Ola Doudin Discusses Supporting Bitcoin Development in Dubai

The Middle East isn’t typically a hotbed for bitcoin, but that hasn’t stopped entrepreneur Ola Doudin from spurring local interest in the cryptocurrency.

As the founder of Bitcoin wallet and exchange BitOasis, Doudin graced the cover of the January issue of Forbes Middle East magazine, which featured BitOasis as the 19th most promising startup in the UAE.

Doudin and co-founder Daniel Robenek were praised by Forbes Middle East for their company’s commitment to raising awareness of Bitcoin in the Middle East market. Since its founding, BitOasis has released a steady stream of product and service updates, including the ability to withdraw Bitcoin from bank accounts and the launch of iPhone and iPad wallets.

But what may have really made BitOasis famous was the release last month of a proof of concept it completed in conjunction with commodities market technology provider Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), which may have been the first time bitcoin technology had been validated by a large regional financial institution.

The announcement was made at the launch ceremony of the Global Blockchain Council, which is composed of 32 member organizations, including UAE government agencies, international technology companies and blockchain startups, and is led by a government innovation organization called the Museum of the Future.

Doudin, whose startup is a member, believes the group is part of a broader effort by UAE government officials to foster a better understanding of the emerging technology.

“The purpose of establishing a global blockchain council is to create an umbrella mechanism under which regulatory discourse will become a bridge or connection between private and public institutions, thereby legitimizing this whole middle area,” she told CoinDesk. “This body will be an important support for us, and its existence will prompt the UAE or Dubai regulators to take it seriously, and banks to take this middle area seriously.”

Doudin said local blockchain companies are currently benefiting from a project called Dubai 2021, which is part of the government’s development vision to make government services more automated in the future.

“Many public services are already automated or autonomous, but now they are trying to integrate digital payments and create smart payment tools. That’s when they focus on blockchain technology,” she said.

DMCC Testing Project

Regarding BitOasis’ partnership with the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), Doudin said the project is part of the company’s bid to increase registration rates for its trading system.

DMCC is located in the JLT Free Zone, a special economic zone that provides tax and tariff benefits for trade. DMCC is known as the only international commodity center in the region, and its important commodity categories include rare metals, diamonds, pearls and tea.

Doudin said that when BitOadsis was looking at DMCC’s internal processes for finding applications for bitcoin technology, the company decided to run a pilot program to see how commodity companies could provide blockchain-based authentication to consumers.

The trial envisages that businesses will be able to register with DMCC and receive a digital ID to verify their identity as part of DMCC’s Flex Desk service. According to DMCC, Flex Desks facilitate transactions via a communications service, but Doudin said other opportunities were also discussed.

“We are also researching and trialing the use of public blockchain technology to streamline payments for DMCC and their client companies,” Doudin explained.

Doudin further added that BitOasis will continue to focus on consumer-facing bitcoin services, meaning the DMCC test project does not represent any change in the company’s strategy.

BitOasis currently has five employees but hopes to expand to eight by the end of the year, she said.

Moving forward

Doudin said that despite the attention from Dubai government agencies, the local startup community is still very small.

There are only a handful of notable blockchain startups in the UAE, including BitOasis, YellowPay and Umbrellab, all of which are involved in the Global Blockchain Council. Doudin is also a co-founder and former advisor to bitcoin payment service YellowPay, but she said her focus is on BitOasis for now.

“There are people popping up here and there who want to build something, but things are not moving at the same pace,” she said.

However, she added that users have begun to adopt and use Bitcoin in the UAE and Egypt, and local Bitcoin meetups are growing in the UAE’s capital and largest cities.

Doudin was also a key figure in the formation of the Jordan Bitcoin Group in 2014, a meetup group that raised awareness of digital currencies in Jordan.

She said investors are now beginning to wake up to the opportunity and bitcoin technology is shedding its past stigma associated with cybercrime.

Doudin concluded: “The interest and awareness from local investors in the UAE is beyond what I could have imagined. Investors want to help build a strong player in the region, and their awareness of Bitcoin is palpable.”

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