Encrypted

Paul Massara, CEO of Electron, joins Ahmed for the 14th episode of Encrypted.

On today’s show, Ahmed explores an interesting application of blockchain technology: Energy!

Paul first talks about the challenges and pain-points that currently face the energy industry, before moving on to how these challenges can be solved.

He also takes us into a deep dive (in layman terms) into how Electron are utilising blockchain for energy, particularly in the digitalisation of assets.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

Special Guest: Paul Massara.

In this episode, your hosts Ahmed and Faisal, discuss 3 interesting articles; first off is a thought leadership piece from USV around what is needed at this stage of the blockchain cycle and the overall tech cycle by looking at past trends: a killer app or well built infrastructure? The hosts have a couple of interesting points that goes inline with the article and other points which begs to differ.

Then, the hosts discuss the recent Venezuelan government move which forces citizens who wish to obtain a passport to pay using the controversial Venezuelan cryptocurrency: Petro. They explain what the Petro cryptocurrency is and they discuss the impact of such a move and how it affects the country’s citizens.

Finally, the hosts share and discuss the announcement of the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) of regulating ICOs as securities. They exchange opinions on this direction and how it could foster or hinder the ecosystem’s advancement.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

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Ahmed and Faisal sit down with the Tarik Mohammed.

Firstly, Ahmed brings up the Wall Street Journal’s article of identifying that $90 million in suspected criminal proceeds that flowed through intermediaries such as Shapeshift over two years. The discussion goes into how Monero, and more specially how these private transactions work along with explaining concepts such as zero knowledge proofs and atomic swaps.

The conversation delves into whether or not cryptocurrencies are actually used for criminal purposes and Tarek explains the ‘know your flow of funds’ concept which has become a rising theme in the regulatory space and how it impacts exchange and OTC businesses going forward. They also explain how the Journal categorised potential addresses that were associated with criminal purposes.

Ahmed then moves onto the next topic which started as a debate on a WhatsApp group and was related to the next article covered. This article is regarding how an employee in a bank tried for many years to implement private blockchain solutions and concluded that he has lost faith in private blockchains. Faisal explains his view as someone who is helping to implement blockchain solutions at a governmental level.

The three talk about how current blockchain implementations worldwide seem to force a blockchain solution, rather than finding an alternative and better solution for a particular problem. Tarek adds that data classifications and uniformity are critical in implementing blockchain solutions at an enterprise and government level and sees this as one of the biggest challenges.

The next article they cover is about Zebpay, a large Indian cryptocurrency exchange, which has decided to stop its cryptocurrency exchange operations due to the central bank banning banks servicing cryptocurrency projects making it harder for them to continue their operations.

Ahmed argues that emerging markets like India should be leading in this space and support the ecosystem. Tarek explains his experiences with emerging market regulators and how they have a wait and see approach regarding regulations and thus is harder for them to lead in a new nascent industry.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

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Special Guest: Tarek Moahmmed.

Ahmed and Faisal sit down with Irina Heaver, a technology lawyer based in Dubai.

First up they discuss XRP, a cryptocurrency created by Ripple, and its short ascension to number 2 in coinmarket cap and the conversation quickly goes into the concept of decentralisation as big question marks hang over Ripple’s centralised approach. The three go down the rabbit hole of historical references citing how there had to be incremental steps before real disruption took place.

Next, Ahmed delves into the blockchain uses cases that help to serve humanity! He talks about how Palestinians are using bitcoin to facilitate transactions cross border and how this serves as a pretty common use case for countries that do not have the required financial infrastructure that developed economies typically enjoy. Irina, very passionate about this subject, talks about how lucky they are of being able to participate in the international economy. The three then discuss the differences of bitcoin use cases between countries like Palestine and Venezuela. The challenges of using cryptocurrencies in these developing economies are also talked about as on ramp and off ramp are still huge issues faced by the local people.

Irina also touches on a project called AIAR which uses both AI and blockchain to actually help the lives of refugees globally.

Ahmed then starts a topic on women in blockchain as Irina is a huge advocate for women in tech. Reasons as to why there is underrepresentation in tech and blockchain more specifically is discussed. Irina talks about her initiatives of bringing more women into this space! Bro culture is also explored during this discussion and ways of combatting it is also laid out!

Lastly, we touch on the new and exciting news that Dubai Pay has been launched which is using blockchain technology. The reconciliation of transactions which typically takes 45 days to settle, now takes only a couple of seconds! FYI, this is one of the first Dubai Governmental projects that is now in live in production after months of testing and a year since its concept design.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

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Palestinians Are Using Bitcoin to Transact Across Borders Amid Conflict

Smart Dubai turns to blockchain to expedite government transactions

Special Guest: Irina Heaver.

Ahmed has an exciting line up on this episode of Encrypted.

First up, Ahmed interviews the CEO of the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority, Richard Teng.

They talk about the 3-year-old financial free trade zone, Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM), and how it differs itself as a financial and fintech hub for the region.

Richard explains the regulatory sandbox that was recently implemented at the ADGM, also known as the RegLab, and how it aims to facilitate innovation through providing a relaxed regulatory environment and a test bed for new fintech business models and start-ups.

