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Khaleej Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Code, coin and confidence: Can digital currency earn consumer trust?
Imagine a future where your paycheck arrives in your wallet before your coffee order finishes brewing, where remittances skip borders like emails, and where the value you hold isn't printed on paper but encrypted in trust. Welcome to the era where money loses its face but hopefully not your faith. In the UAE, a land of hyper-modern skylines and forward-thinking regulation, this future is quietly becoming the present. But even here, where the appetite for innovation is insatiable, digital currency isn't advancing without caution. The challenge isn't whether the technology works. It's whether people believe it will work for them. Let's dives deep into how fintech pioneers and visionaries are earning consumer confidence; not just with code, but with clarity, consistency, and community. The trust gap in a digital economy Ask any consumer what's stopping them from using crypto or blockchain-based payment systems, and you'll hear a common refrain: 'Is it safe?' According to Kamal Youssefi, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of The Hashgraph Group, 'UAE users are no different from global ones who store or utilise digital currencies. Their greatest concerns are security, safe custody, and asset volatility.' These are not merely abstract concerns. They're grounded in real-world risks - phishing scams, loss of private keys, price swings, and the perception that digital assets exist in an unregulated Wild West. To bridge this gap, The Hashgraph Association has launched several enterprise-grade applications aimed at mitigating these pain points. One such initiative is their partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on a Digital Assets Wills project. This platform allows users to manage and pass on digital assets - ranging from Bitcoin and Ethereum to NFTs - through a non-custodial, court-backed wallet, granting users both flexibility and security. The platform supports a variety of assets, including ETH, BTC, MATIC, USDC, USDT, and Hedera (HBAR), with plans to expand to NFT standards such as ERC-721, ERC-115, and Ordinals. According to Youssefi, 'Future enhancements will deepen user control and transparency, while maintaining ironclad safeguards for asset transfer.' In parallel, a partnership between The Hashgraph Association and Taurus is offering enhanced digital asset custody solutions. With staking, tokenisation, and regulatory-grade protection, such initiatives are setting new benchmarks in trust and credibility. Blockchain: Security by design Transparency has long been touted as blockchain's biggest value proposition - and for good reason. With every transaction verifiable and immutable, blockchain-based systems make fraud nearly impossible, provided best practices are followed. Youssefi points to Hedera's infrastructure as an example. 'Hedera processes over 10,000 transactions per second with three-second finality and an average cost of just $0.0001 - using far less energy than traditional blockchains. Every transaction is transparent and permanent.' This technical foundation is now fueling futuristic applications. Case in point: Hashgraph's investment in SEALCOIN, an IoT-focused platform enabling devices to conduct autonomous, verifiable transactions. 'In tomorrow's world,' Youssefi explains, 'devices will transact without humans. Blockchain ensures these exchanges remain secure and auditable.' This kind of trustless system, paradoxically, builds trust; particularly among enterprise and governmental stakeholders who require both scalability and accountability. Blockchain also enhances traceability, a critical factor in sectors like supply chain, healthcare, and environmental governance. When every data point is timestamped and tamper-proof, organisations are more likely to integrate blockchain into core operations - an evolution that boosts consumer confidence indirectly. Tokenisation: Making the intangible tangible Another powerful tool in the trust arsenal is tokenisation - the conversion of real-world assets into digital tokens on the blockchain. From real estate and bonds to art and intellectual property, tokenisation enables fractional ownership, faster transfers, and simplified access. 'The future of fintech lies in the tokenisation of financial products,' says Youssefi. 'It's not just about efficiency - it's about making investments accessible, traceable, and trustworthy.' One of Hashgraph's standout projects is the tokenisation of Sukuk, Islamic financial certificates akin to bonds. The project's goal is to bring Shariah-compliant investments onto the blockchain, opening them up to a global Muslim investor base. Additional projects in carbon credit and real-world asset tokenisation are also in development. For consumers, these innovations offer a more transparent financial experience - where every token has a trail, and every transaction a timestamp. It also simplifies compliance and auditability, making digital assets more appealing to institutional investors. Tokenisation also has the potential to bring liquidity to traditionally illiquid markets. Properties, antiques, or even music royalties can be broken into digital shares, traded seamlessly, and accessed globally - a revolution in asset democratisation. Code without a face: Can you trust it? In traditional finance, currencies bear the faces of presidents and monarchs - symbols of state-backed stability. But what does trust look like when your money has no face? 'The face of trust on a currency is a symbol of common belief in value,' Youssefi says. 'In the age of crypto, the face is no longer a person - it's the protocol.' This sentiment is echoed by Talal Tabbaa, CEO of CoinMENA, a UAE-licensed crypto exchange. 'Trust in Bitcoin comes from transparency and code - not from central banks or printed faces. Bitcoin runs on rules, not rulers.' CoinMENA's formula for earning consumer confidence? Licensing, transparency, and time. 