In a bid to diversify its economy beyond traditional sectors like tourism, Ras Al Khaimah, celebrated for its cultural treasures, is turning its attention to the digital asset industry.
On October 19th, Ras Al Khaimah’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, inaugurated the RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), a novel economic free zone designed to bolster businesses involved in digital and virtual assets, blockchain, Web3, and artificial intelligence (AI). As previously reported by Cointelegraph, this free zone will serve as a haven for digital and virtual asset service providers operating in emerging technologies such as the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, nonfungible tokens, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), decentralized applications, and other Web3-related enterprises.
RAK DAO, in collaboration with its ecosystem partners, will also administer grant programs and provide specialized support in various technology, marketing, and business development domains.
Sheikh Saud, in his opening statements, shared the vision behind this journey, saying, “When we embarked on this journey, our vision was to create a hub where digital assets could thrive, innovation could flourish, and groundbreaking ideas could come to light. We wanted to provide a platform to foster its growth and success.” He further added, “We observed that global trends and data point to the incredible opportunity digital assets offer, and we felt that Ras Al Khaimah could and should benefit from being a first adopter.”
In addition to this, a memorandum of understanding was inked between Maryam Buti Al Suwaidi, CEO of the Securities and Commodities Authority, and Sameer Al Ansari, CEO of RAK DAO. Cointelegraph reached out to RAK DAO for further comments but did not receive an immediate response.
