Dubai Real Estate Developer Completes Deals Worth $50M In Crypto

A top-level executive with DAMAC properties (a real estate developer based in Dubai) has revealed that he has completed $50M worth of real estate deals in digital currencies.

He said the amount is the total worth of real estate deals he has completed since this year. However, the executive added that the older generation is still not yet convinced by this new technology.

Benefitting From New Technological Solutions

Ali Sajwani (COO of DAMAC properties) has stated that the company’s real estate deals in crypto since the start of this year is worth nearly $50M. Sajwani made the statements in a recent interview.

He also said that DAMAC’s acceptance of crypto payments proves that the company is willing to align with current technological trends. The DAMAC COO added that the company used a trusted intermediary to complete crypto real estate transactions.

“We are using a government-approved financial intermediary (the heaven company) to complete these transactions. The company helps us to receive the payments in BTC or ETH. Then, the company converts these digital currencies to Dirhams or USD and pay us.”

He also said, “We mostly accepted BTC and ETH because they are the most popular digital currencies. Also, they are the people with the highest level of trust and safety.” Sajwani further explained that DAMAC properties could remove price fluctuation issues since it’s using a trusted intermediary.

The Challenge To Explore The Metaverse

During the same interview, the DAMAC COO also explained the company’s problems while trying to explore the metaverse. He said the number one problem they were facing was making the older generation with deep pockets use this new technology.

Many of them are unwilling to invest or try and understand this new world. Sajwani further said that many people still need to understand digital currencies, NFTs, and the metaverse.

Otherwise, they will always stay away from technology that can benefit them in multiple folds. The COO suggested that these decision-makers should make an effort to attend seminars and training about these technologies. Thus, they can have a detailed understanding of them before they invest.

The UAE Crypto Scene Is Rapidly Expanding

Crypto adoption in the UAE is fast growing. On Friday, the Al-Jalila foundation announced that people willing to donate to the charity could do so with cryptos. It is the first time any Dubai-based NGOs will be accepting crypto donations or payments.

The Al Jalila foundation also explained that it is in partnership with a top crypto platform to provide technical support to receive such payments. Also, there are unconfirmed reports that the emirates airline (another Dubai-based company) has started accepting crypto payments.

Last month, Yallamarket (an Emirati grocery delivery firm) announced that it now receives crypto payments. Data from the Dubai media office states that there are up to $25B worth of crypto transactions every year. Many crypto exchanges have also been shifting base to UAE recently.