'Consistent delivery of top-tier service and education builds organic, word-of-mouth trust,' says Tabbaa. This principle - trust in the protocol - underscores a major shift in financial culture. In decentralised systems, assurance comes from open-source code, verifiable consensus, and public ledgers. The role of intermediaries diminishes, and power returns to the individual user. Decoding UAE's appetite for crypto According to the 2024 Chainalysis report, over 34 per cent of UAE citizens now hold digital assets - a sharp contrast to the global average of just four per cent. This surge is directly tied to the UAE's regulatory foresight. 'Mass adoption of digital currencies will only follow the establishment of trust frameworks,' says Youssefi. 'The UAE has taken a global leadership role in regulating this space, creating fertile ground for innovation and adoption.' The UAE's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has rolled out detailed guidelines for exchanges, custodians, and token issuers. This proactive approach balances consumer protection with room for innovation; creating a sandbox for secure experimentation. For users, that trust is multi-layered. It's about knowing their platform is licensed. It's about believing that, even in volatility, systems are in place to protect their interests. Regulatory clarity, in turn, attracts international players and investment. From speculation to application Is crypto still a speculative asset, or has it become a utility? For Tabbaa, the answer is both. 'Some buy Bitcoin to hedge inflation, others use stablecoins for B2B transfers. And yes, some are still chasing memecoins. The use-cases are evolving.' But increasingly, practical utility is emerging - especially in remittances and merchant payments. That's where companies like Bitget come in. According to Vugar Usi Zade, Chief Operating Officer of Bitget, 'We're witnessing a shift. In the UAE, where digital literacy is high, crypto is being used for more than speculation. It's being integrated into e-commerce, cross-border payments, and everyday transactions.' Platforms like PayFi, which bridge Web2 and Web3 ecosystems, are making blockchain benefits accessible to users without technical know-how. Integration into point-of-sale systems, payroll, and government disbursements may be next. As utility deepens, volatility becomes a smaller piece of the picture. Building credibility brick by brick In an industry known for flash and volatility, how do you build long-term credibility? For Bitget, the answer lies in radical transparency. 'We were among the first to implement real-time Proof of Reserves - users can verify, at any time, that their assets are fully backed,' says Zade. The company has also launched a $300 million Protection Fund, acting as a user safety net. 'These aren't marketing gimmicks,' Zade insists. 'They're infrastructure-level assurances.' Education is another pillar. 'In this space, self-responsibility is key. We focus on making users aware of scams, phishing, and safe wallet practices.' Partnerships with cybersecurity firms and constant audits further reinforce user confidence. As regulatory expectations rise, only platforms committed to full compliance will thrive. In a digital world where a wrong click can mean irreversible loss, these preventive steps go a long way in building - and sustaining - trust. A new financial order built on code We are on the cusp of a financial transformation. Digital assets are evolving from speculative tools to foundational pillars of tomorrow's economy. But for that transformation to be complete, fintechs must continue investing in infrastructure that's not just scalable, but scrupulous. Regulation must keep pace with innovation. And above all, the conversation around trust must be as dynamic as the technologies it underpins. As Zade puts it, 'Credibility isn't declared; it's proven. And platforms that prioritise transparency over hype will win the long game.' The financial institutions of the future may not have grand lobbies or bank tellers but they'll have lines of code and transparent protocols working at the speed of trust. Rewriting the ledger of trust There was a time when trust was carved in stone, stamped in wax, or printed on banknotes bearing royal signatures. But in this era of digital flows and decentralised networks, trust is becoming invisible, yet no less powerful. The UAE's fintech revolution is not about replacing money with code. It's about replacing uncertainty with confidence - built not on blind faith, but on cryptographic proof, transparent systems, and shared belief in a better financial future. So, can a currency with no face earn your trust? Maybe not overnight. But block by block, byte by byte, and choice by choice, the future of money is earning more than just value, it's earning something far rarer in today's digital age: credibility. Digital currency doesn't just ask you to rethink money. It asks you to rethink who you trust and why. Not a face. Not a building. But a line of code. A timestamp. A consensus. In the UAE, fintech isn't waiting for trust to appear. It's architecting it, line by line, law by law. From high-rise regulators to hashgraph innovators, the movement isn't about hyp. Because the future of finance isn't faceless. It's fearless. And it's already here wallet-ready and waiting. And in this new economy, that might just be the most valuable currency of all.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KPMG in India collaborates with The Hashgraph Group AG to drive enterprise blockchain adoption leveraging Hedera's DLT technology
