Ralf Glabischnig on Crypto Valley and the Crypto Oasis – Cointelegraph Magazine

When Bitcoin companies began pouring into his small town in Switzerland in 2013, Ralf Glabischnig was an IT consultant turned entrepreneur running a coworking space. It helped turn the town into ground zero for some of the earliest crypto companies, the Ethereum Foundation among them. 

Today, Glabischnig wears many hats, working across timezones to help build both Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates into regional powerhouses of the blockchain revolution. He holds decentralization dear to his heart — of regulations, companies and power — which he hopes will create an increasingly heavy counterweight to the powers that be.

Dubai

In many ways, Glabischnig sees places like Dubai and Zug as the long-foretold Bitcoin citadels of blockchain legend — secure cities catering to the nouveau riche of cryptocurrency.

“A few spots worldwide will attract the people who can afford it because it’s safe for their family — and those people bring the business.”

When it comes to Dubai as an emerging citadel of blockchain innovation, there is every reason to be optimistic. Last year, Glabischnig set a seemingly bold goal to see 1,000 blockchain companies in the UAE by the end of 2022 — a 90% increase in one year — but he now expects the number to be reached by summer. By comparison, Switzerland had 1,100 companies in 2021, after six years of being known as the “Crypto Valley.”

Glabischnig first visited Dubai in 1998. He recalls seeing the five- and six-story buildings going up in its internet and Media City district and wondering who would ever use them because “no one was here.” He’s been coming back annually since the early 2010s, now living between Switzerland and the UAE. 

“Switzerland has decentralization in its DNA,” he says, explaining that tax structures are made locally, and the 26 Cantons — administrative districts — compete with one another to attract business. The consensus mechanism in Switzerland “is very similar to how a decision is made in a blockchain network,” he explains.

“People see an overnight success in Dubai, but even an overnight success needs a few years of preparation,” he adds.

Glabischnig, who has three children, explains that Switzerland and the Middle East have something in common — security. “In Dubai, you see people using their wallet to reserve a table while they go buy coffee — you can’t do that elsewhere, not even in Switzerland,” he says. 

There is a difference, however, with the inherent safety of Swiss society coming bottom-up from the grassroots level, whereas in the Middle East, it is derived from the top-down via strict laws and advanced surveillance. Integration and bureaucracy, however, can be particularly difficult for foreigners coming to Switzerland, while Dubai accepts all nationalities, and almost anyone can simply pay for a visa, he notes.

Seeing the city as a ripe cradle for innovation, Glabischnig began looking for partners in the Dubai blockchain community in 2016. He envisioned “a hub where everyone comes together from the industry” and says that Marwan Al Zarouni, now the head of the Dubai Blockchain Center, and Saed Al Darmaki, CEO of Sheesha Finance, were early participants in the local crypto scene. 

“We want to create a soccer field where the players congregate — then we can see which players are good, which to invest in, and which to avoid because they are playing fouls.”

Headquartered on one of the highest floors of the Almas Tower, the DMCC Crypto Center plays host to nearly 300 blockchain companies. For Glabischnig, it is the beating heart of the Crypto Oasis. 

Glabischnig explains that while the idea of Crypto Valley encompasses both Switzerland and Lichtenstein with Zug as its heart, the Crypto Oasis consists of the entire Middle East, with Dubai at its center. “And the very heart is DMCC with over 280 companies, but I believe it will grow out of Dubai and into other countries here like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain,” he adds excitedly.

The DMCC, or Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, is a free zone. This means that it exists under special legislation, with companies incorporated there enjoying unique regulations and special treatment, including 0% corporate tax. With crypto as its newest field, the DMCC has a long history as a global hotspot for companies trading gold, coffee and diamonds between the East and the West.