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- Citizens School based in Dubai becomes the first school in the Middle East to accept crypto.
- The school has partnered with a crypto platform that converts BTC and ETH to Dirhams.
The United Arab Emirates is quickly becoming one of the most active cryptocurrency jurisdictions in the Middle East. In addition to making significant progress in developing a conducive and healthy business environment for crypto and blockchain firms, the UAE has taken significant strides toward establishing a Bitcoin-friendly and blockchain-friendly environment. Dubai is currently at the forefront of worldwide cryptocurrency adoption, with a new addition in the education sector.
Dubai-based Citizens School starts accepting crypto
After several digital asset firms set up headquarters in Dubai in recent months, the government aims to increase crypto adoption through various methods. A local school has announced its intention to start taking cryptocurrency payments as tuition fees.
The move comes just weeks after Dubai enacted its first legislation to regulate digital assets, assuring investors’ secure and sophisticated legal framework. According to a local news source, Citizens, a new school in Dubai, will give parents alternative payment choices by accepting Bitcoin and Ethereum payments.
The Citizens School intends to welcome students in September 2022. According to Zawya, a local company will automatically change the crypto coins into Dirhams.
Furthermore, it aims to offer economic growth that is in keeping with the UAE Centennial 2071, mainly through providing a world-class education for a diverse knowledge economy. The institution strives to make the Gulf country a worldwide leader in digital innovation and entrepreneurship. Consequently, the Citizens School aims to become the place where innovative ideas and children-led innovation can grow.
Dr. Adil Alzarooni, the Founder of Citizens School, stated, “A while ago, cryptocurrency was only a floating term among well-versed investors. However, today cryptocurrency is becoming much more mainstream, reshaping the traditional financial system. Similarly, Citizens is disrupting the education sector by re-imagining every element of the learning experience.” He added that the addition of digital asset payments should enhance the role of young generations in developing the country’s digital economy.
Accepting cryptocurrencies for tuition is still uncommon, and it has only recently become a trend. A few educational institutions have made the bold decision to accept cryptos as an alternative payment option. For example, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania has allowed students to pay for a blockchain course using Bitcoin, Ethereum, and The USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin.
The movement began in 2014 when King’s College became the first university in the United States to accept crypto as payment for tuition. Other educational institutions outside the United States have followed suit, including the European School of Management and Technology in Berlin and the Financial Business School in Paris.
Dubai takes center stage as a global crypto hub
Dubai is undoubtedly making progress toward becoming a new cryptocurrency center, with several crypto exchanges wanting to relocate their headquarters to the city. According to reports, Dubai has taken several pro-crypto steps. The city granted Binance‘s top digital asset exchange a license as the first. Shortly afterward, rumors surfaced that FTX wanted to establish regional headquarters in Dubai.
The number of trading platforms that intended to emulate this move increased in the following weeks, with the trend becoming more apparent. The most recent companies to indicate such intentions were Bybit and Crypto.com. These crypto exchanges also aim to create regional headquarters in Dubai, similar to these other crypto exchanges.
📢 In an announcement with the UAE Ministry of Economy @Economyae at the World Government Summit, Bybit received in-principal approval to conduct virtual asset business & will be setting up our global HQ in Dubai!
— BYBIT 🦍 (@Bybit_Official) March 28, 2022
📲 Read more here: https://t.co/HXk2dwVCCQ pic.twitter.com/0J7HQ9kjqs
Dubai is a crypto haven with solid governance and a regulatory environment to foster the sector. Unveiled in March, the new crypto legislation will govern the regulation of crypto tokens, cryptocurrency governance and licensing, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), trading of digital assets, supervision and control, monitoring transactions, and more.