes the establishment of a regulatory sandbox for crypto startups and entrepreneurs from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). These challenges could be overcome through unified, strategic efforts by the government to promote Dubai as a favorable destination for crypto businesses and innovation,” he said.
Other crypto hotspots within the Middle East have reported recent positive sentiment. For example, Tel Aviv, which is a known hub for startups, continues to focus heavily on developing the blockchain ecosystem as a whole.
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Or Dadosh, co-founder and CEO at Ironblocks — a Web3 threat detection and prevention platform — told Cointelegraph that in Israel, there tends to be more interest in blockchain technology itself and building products on top of these networks.
“The community here is less driven by crypto trading and speculations around token performance when it comes to Web3 and blockchain,” he said.
This seems to be the case, as a number of cyber security companies were present at the Israel Crypto Conference (ICC), which took place in Tel Aviv on Dec. 7. Ariel Shapira, organizer of ICC, told Cointelegraph that while the event was not as big as last year, it still attracted hundreds of attendees.
“While events like the FTX crash do have a temporary effect on crypto prices and projects’ abilities to raise funds, they never erase the optimism within the industry about blockchain as a technology. Crypto folks understand this technology is going to be transformative. They understand the bear market is temporary,” he said.
Given this, Eylon Aviv, principle at Collider Ventures — a Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm focused on Web3 companies — told Cointelegraph that he believes the Tel Aviv crypto community will actually see an acceleration in growth. “Perhaps the phrase ‘no such thing as bad publicity’ is true, as founders are now specifically targeting problems that have arisen from the FTX fallout.”
In addition to Dubai and Tel Aviv, crypto hotspots within the United States seem to be pushing forward. For example, Austin, Texas, continues to attract a number of Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies. This was apparent during the second annual Texas…
cointelegraph.com