BlockByBlock | $MARA In Abu Dhabi
A NASDAQ-listed crypto mining company appears to be on its way to Dubai, as crypto regulations continue to strengthen. Read more about this, and the MENA region's $4 billion startup scene, below.
In This Week’s Issue
⚡ Marathon Digital Holdings, a NASDAQ-listed crypto mining operator, partners with FS Innovation to launch a $406 million joint-venture bitcoin mining facility in Abu Dhabi.
💰 A report by Wamda finds that MENA startups raised ~$4 billion in 2022, a 24% increase in investment value and 22% increase in deal numbers compared to 2021.
🙃 Tykhe Block Ventures, a leading investment firm established in the U.S., allocates $7.5 million to MENA-based Web3 projects.
💥 EXCLUSIVE: How Large A Role Did Blockchain Play In MENA Startup Fundraising In 2022?
Local Developments
Blockchain Movements In The GCC 👇
Marathon Digital Holdings, a NASDAQ-listed crypto mining operator, partners with FS Innovation to launch a $406 million joint-venture bitcoin mining facility in Abu Dhabi.
A survey conduced by local crypto journalist Lara Abdul Malak concludes that 50% of MENA-based VCs aim to increase investments in blockchain and crypto projects in 2023.
A report by Wamda Capital finds that MENA startups raised over $4 billion in 2022, a 24% increase in investment value and 22% increase in deal numbers compared to 2021.
Key Industry Development
How Large A Role Did Blockchain Play In MENA Startup Fundraising In 2022? 🤔
According to an annual report by Wamda, startups in the MENA region raised $3.92 billion across 795 deals in 2022.
The venture capital landscape had three dominant sources in the following three countries:
The UAE: 252 deals valued at $1.85 billion.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: 154 deals valued at $907 million.
Egypt: 180 deals valued at $736 million.
Looking back to BlockByBlock’s previous editions, we find that MENA-based blockchain and Web3 projects amassed at least $300 million in venture capital funding in 2022.
Large-profile investments include:
Fenix Games: $150 million.
Pyppl: $20 million.
VUZ: $20 million.
According to these calculations, blockchain projects accounted for at least 7.5% of all venture capital based investments in the region. Due to the overlapping nature of Web3 and blockchain technologies, we suspect that this is a gross underestimate.
Startup Action
Updates From The Startup Ecosystem 💸
Tykhe Block Ventures, a leading investment firm established in the U.S., allocates $7.5 million to MENA-based Web3 projects.
Deribit, the world’s largest Bitcoin and Ether options exchange, considers opening a Dubai office with 10 employees as regulations strengthen.
Memob+, a leading data intelligence company based in Dubai, partners with Artifact Labs, an advanced multichain NFT ecosystem, to provide Metaverse services to operators in the UAE.
Blockchain Trends
Global Trends 📉
Bankrupt crypto lending firm BlockFi mistakenly uploads uncensored financials, revealing $1.2 billion in assets tied up with bankrupt exchange FTX.
Avalanche ($AVAX) rises 100% in 2023, leveraging a market-wide bounce and a new partnership with Amazon Web Services to maintain bullish sentiment.
Aptos ($APT), a layer-1 blockchain project dubbed “the Solana killer,” sees its coin rise 420% in 18 days.
Blockchain infrastructure firms rack up over $200 million in funding in January 2023.
Local Trends 📈
The Saudi Central Bank partners with local banks and fintechs to investigate the use of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) for domestic wholesales.
The UAE Digital Economy Council creates two subcommittees for blockchain and investing in digital assets.
Ajman police release their first set of NFTs, continuing a trend set by the Dubai police earlier last year.
Upcoming Events
Events By AgoraGroup 🔴
AgoraGroup will host the Global Blockchain Congress (11th Edition) on March 6th and 7th in Dubai, the UAE.
Events Across The UAE 🔵
Crypto Expo Dubai will be hosted on March 8th and 9th in Dubai, the UAE.
The Future Blockchain Summit will be hosted between May 10th and May 12th in Dubai, the UAE.