On October 19, the new RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), an economic free zone devoted to supporting businesses involved in digital and virtual assets, blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence (AI), was officially opened by Ras Al Khaimah ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi.

The free zone will be devoted to digital and virtual asset service providers in cutting-edge technologies including the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, nonfungible tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized applications, alongside other Web3-related businesses.

RAK DAO and its ecosystem partners will manage grant programs and offer specialized assistance in a range of tech, marketing, and business development areas.

“When we embarked on this… journey, our vision was to create a hub where digital assets could thrive, innovation could flourish, and groundbreaking ideas could come to light,” Sheikh Saud said in his opening remarks. “We wanted to provide a platform to foster its growth and success.” He added:

“We observed that global trends and data point to the incredible opportunity digital assets offer, and we felt… that Ras Al Khaimah could and should benefit from being a first adopter.” 

CEOs of the Securities and Commodities Authority Maryam Buti Al Suwaidi and RAK DAO Sameer Al Ansari signed a memorandum of understanding.

Ras Al Khaimah, which is renowned for its extensive cultural resources, is looking to the digital assets market to diversify its economy away from traditional industries, such as tourism.

The new free zone has, however, entered an area where more well-known technology hubs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are already drawing international crypto firms.

Sources:

https://cointelegraph.com/news/web3-digital-assets-ai-uae-emirate-launches-new-free-zone

https://wam.ae/en/details/1395303140578