According to a piece published on Futurism, Dubai just launched its first official cryptocurrency. The name of the token is emCash and it's designed to work with a payment system called "emWallet".
The fact that a city state as prominent as Dubai is embracing this technology may be surprising, but if you're involved in the startup scene, you know that they've been banking on innovation and startups big time. Even this move is part of their so-called "Accelerators Initiative'"
The "emWallet" allows domestic payments such as coffee, or school tuition, which makes the emCash really available from the day one.
emWallet handles various types of transactions—from “their daily coffee and children’s school fee to utility charges and money transfers”—with a near-field communication (NFC) support through a smartphone.
I would have loved to know more details about this story, though:
- is this an open blockchain, or is it privately controlled?
- what is the minting / generation algorithm - Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, etc?
- what is the total supply of the emCash and what is the inflation rate?
- is the code open source?
Without the answer to these questions, the news remains interesting enough, but not very revolutionary. It's just "blockchain as a banking service", which do allows for smaller fees, faster transfers and higher reliability, but it's still centralized (which means the "middle man" is still there, in the middle).
image source - Pixabay
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
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The middle man is still there, but this is just another step in nass adoption. The fact you can pay your bills with it is really exciting news and not something you can do with most other cryptos.
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Saudi Arabia is really progressing, just last week they allowed women to drive and now this. Good for them!
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Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates not Saudi Arabia. The difference between them is huge! The Emirates are almost westernised as you can find even alcohol, see some women legs and face compared to Saudi Arabia which is very fundamentalistic.
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My apologies, I thought that Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the same group of countries. I've even been to Dubai and it still didn't hit me that they were different.
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No problem :)
Most people make the confusion because has the name Arab in. The difference between them is huge if you visit both. UAE thinks also about the future, as Dubai gets now only 5% of their money from oil and few people know that. They even have their own car manufacturer, Zarooq Motors.
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The difference is massive but to compare the UAE to the west is laughable, being gay is still illegal in most emirates and women still go to prison for being raped.
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My bad, they are the most westernized from the Gulf Staates.
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This post has received a 2.17 % upvote from @boomerang thanks to: @alexvan
@boomerang distributes 100% of the SBD and up to 80% of the Curation Rewards to STEEM POWER Delegators. If you want to bid for votes or want to delegate SP please read the @boomerang whitepaper.
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Whoa! I had to Google to fact check your statement. Glad I did. :P
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Wow! I don't understand so much of upvotes for something that's wrongly presented. You are lucky @sqamemal. Perhaps they are all trolling you with the upvotes. :D :) The newer thing in Saudi Arabia after allowing women to drive is the opening of Cinema hall. That's a newer development. The above news entirely belongs to United Arab Emirates.
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In all honesty, the upvotes are for a different reason, I am currently not near my computer and so used a mobile app to use Steemit. That's what gave me all the upvotes. But right now I am commenting through steemit from google chrome on my phone, which is awfully slow.
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They have plenty of money, why?
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Because their money comes from oil and oil will be almost worthless in a few decades.
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As far as I'm concerned, I'm also interested in the market cap, too.
That tells a lot about the scale of usage here.
I'd love to see it becoming some sort of "municipal currency", utilized in city services and such.
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Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is one of the most progressive leaders in the arab world. For me this news isn’t surprizing. Sheik Maktoum is well known for giving power to his people - they don’t even have to pay taxes in Dubai, not a single person nor a company…
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Looks like the whole world wants a piece of this trend...I wonder if someone in Africa is thinking of starting their own currency too.
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Won't be worth much when Dubai is inhospitable and their main export isn't worth pulling out of the ground. I'll take a miss on this one.
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It's going to be interesting to watch it's market cap, and if other countries in the area adopt it.
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@dragosroua,
Interesting news and hope hear more from you! Anyway centralized crypto means a joke! That's how I believe it!
Cheers~
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Interesting...its a very progressive society in many ways....people tend to not understand different cultures but the Ruler is very sharp, very active and on top of things that are current and up and coming.....appreciate you following me as i have follwed u...great read.....
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@dragosroua, I believe this is government regulated. They also have one that's privately run based on the sharia system or something of the sort called Onegram- a crypto based on gold.
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Is there any airdrop for emCash... I feel, this coin has a good future!
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amigo #resteemia at your service
oh, big news & need your review. excellent post @dragosroua
ReSteemia
'UpVoted ReSteemed Commented'
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Thank you very much for giving great news in Dubai Cryptocurrency...@dragosroua
Upvoted
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Dubai really trying to lead in the crypto field too this would be interesting first they tried for buying properties and now this great development
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it's launched by Dubai.. I wonder how a blockchain can remain decentralized when the start is made by the centralized government
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Very interesting & huge news in Crptocurrency
Thanks you @dragosroua..
Follow/ Upvote
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