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Saudi Arabia partners with The Sandbox for future metaverse plans

February 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

In a partnership ceremony at the LEAP 2023 conference in Saudi Arabia, the Sandbox entered into an MOU with the government of Saudi Arabia for future metaverse development.

Initiatives toward metaverse development continue to be a significant focus and key interest in the Middle East region, as the LEAP conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, highlights key topics in the industry.

On Feb. 7, a partnership ceremony was held at the conference, which acknowledged a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Sandbox and the government of Saudi Arabia.

According to social media posts from Sebastien Borget, the co-founder and COO of the Sandbox, the MOU is with the Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority (DGA) for the purpose of “exploring, advising and supporting” one another in metaverse development.

It was a true honor to sign our MOU partnership ceremony between @TheSandboxGame and the Saudi Arabia Digital Government Authority (DGA) during #LEAP 2023 conference, and we look forward to exploring, advising and supporting mutually each other in activations of the Metaverse pic.twitter.com/mTBYqlwvUa
— Sebastien (@borgetsebastien) February 7, 2023

While there are no further updates about the extent of the partnership, both parties have been actively pushing the boundaries of the Web3 space relative to their areas of expertise.

The Sandbox has partnered with some of the biggest names both inside and outside of the Web3 space including Snoop Dogg, Gucci, TIME, Atari, HSBC and Warner Music Group, among others.

The Saudi-based conference comes as the Middle East continues to establish the region as a hub for emerging technologies. Last November Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates was chosen as the location for the newly formed Middle East, Asia and Africa blockchain association

Shortly before, the Dubai International Financial Centre instituted a crypto token regime, to apply to all tokens recognized in the zone. The city has been a long-standing beacon of regional innovation when it comes to the Web3 space.

It opened the first nonfugible token store, and on Feb. 7 released its long-awaited regulations for virtual asset providers.

In a survey conducted by KuCoin last July, Saudi Arabia was revealed to be a significant market for digital currency adoption due to local regulations. The government is currently researching the possibilities for a central bank digital currency.

Saudi Central Bank still researching CBDC, but no decision on deployment

January 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

CBDC

Saudi Arabia's central bank stressed that no decision has been made to launch a CBDC in the Kingdom, but it will continue to research use cases.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is ramping up its research into Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) but is yet to announce a deployment.

In a Jan. 23 bulletin, the bank stated it was working on a phase of a project that “focuses on domestic wholesale CBDC use cases in collaboration with local banks and fintechs.”

However, it confirmed there had been no final decision to launch such a digital currency in the Middle Eastern nation.

“SAMA stresses that although no decision has been made regarding the introduction of CBDC in the Kingdom, it continues to focus on exploring the benefits and potential risks of implementing CBDC.”

SAMA is researching several aspects of a state-issued digital currency including economic impact, market readiness, and the applications of a CBDC-based payment solution. It also intends to review policy, legal, and regulatory considerations.

The move is part of Saudi Vision 2030, an initiative to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on oil, diversify its economy and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism.

According to SAMA governor, H.E. Fahad Almubarak, local banks, and payment companies will be heavily involved in the CBDC project and implementation.

*Official image of SAMA governor, H.E. Fahad Almubarak. Image: SAMA*

SAMA successfully conducted a CBDC experiment called “Project Aber” in 2019. It worked in collaboration with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to examine whether blockchain technology could contribute to cross-border payments.

The banks released a report on their findings in late 2020 concluding a dual-issued CBDC was technically viable for cross-border payments and presented “significant improvement over centralized payment systems in terms of architectural resilience.”

No details were provided on the technology behind the Saudi CBDC, but CBDC Tracker suggests it is based on the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Fabric.

According to the United States think tank Atlantic Council, there are currently 11 countries that have fully deployed a CBDC, and 17 are running pilots. Most of those that have launched are in the Caribbean with the exception of Nigeria.

Saudi Arabia