Author: Emirates Insight

All aboard: The Ruler of Dubai experiences the future of UAE travel first-handHis Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, took a significant step into the UAE’s transport future this week — by boarding a passenger train on the Etihad Rail network from Dubai to Fujairah.The journey served as a real-time inspection of progress on the Etihad Rail passenger line, a project that is set to redefine how the UAE moves by connecting cities, boosting tourism, and supporting economic growth. Passenger operations are set to launch in 2026,…

White-collar crime surrounding cryptocurrencies was rampant in the early days of the industry. Still, the law is continuing to crack down on those who took advantage of the lack of regulation available at the time. What was touted as innovation turned out to be a scheme used to fund a person’s lavish lifestyle. Justice Served The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California shared a press release confirming that Rowland Marcus Andrade, CEO and Founder of the now-defunct AML Bitcoin token, was guilty of wire fraud and money laundering. The jury in the trial, which began earlier in March and…

The International Monetary Fund has revised its 2025 global growth forecast to 3 per cent, up from 2.8 per cent in April, citing stronger-than-expected trade activity, improved financial conditions, and easing tariff tensions between the United States and its trading partners. However, the Fund warned that this resilience remains “tenuous” amid high uncertainty, elevated public debt, and geopolitical risks. In its World Economic Outlook Update released on Tuesday, the IMF projected global growth would rise slightly to 3.1 per cent in 2026, still below both the pre-pandemic average of 3.7 per cent and the 3.3 per cent seen in 2024.…

You may know about Verizon Small Business Digital Ready from its $10,000 small business grant program and the deep catalogue of events and courses that teach entrepreneurs the skills they need to succeed. But did you know about the program’s Small Business Funding Marketplace? Verizon has partnered with Next Street to offer the Small Business Funding Marketplace. It’s a tool designed to empower small businesses by providing a curated set of small business loans and grants in one streamlined marketplace.  Entrepreneurs and small business owners can use the tool to filter across many small business capital providers and financial products…

Now, what that means is that the total amount of circulating stablecoins of these eight denominations (e.g., USDT) was collectively worth approximately $245 billion US dollars, according to CoinMarketCap data as of the time of this writing. Stablecoins Compared To US Dollar Base Supply Stablecoins are already a significant part of the financial economy in 2025, and the world’s central banks and the IMF recognize that there’s a real presence in the blockchain sector. For a useful baseline comparison, the total adjusted monetary base of US dollars in circulation plus reserve balances was $5.7 trillion at the same time. With…

In a landmark financial move that reinforces its global ambitions, Joyalukkas, one of the world’s largest jewellery retailers, has secured an AED 500 million working capital facility from Emirates NBD. The deal marks a major milestone in the jeweller’s journey, enabling it to accelerate its long-term expansion plans across the GCC, as well as key international markets such as the United Kingdom (UK), the United States (US), Canada, and Australia. The agreement is designed to provide Joyalukkas with streamlined and flexible access to capital. It allows the company to draw and repay funds on a revolving basis, improving cost-efficiency and…

A Canadian teen has been sentenced for a $37 million Bitcoin (BTC) heist and the hacking of several X accounts. This follows on-chain sleuth ZachXBT’s calls for stricter penalties against SIM swapping and social engineering fraudsters. Suspect’s Sentence ZachXBT revealed via a July 29 X post that Cameron Redman had been convicted and ordered to pay compensation following his involvement in a $37 million Bitcoin theft and a related X hacking case that the investigator had uncovered. Court documents show that Redman has been sentenced to 12 months and 1 day, followed by a three-year supervised release term for each…

Verizon Small Business Digital Ready is for the first time this year offering members a chance to win a trip to San Francisco and a seat at Verizon’s Small Business Training Camp. It’s part master class, part immersive experience. Small Business Digital Ready will fly 20 entrepreneurs to San Francisco for the 3-day camp, packed with expert workshops, peer networking and practical tools to help your business grow. Not a member yet? Register here. It’s free and easy. Let’s face it, not everyone can be picked for the boot camp, which ends taking applications on Aug. 10. But every member of Digital…

Just over a year after the Dencun upgrade gave Layer 2 networks a massive boost, and only months before the much-anticipated Fusaka release, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin floated a bold proposal. In an April forum post, he suggested the network could eventually replace its longtime workhorse, the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), with RISC-V, a low-level, open-source instruction set architecture. The Allure of a New Foundation For those unfamiliar, the EVM is the execution engine powering every smart contract on Ethereum. It translates Solidity code into machine-level instructions and governs how contracts interact. It’s been the backbone of Ethereum since its…

Dubai Municipality has completed 34,700 inspection visits across food establishments throughout the emirate during the first half of 2025, ensuring compliance with health regulations and safety standards. The inspections form part of the Municipality’s mission to build an integrated and sustainable food system that improves quality of life for residents and visitors, whilst supporting Dubai’s vision of becoming one of the most liveable and future-ready cities in the world. The first half of 2025 witnessed the opening of approximately 2,336 new food establishments, reinforcing Dubai’s reputation as a leading destination for investment in the food and hospitality industries. Dubai Municipality…