Digital Assets: UAE a Flag-bearer for Blockchain Technology Deployment

Other nations could emulate the UAE and potentially save billions through the deployment of blockchain.
A joint white paper has been issued by the World Economic Forum and the United Arab Emirates’ Centre For The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Titled “Inclusive Deployment of Blockchain: Case Studies and Learnings from the United Arab Emirates,” the paper provides global decision-makers insights into the UAE’s experience with blockchain implementation.
The white paper showcases the experience of the UAE and provides “an overview of the current local and national blockchain strategies, the diversity of national use cases and the resulting learnings from implementation.”
UAE and the blockchain
The UAE government’s Dubai Blockchain Strategy in 2016 and the Emirates Federal Blockchain Strategy in 2018 were early initiatives for the deployment of blockchain technology both at government and by industry. In 2018, the UAE government launched the Emirates Blockchain Strategy 2021. The strategy focuses on four main themes: the happiness of citizens and residents; elevating government efficiency; advanced legislation; and international leadership.
Moreover, the UAE government intends to process 50% of its transactions using the blockchain by 2021.
The major payoffs from blockchain
The UAE will potentially save AED 11 billion (US$3 billion) in transactions and documents processed routinely. It will do away with the annual printing of 398 million documents, and save 77 million work hours a year.
Additional benefits include a reduction in operational costs, accelerated decisions, and digital security of transactions and documents.
Some case study examples in the UAE
Emirates Airlines is using the blockchain for its loyalty program since March 2019. Benefits include greater transparency, enhanced security reduced fraud, and improved customer experience.
Emirates NBD used the blockchain to tackle cheque fraud. It issues nearly one million cheques a month. After blockchain implementation, cheque fraud at the bank has declined by 99%.
Etisalat Digital and a consortium of eight banks (the UAE Trade Connect) is using the blockchain to curtail the practice of using the same invoice to avail financing from multiple banks. The size of the problem is an estimated 3.75 million fraudulent transactions in the UAE annually. It represents US$435 million in potential losses.
In the public sector, the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) is using the blockchain to improve organ donation allocation and transplants. It also seeks to prevent illegal donor trading in the UAE. Since its initial launch in January 2019, thousands of registered donors have recorded their will on the Hayat blockchain-based application. Further, all hospitals permitted to conduct transplants have been participating in the national waiting list and allocation platform. The solution is expected to save MOHAP over $20 million in estimated dialysis costs per annum.
Learning from UAE case studies
“Cases in the UAE to date have shown that the main challenges to blockchain deployment remain tied to operational and regulatory questions, as opposed to technical factors,” says the white paper. However, the government was a great facilitator.
“The government playing an outsized role in embracing emerging technologies and emphasizing the value of innovation for advancing society, supporting both the private and public sectors in exploring, implementing and scaling new technologies.”
Related Story: Bitcoin Goes Vertical After Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Pro-Blockchain Remarks

Latest Alternative Investment News

Digital Assets: Epic Lays Off 830 Employees As Metaverse Underperforms
Earlier today, Tim Sweeney, the head of Epic Games, shared an email with the company’s employees, announcing some significant changes within the organization. In this message, Sweeney discussed the necessity…

Artificial Intelligence: Mysterious US-Based Books3 Dataset Used To Train AI Was A Massive Trove Of Pirated Books
Thousands of books penned by some of Australia’s most esteemed authors may have fallen victim to what Booker prize-winning novelist Richard Flanagan has described as “the biggest act of copyright…

FinTech: Ant’s Chongqing Consumer Finance Arm Raising $616M To Ramp Up Loans
Chongqing Consumer Finance, the consumer finance arm of Ant Group, a prominent player in China’s financial technology landscape, is currently in the process of raising a substantial sum of fresh…

Venture Capital: Mercury’s Fund V Mops Up $160M For US Startups “Between The Coasts”
Mercury Fund, the premier early-stage venture firm with a focus on non-coastal tech hubs, has successfully closed its largest fund to date, Mercury Fund V, with a total capital commitment…