Binance, crypto firms optimistic about UAE amid potential US regulatory shift
Binance and other cryptocurrency firms based in the United Arab Emirates are optimistic that the country will remain a hotspot for virtual assets despite a potential shift to the United States should the Western superpower become a more crypto-friendly jurisdiction.
The “regulation by enforcement” regime in the U.S. has pushed global crypto firms to move to locations such as the UAE, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Singapore. However, the idea that companies could potentially return to the U.S. should there be a change in direction was floated during a panel discussion on Dec. 11 at the Global Blockchain Congress event in Dubai .
Highlighting the UAE’s approach toward technology and innovation, Alex Chehade, Binance’s general manager for the Middle East and North Africa, said the local government has built infrastructures around numerous initiatives that encompass not just AI but also Web3, sustainability and other verticals:
“[People exiting] wouldn’t be the worry. We’d probably be worried [about], ‘do we have enough infrastructure for people coming in?’”
“The track record is there… We’ve got the education system, healthcare system, the roads, the trains. Where else would you relocate? To the other jurisdictions? They’re not issuing Visas. They don’t have the infrastructure,” he added.
Chehade said Binance, which recently withdrew its fund manager license in Abu Dhabi and saw its former CEO Changpeng Zhao plead guilty as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. agencies, will stay in the region, with its custody license in the UAE capital, and operational minimum viable product permit for exchange and brokerage services in Dubai.
Meanwhile, Feras Al Sadek, managing partner at blockchain private investment firm Ghaf Capital Partners, argued that the UAE leads through its “regulation by education,” highlighting local regulators’ approach of actively supporting projects through various engagements, including conferences and meetups. He said:
“It’s very hard to find regulators… fighting, educating and supporting these companies. So that I think is a key differentiator between us and the rest of the world.”
Al Sadek also pointed out the UAE’s goal of becoming a tech industry leader by employing thousands of personnel in emerging technologies, including 30,000 in artificial intelligence by 2030.
Related: Dubai regulator grants crypto license to Bahrain’s CoinMENA
Crypto Oasis Ventures co-founder Faisal Zaidi said that the UAE’s lifestyle and business community have made it appealing for nonresidents to stay, adding, “You come in with a plan [to live here short-term], but because of how your life is here… the communities and the ecosystem, people end up staying. He added:
“Maybe there [will be] a slowdown in newer organizations coming, but the ones that are here are going to stay.”
The wave of government enforcement against crypto companies in the U.S. has pushed away crypto firms, with industry leaders suggesting crypto startups should avoid the jurisdictions for the time being and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), headed by chair Gary Gensler, earning the ire of the crypto community.
However, the landscape may be shifting toward a more favorable direction for the crypto community, with U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand reintroducing a bill to create a crypto regulatory framework in July.
NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones.
The changes form part of the Labour government’s strategy to reduce waiting lists “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.
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Health and the state of the NHS were consistently among the most important issues for voters at this year’s general election – with Labour blaming the Conservatives for “breaking” it.
As health is a devolved area, any reforms proposed in Westminster would only apply to England.
Chief among Mr Streeting’s proposals is a “league table” for NHS trusts.
An announcement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS England will carry out a no-holds-barred sweeping review of NHS performance across the entire country, with providers to be placed into a league table.
“This will be made public and regularly updated to ensure leaders, policy-makers and patients know which improvements need to be prioritised.”
It also promises to replace “persistently failing managers” – with “turn around teams” being sent in to improve trusts running sizeable deficits or offering poor service to patients.
The government says “senior managers” who fail to make progress will not be eligible for pay rises.
There will be “financial implications” for more senior figures such as chief executives if their trust does not improve.
On the flip-side, those trusts that are deemed to be “high-performing” will get “greater freedom over funding and flexibility”.
Senior leaders at these trusts will also be “rewarded”.
The government says the current system is not incentivising trusts to run a budget surplus, as they cannot benefit from it.
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NHS reform: ‘Be careful what you wish for’
Read more on the NHS:
Reform will not begin right away – Streeting
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NHS must ‘reform or die’, warns PM
Mr Streeting said: “The budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.
“Today we are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.
“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in.
“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.
“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Concerns from health representatives
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.
“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”
Further plans on how monitoring will be published by the start of the next financial year in April 2025, the government said.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation – a body that represents all NHS trusts – said healthcare leaders welcome the “government’s ambition”.
However, he said he was concerned league tables and reducing pay may “strip out” the nuance of what’s going on.
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Mr Taylor said: “NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.
“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”
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