Tropical Blockchain Boom: Maldives Unveils $9 Billion Crypto Investment Haven
Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure
Malé, the Maldives capital, may soon be transformed. The government of the island nation has agreed on a multi-billion-dollar agreement with a family office – a private wealth management firm – in Dubai to construct a massive blockchain and cryptocurrency hub. The aim? To attract fresh investment and reduce the nation's heavy dependence on tourism and fishing.
$9 Billion Project Bigger Than Nation's Economy
The deal was struck on May 4 with MBS Global Investments, according to a report by Bloomberg. The project will cost $9 billion—higher than the Maldives' total annual GDP, which stands at approximately $7 billion. If the scheme goes ahead as planned, it will take approximately five years to complete.
The planned location, the Maldives International Financial Centre, would occupy approximately 830,000 square meters of space. Upon completion, the center might employ a maximum of 16,000 individuals, the Financial Times disclosed. That's a drastic change for a nation with an all-time population of less than half a million.
💥BREAKING:
MALDIVES TO BUILD $9 BILLION BLOCKCHAIN HUB TO ATTRACT GLOBAL INVESTORS! pic.twitter.com/p2KPRvFmeT
— Crypto Rover (@rovercrc) May 4, 2025
Other Nations Already In The Lead
While the Maldives is making a big move, other places are already far ahead in the crypto race. Dubai is one of them. The city has been building itself up as a tech and crypto-friendly zone for years. In April, Dubai's Land Department teamed up with the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority to put its land records on blockchain. That step helps with things like turning real estate into digital assets.
BTCUSD trading at $94,662 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView.com
Singapore and Hong Kong are also in the spotlight. Both locations host hundreds of Web3 and fintech companies within their jurisdictions. They've established ecosystems where businesses can develop without worrying about being closed by an abrupt change in rules.
A scenic view of Maldives. Image: Nova Hotel/Glamour.
Hong Kong Leverages Its Role To Draw Crypto Talent
Hong Kong is particularly keen on attracting international crypto companies. Ivan Ivanov, the worldwide CEO of WOW Summit, explains the city serves as a bridge between China and the West. That position gives it an advantage. It also allows regulators to pilot new concepts before determining whether to implement them more broadly.
Singapore, on the other hand, has quietly become a home base for numerous crypto projects. It boasts dozens of exchanges and a constant flow of investment, and now it's one of the most significant crypto hubs in Asia.
Maldives Betting On A Big Change
For the Maldives, this new plan is a significant departure. Constructing a financial center of this scale from the ground up won't be simple. Strong planning, clear regulations, and judicious investment will be required. But the nation appears willing to roll the dice.
The push for crypto influence is growing fast around the world, and the Maldives is making it clear that it wants to be part of that conversation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
43 minutes ago
- New York Post
AI recruiting is all the rage — as employers hand the screening of new hires over to robots: ‘Seemed insane'
It's the rise of the robo-recruiters. Employers are turning to artificial intelligence to screen potential new human hires. AI recruiting software is increasingly subbing in for actual people during preliminary interviews — with a fake person quizzing candidates and inquiring about their skills, before delivering their findings to managers. Replacing recruiters with AI technology to screen new hires is becoming popular with employers. Jacob Lund – 'A year ago this idea seemed insane,' Arsham Ghahramani, co-founder and chief executive officer of Toronto-based AI recruiting startup Ribbon, told Bloomberg. 'Now it's quite normalized.' Companies say the goal is to ultimately make the interview process more efficient and accessible for candidates — without needing human recruiters to be online all day. For employers, particularly those hiring at high volume, the switch can save hundreds of hours of manpower per week. For others who've seen a dramatic rise in candidates employing AI to answer interview questions, they're simply meeting the market where it's at. Canadian nonprofit Propel Impact, a social impact investing organization, said the rise of the use of ChatGPT for application materials had become widespread. 'They were all the same,' Cheralyn Chok, Propel's co-founder and executive director, told Bloomberg. 'Same syntax, same patterns.' Recruiters at companies hiring at high volumes can spend hundreds of hours a week screening candidates. Atstock Productions – The shift comes as a majority of Americans polled last year by Consumer Reports said that they were uncomfortable with the use of AI in high-stakes decisions about their lives. The implementation of using AI to interact with job candidates on screen has been in the works for years at this point, according to Bloomberg. 'The first year ChatGPT came out, recruiters weren't really down for this,' HeyMilo CEO Sabashan Ragavan said. 'But the technology has gotten a lot better as time has gone on.' But with all things tech, it's not always 100% glitch-free. Some TikTok users have posted their experiences with AI recruiters, with one in particular going viral when her interviewer at a Stretch Lab in Ohio malfunctioned and repeated the phrase 'vertical bar pilates' 14 times in 25 seconds. 'I thought it was really creepy and I was freaked out,' she told 404 Media in a recent interview about the AI interviewer, powered by startup Apriora. 'I didn't find it funny at all until I had posted it on TikTok, and the comments made me feel better.' Aaron Wang, Apriora's co-founder and CEO, claimed that the error was due to the model misreading the term 'Pilates,' Bloomberg reported. 'We're not going to get it right every single time,' he said. 'The incident rate is well under 0.001%.'
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Carney's Budget Delay Adds to Economic Uncertainty in Canada, Analysts Say
Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to delay Canada's budget until later this year increases economic uncertainty but isn't likely to spark worries among investors, say a majority of economists in a Bloomberg survey. Carney announced after winning an April election that he would push back an update of the country's fiscal picture, typically delivered in the first half of the year. He pointed to the short parliamentary sitting in May and June, as well as the uncertainty caused by Donald Trump's chaotic trade war.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Asness on Buying Opportunities, Markets, Tarirffs
Cliff Asness, AQR Capital Management founder, talks about the current state of markets, his investing philosophy, where he sees buying opportunities and how President Donald Trump's policies could impact investors. He is on "Bloomberg Open Interest." (Source: Bloomberg)
