
The United Arab Emirates increasingly attracts Web3 companies to its jurisdictions, becoming the center of global crypto innovation.
Behind the wave of companies moving or deploying initiatives in the UAE is regulation. The country has introduced regulatory frameworks for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), virtual asset providers, metaverses and other Web3-related entities.
By offering regulatory clarity and a clear path to compliance — amid a crackdown in the United States — the UAE is moving closer to fulfilling what it wants to be: an international financial hub for digital assets.
While predictions about how it will affect the future of the UAE or the crypto space itself vary, history shows how countries have used regulatory gaps to build new industries or curb existing ones.
This week’s Crypto Biz also explores Canaan’s revenue challenges, Wormhole’s massive fundraising and Banco Santander’s crypto moves.
Open-source blockchain developer Iota announced the launch of the Iota Ecosystem DLT Foundation in Abu Dhabi, which is dedicated to expanding its distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the Middle East.
Despite a downturn in its bottom line, the company has secured a deal with an institutional investor to potentially raise $125 million in capital.
Bitcoin (BTC) miner Canaan is seeking new capital amid a slump in its revenue and bottom line.
According to its Q3 2023 earnings report released on Nov. 28, the company seeks to sell $148 million in equity through an at-the-market offering. The day before, Canaan announced that it had reached an agreement with an undisclosed institutional investor to issue up to 125,000 preferred stock at $1,000 apiece for total proceeds of $125 million.
Compared to the third quarter of 2022, the company’s revenue fell 55% to $33.3 million due to a decrease in the amount of Bitcoin (BTC) mined and a fall in the number of ASIC mining rigs sold. The firm also swung to a net loss of $110.7 million compared to a net income of $6.3 million in the same period a year ago.
“Overall, we faced increased pricing competition and a noticeable softening in purchasing power on the demand front, which has posed severe challenges to our sales,” said Nangeng Zhang, chairman and CEO of Canaan. The firm expects its Q4 revenue to be roughly unchanged from Q3 due to “challenging market conditions across the industry.”
Due to soaring electricity costs and lower BTC prices, several Bitcoin miners filed for bankruptcy in 2022, disrupting the sales of Bitcoin ASIC mining rigs. However, market conditions have improved this year due to easing inflation and a recovery in Bitcoin prices. On Nov. 13, Bitcoin miners earned $44 million in block rewards and transaction fees, the highest ever in history.
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