SHIB Lead Dev Declares UAE the ‘Crypto Capital’ – Here’s Why

Can Dubai live up to its new title as the ‘Crypto Capital’ in light of Shytoshi Kusama’s insights?

Shiba inu on top of the digital globe hugging Dubai's buildings.
Created by Kornelija Poderskytė from DailyCoin
  • Shytoshi Kusama applauds Dubai’s move to erase VAT on crypto.
  • Monday’s rebound rally sent the memecoin market cap up by 7.7%.
  • The United Arab Emirates marked the second major move in 7 days.

Shytoshi Kusama, Shiba Inu’s (SHIB) lead developer at the helm of Shibarium’s Ecosystem, has praised the United Arab Emirates’ move to exempt all crypto transactions from paying taxes. The latest pro-crypto push includes the UAE passing laws to wipe out VAT taxes for crypto transactions starting November 15, 2024.

SHIB Lead Appreciates UAE in Style

On Sunday, Kusama retweeted a popular crypto media outlet and posted a GIF of Vegeta, one of the main characters from Dragon Ball Z, in approval of the UAE’s Federal Tax Authority’s move to eliminate taxes on transfers and conversions, which will be applied retroactively from 2018.

This is favorable for Shibarium’s DeFi ecosystem, as SHIB developers strive to build a full-on digital identity for the SHIB Army. Meanwhile, SHIB tacked on a slight upward momentum to $0.00001869, claiming a new double top in this area weekly. Shiba outperformed most large-cap altcoins over 30 days, claiming 38% gains, mostly thanks to a late September run.

Is Dubai the Ultimate Crypto Capital?

This marks the second major crypto move by the UAE government since last week when Ripple (XRP) got in-principle approval from Dubai’s International Financial Centre (DIFC) to offer blockchain-based payment provider services. This sets a gold standard for crypto regulation in terms of cross-border payments.

In addition, Binance set up shop in Dubai earlier this year. The largest crypto exchange by trading volume scored a full regulatory license from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) a year after Binance’s UAE subsidiary received a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) license. This allowed Binance to expand its customer range in a difficult time after facing legal scrutiny in Canada, Italy, the United States, and France.

With the new VAT relief rules taking effect, Dubai’s crypto ambitions will likely attract more big names. The city already hosts two of the biggest exchanges, Binance and Bybit.

This is also favorable for traditional banks operating in the UAE, as they can more easily introduce digital asset services into their ventures. Some big names in banking have already seized this opportunity. This includes British consumer banking heavyweight Standard Chartered, which introduced its crypto custody services in Dubai last month.

On the Flipside

  • While Dubai does not impose federal income tax on individuals, the tech-savvy emirate adds a 5% value-added tax on purchasing goods and services.

Why This Matters

The move to exempt crypto transfer and conversion taxes brings the digital assets sector into line with traditional finance. The VAT exemption rule provides substantial relief for crypto businesses in the region.

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This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered trading or investment advice. Nothing herein shall be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice. Trading forex, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs pose a considerable risk of loss.

Author
Tadas Klimasevskis

Tadas Klimaševskis is a DailyCoin Journalist, covering memecoins & latest developments. Tadas has moderate holdings in SHIB, HBAR, LTC, MATIC and a selection of low-cap meme currencies.

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