Dubai now lets you pay for trade licenses and visa fees with Bitcoin and other cryptos

So, Kiklabb, which is part of the Dubai Government and deals with licensing, is now cool with accepting crypto for trade licenses and visa fees. Their CEO, Tasawar Ulhaq, is all about it, saying that crypto is definitely the future of payment. They're actually the first government-backed licensing body in the UAE to jump on this crypto payment train.

Good news for Dubai. This is a good start if a body of government starts to recognize that bitcoin, cryptocurrencies are being used to be payments because it really should be. There will be a higher chance another Dubai-governing service and entity could do the same recognition as what Kiklabb did.

Arab countries will seize every opportunity given the way the oil market has behaved in recent years. Diversification of budget revenues and a balance between oil revenues and other activities are necessary for such countries. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that such news comes out today. It is interesting how other neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf will behave, because in these countries the economic situation is similar.

I do not think that the government will invest directly in digital currencies, but the step is to attract more investors and facilitate procedures for starting startups. You can create and register a company in Dubai online without making transactions within the country and paying in Bitcoin/ETH/Stablecoins. Not every Arab countries especially the oil-rich one, has the same capacity for economic diversification. Some Arab countries will face problems due to the drop in oil prices. Overall, oil prices have returned to good levels, it is a lesson they will learn to diversify their portfolios. We may see a better trend for cryptocurrencies in the coming years.

They might not be but, this is a good start that they are appreciating what the technology of blockchain and cryptocurrencies has to offer. I wish the best for the Kiklabb and those promising companies and startups that would be using their service. How I wish that there is going to be the same in most countries.