Richard further explains the fintech bridges they have built with overseas regulatory sandboxes that are similar in nature with the aim of increasing fintech adoption globally and also helping to close the funding gap between investors and start-ups.

Delving into the blockchain and crypto landscape, Richard discusses how the ADGM are building a comprehensive framework for this new industry comprising of exchanges, ICOs, ETFs and more.

Ahmed then enquires about how traditional capital from family offices and sovereign wealth funds will start to invest and take positions into this new asset class.

Next up, Ahmed is joined by Austin Alexander from the CEO’s office of Kraken and Dan Donny, the CEO of Securrency.

Ahmed gets straight into why both guests view the Abu Dhabi Global Markets as an attractive jurisdiction for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. It is noteworthy that being able to go into great detail with forward thinking regulators is seen as a unique attribute when compared to other regulatory authorities across the world.

The three then go into the evolution of institutional money flowing into crypto and discussing the potential of when Wall Street money sitting on the side-lines will actually help mature the markets. Dan addresses the challenges that need to be addressed before institutional money flows in.

The concept of self regulated organisations (SROs) are explored too as well as the feasibility of ETFs being potentially a minor factor in bringing in new capital and funds into this space.

Ahmed opens up the discussions on security tokens and how important they will be moving forward as well as exploring their potential use cases in our guests’ respective businesses.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

Special Guests: Austin Alexander, Dan Doney, and Richard Teng.

Faisal sits down with Hans Christensen, VP of Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Centre, to talk all things blockchain and crypto.

Hans first introduces the pillars and model of DTEC and then explains how it aims to support the startup ecosystem when it comes to blockchain based projects. He also shares insights on a couple of blockchain use cases and projects that are undergoing and how Dtec aims to utilize this technology.

Then, Faisal and Hans discuss the news related to Coinbase discussing an crypto ETF in partnership with Blackrock and what this means to the investment domain.

Next, the story of Goldman Sachs swings on their crypto-focused arm is explored and how the news of that being abandoned heavily affected the market!

Finally, the host and guest shed light on IBM’s announcement on their new payment product in partnership with Stellar and how this benefits the banking ecosystem by having more and more competition and the technology in general.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

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Special Guest: Hans Christensen.

Ahmed and Faisal sit down with Fares Ghandour, Partner at Wamda Capital which is a VC based in Dubai, to discuss the latest news, trends and the really interesting debates that circulate in the blockchain space.

Fares first introduces Wamda Capital and shares the investments they have made in the blockchain space as well as thoughts about regulation in the region and how regulation is being shaped by the blockchain start-ups they are investing in.

The three then start of the discussion on this week’s news starting with Japan’s approach to tackle illicit crypto activities, and how as a developed market it is increasingly active in regulating this industry. They also touch on how crypto is becoming less and less used for illicit purposes as it actually makes it easier to get caught using crypto for fraud!

In the next news article, Ahmed opens up the discussion about a crypto start up called Dfinity which just raised $102 million and what this means for investments going forward, particularly in a bear market.

Then we discuss the findings of one particular research showing that from the top 100 cryptocurrencies on coinmarketcap, only 36 projects have a working product with users. Fares shares a very interesting perspective from the VC angle and argues the importance of protocol development first before assessing working products.

Ahmed and Faisal also question the viability of the current VC model, and Fares shares how he thinks the VC model will change in the future.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

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Special Guest: Fares Ghandour.

Ahmed and Faisal sit down to discuss China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency activities as Wechat, China's biggest social media platform, clamps down on major crypto accounts along with other series of related events.

Next, the hosts discuss the US SEC’s rejection decision on 9 ETF proposal and the rebound on that decision along with its effects on the crypto market.

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word!

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SEC U-Turn on ETF Rejection — A Balancing Act for Adoption?

In this episode of Encrypted Interviews, Ahmed sits down with the CEO of Strategic Affairs of the Department of Economic Development of Dubai.

They discuss:

Mohammed delves into their Department’s blockchain journey and their approach to actually solve problems currently faced by investors and businessmen coming into the UAE.

The crux of the conversation is all about digital identity and Mohammed discusses their ideas and implementations for how digital IDs can soon become a reality in the UAE utilising digital signatures.

All of the above and more will be on this episode of Encrypted Interviews!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other podcast platforms. And if you found it helpful or know someone who will, spread the knowledge and tell them to tune in!

Special Guest: Mohammed Shael Al Saadi.

In this episode, Ahmed and Aniket sit down to discuss the Indian blockchain ecosystem as they attended the International Blockchain Congress in Hyderabad and Goa.

Aniket gives a general overview of the current market state in India as he touches upon, the current challenges and the ever delaying regulation regarding crypto-assets and exchanges.

Ahmed shares his experience about the conference, the interesting projects he met and also the panel he was invited to speak at along with the IT Director of the Government of Goa.

The duo also tries to answer what could lie ahead in India’s blockchain story?

All of the above and more will be on this week’s episode of Encrypted!

If you liked what you heard, please do leave us a review on iTunes and the other platforms. Don’t forget to support us by spreading the word and do not forget to subscribe!

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