Dubai’s DEWA boosts retail size in IPO amid strong demand

RIYADH: Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is recruiting over 100 positions in the UAE and is helping to shape Dubai’s new virtual assets’ regulations, its regional head said.

This announcement comes after being licensed by Dubai’s new virtual assets regulator this month.

Binance’s links with the Gulf state have deepened in recent months as the UAE tries to style itself as the world’s new digital assets hub and develops regulation.

Bitcoin traded lower on April 1, at 01:42 p.m. Saudi time — falling by 4.46 percent to $45,151, while Ether went down by 4.08 percent to $3,275.

The $2.1 trillion crypto sector is still subject to patchy regulation across the world.

US sees high risks in crypto 

US listed companies that hold cryptocurrencies on behalf of users and customers should account for those assets as a liability on their balance sheet and disclose the related risks to investors, the securities regulator said on Thursday.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission SEC guidance would apply to a range of listed entities, including crypto exchanges and traditional firms such as retail brokers and banks that are increasingly providing cryptocurrency services and holding digital assets on behalf of a range of clients, according to Reuters.

But still, there is no explicit standard for safeguarding crypto assets and companies diverge in their treatment of these arrangements.

There are “significant” technological, legal and regulatory risks associated with safeguarding crypto-assets and as a result they should be reflected as a liability on companies’ balance sheets, SEC said in its guidance.

The technological mechanisms behind crypto-assets’ issuance and transfer create significant increased risks including an increased risk of financial loss, according to the SEC. 

Companies should also disclose “the nature and amount” of crypto assets they are responsible for holding, and the underlying crypto assets should be accounted for at fair value, the regulator said.

Hackers just this week stole $615 million worth of cryptocurrency from blockchain project Ronin.

The US regulators remain undecided on how to treat cryptocurrencies, with regulators still discussing new rules for how banks should handle digital assets.

A top US banking regulator told banks on Thursday to be more vigilant about guarding against unlikely but extreme risk as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the surge in crypto trading has created a range of new financial threats.

Michael Hsu, the acting comptroller of the currency, said depending on the outcome of the war in Ukraine, banks could face a number of “tail risks”, unlikely but extreme risk events.

Hsu also said he was worried that banks may wrongly believe they have hedged the risk of certain crypto positions, when they have not.

Europe sets more regulations to trace crypto transters

EU lawmakers backed new safeguards for tracing transfers of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on Thursday, in the latest sign that regulators are tightening up on the freewheeling sector.

Two committees in the European Parliament jointly voted by 93 in favor and 14 against on cross-party compromises which crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc. warned would usher in a surveillance regime that stifles innovation.

NFTs

In Taiwan, a group of puppeteers are looking to use non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to help bring their traditional art form into the modern era and keep it relevant for a new audience.