TechFlow news, January 8 — According to Bloomberg, stablecoin usage is surging across the Middle East:
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Raafi Hossain, co-founder and CEO of Middle Eastern fintech firm Fasset, cited several examples of how clients are using stablecoins, including the sale of an $8 million Dubai property, a Tanzanian buyer purchasing Indonesian cooking oil, and renting out villas on Palm Jumeirah and private yachts for $100,000. Fasset, a Dubai-based "super app," focuses on markets stretching from Morocco to Malaysia.
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Dubai's Careem Networks FZ LLC, which offers taxi, food, and financial services, along with Botim, a messaging app under Abu Dhabi’s Astra Tech, are exploring the launch of payment tools backed by stablecoins.
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Mohammad El Saadi, Vice President of Careem Pay, said the technology “has the potential to reduce fees, accelerate processing times, and improve working capital management for cross-border transfers.” The company has launched eight new fiat payment channels in the UAE over the past 11 months.
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Rishabh Singh, Product Vice President at Astra Tech, said Botim has been trialing AE Coin, a stablecoin pegged to the dirham that has received approval from the Central Bank of the UAE.
According to DeFi Llama, the total market capitalization of all circulating stablecoins has grown from less than $140 billion at the end of 2023 to over $200 billion today. USDT remains the dominant stablecoin, with its issuer, Tether Holdings Ltd., recently stating it will generate over $10 billion in net profit in 2024. Data from CoinGecko shows the total circulating supply of USDT is approaching $140 billion.
