Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, says Binance Regional Director
Dubai, UAE, 6th October 2023, ZEX MEDIA, Cryptocurrencies are here to stay, according to Bader Kalooti, Regional Director of Growth and Operations at Binance, the largest cryptocurrency in the world. “Web3 and blockchain have proven a powerful solution to drive efficiency, transfer value more effectively, and add a layer of trust, transparency, and immutability to any sector, not just finance. I am very bullish personally.”
Kalooti was a guest on the MENA Surge Podcast hosted by Steven Besse on September 23, the ultimate source for all things Web3 and fintech related in the MENA region. The podcast is powered by Future Blockchain Summit taking place in Dubai Harbor from October 15 to 18, alongside Expand North Star and Fintech Surge and in association with GITEX GLOBAL.
“It has been very exciting to be part of that story and bring Web3 into MENA. And it is not just an element of ‘copy and paste’ anymore. It is a new paradigm whereby we are actually innovating a new technological trend from this region,” said Kalooti.
A challenge in the cryptocurrency and Web3 space remains a lack of awareness and knowledge, which translates into skepticism and uncertainty on the part of many potential users. “With the emergence of any new technology, there is a tendency for it to be quite esoteric, meaning that a very small percentage of the population will relate to that new technology. Therefore, education plays an instrumental role to drive mass adoption,” said Kalooti.
Binance recently launched a curated crash course called ‘Blockchain for Everyone’, translated into Arabic, that presents the fundamentals of Web3 in an easily digestible manner. Attendees who complete the course are presented with an NFT certificate.
Kalooti stressed it is important to distinguish between novice versus expert cryptocurrency users. Catering to both ends of the spectrum, Binance Light allows new users to be onboarded and navigate the product offering, while Binance Pro is a feature-rich platform catering for more sophisticated investors.
Looking at Dubai in particular and what has established it as the global ‘crypto hub’, Kalooti points to the global liquidity cycle as an important short-term driver. “That is highly volatile,” he acknowledged. However, over the long term, it is driven by network adoption and regulations. An entrepreneur will come up with a new idea but have to establish a product market fit in an ambiguous environment where the rules are unclear, a typical ‘Wild West’ scenario. After a certain level of scale, the regulator steps in to play catch up and establish the rules of the game.
Far from replacing Web2, Kalooti emphasized that Web3 wields the benefits of blockchain to improve efficiency and productivity. “That is an area where we see a lot of opportunity for use cases. It is important to understand that young talent is flocking towards the space. And there is a lot of capital flowing back to those entrepreneurs. Eventually you will get those killer apps that come on chain and bring a wave of a billion plus users, very similar to what Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube did for Web2 in the mid-2000s.”
Cryptocurrency adoption is currently at the same developmental phase as the internet was in 1999. The total market capitalisation of the cryptocurrency industry is around US$1 trillion, a third of the market capitalisation of Apple alone. “We are relatively still quite early in the journey. Just sit back and relax. I know it has been a turbulent ride. Fasten your seat belts because we will ultimately arrive at our intended destination,” concluded Kalooti.
Future Blockchain Summit continues to cement its position as a leading platform for showcasing cutting-edge blockchain solutions. For more information about the upcoming event, visit: https://www.futureblockchainsummit.com/.