MUMBAI, India, Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KPMG in India, a leading professional services firm, and The Hashgraph Group (THG), a Swiss-based international business, venture capital, and technology company operating exclusively within the Hedera ecosystem, today announced a strategic alliance, aimed at accelerating the impact and enterprise adoption of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) across industry sectors, leveraging Hedera's platform capabilities and its enterprise-grade DLT network. The alliance is expected to see KPMG in India and The Hashgraph Group AG (THG) collaborating to enable and advance blockchain adoption, thereby aiming to deliver transformative benefits to enterprise clients globally and across various sectors. The strategic alliance is expected to aim to offer co-branded and joint go-to-market solutions, leveraging THG's Hashgraph for Enterprise (H4E) product suite to enable businesses to benefit from secure enterprise-grade solutions built on the Hedera with service level agreements (SLAs). Blockchain/DLT implementations are rapidly transitioning from nice-to-have to must-have decisions as we further advance into the future of a decentralized and interconnected Web3 economy. The growing adoption of blockchain/DLT is expected to continue to gain traction for enterprises, with this technology now empowering many industries through its distributed ledger system. The evolution of blockchain/DLT as a technology, to a complete digital infrastructure, showcases its unique abilities to boost security, reduce costs, and enable everyday transactions to be more efficient, affordable, and convenient, while saving energy and meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria and reporting requirements. Speaking on the alliance, Chaitanya Gogineni, Partner, Digital Lighthouse, KPMG in India, said: "We are excited to join forces with The Hashgraph Group to build innovative Digital Ledger Technology (DLT) led tools and enable digital transformation for our clients. This alliance is built on a shared vision of empowering businesses to harness the power of DLT, unlocking new opportunities and creating lasting value." To this effect, this strategic alliance is expected to combine KPMG in India's extensive expertise in the area of advisory and consulting services with Hedera's leading DLT platform to create robust, secure, and energy-efficient decentralized solutions that can be easily, safely, and seamlessly integrated. The alliance could also look at addressing critical challenges and enterprise needs in areas such as digital identity (DID), digital product passport (DPP), sustainability, supply chain management, asset tokenization, and more. Stefan Deiss, Co-Founder & CEO of The Hashgraph Group, stated: "This strategic alliance with KPMG in India represents a pivotal moment in combining the strengths of a leading professional services firm with the technological power of Hedera as the world's leading layer-1 protocol to enable organizations with Hedera-powered post-quantum enterprise solutions. We are excited to embark on this joint go-to-market journey with KPMG in India and look forward to empowering businesses to compete in the Web3 economy." Additionally, the structured collaboration in the productization and commercialization of blockchain/DLT for enterprises, might enable KPMG in India and THG to pool engineering resources, advisory expertise, investments, and strategic Web3 capabilities to serve the growing demand for enterprise ready blockchain-powered solutions, with the achieved synergy expected to strengthen both KPMG in India and THG's global market presence, while increasing client reach and enhancing service delivery through a joint go to market strategy and unified project execution. Krishna Tyagi, Head of Web3 at KPMG in India, said: "Today blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionize various sectors by providing secure, transparent, and efficient solutions. Our alliance with The Hashgraph Group is expected to enable us to offer our clients immense value and drive innovation in the digital economy enabled by blockchain technology." Hedera leverages its Hashgraph consensus algorithm to achieve high speed, security, and scalability. It's low, predictable fees, and carbon-negative footprint make it ideal for enterprise applications ranging from decentralized finance to sustainability solutions to supply chain management. Governed by some of the world's leading organizations, including the 32 Hedera Governing Council members Hedera offers a trusted and robust quantum-resistant infrastructure for businesses and institutions. Anindya Roychowdhury, Head of Global Partnerships at The Hashgraph Group, said: "Having spent a large part of my professional career with KPMG in India, I am delighted to have facilitated this important collaboration. India is emerging as the world's #1 destination for Web3, and this strategic alliance will establish Hedera as the preferred DLT protocol for governments and enterprises; we have already made significant inroads through our local presence in India and expect to scale massively over the coming years." About KPMG in India KPMG entities in India are professional services firm(s). These Indian member firms are affiliated with KPMG International Limited. KPMG was established in India in August 1993. Our professionals leverage the global network of firms, and are conversant with local laws, regulations, markets and competition. KPMG has offices across India in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, Pune, Vadodara and Vijayawada. KPMG entities in India offer services to national and international clients in India across sectors. We strive to provide rapid, performance-based, industry-focused and technology-enabled services, which reflect a shared knowledge of global and local industries and our experience of the Indian business environment. About The Hashgraph Group The Hashgraph Group (THG) is a Swiss-based international business, venture capital, and technology company that operates exclusively within the Hedera ecosystem, specialized in venture building programs and strategic investments aimed at enabling entrepreneurs, enterprises, and governments to adapt and compete in the Web3 economy. THG brings specialist expertise in the design, development, and deployment of enterprise-grade solutions and decentralized applications on Hedera through its team of Hedera-Certified Engineers, including operating multiple venture studios around the world. For more information about The Hashgraph Group, visit About Hedera Governed by a council of the world's leading institutions, Hedera is a high-performance, secure, and sustainable public, permissioned DLT network. It enables seamless tokenization of real-world and digital assets with unmatched performance, security, and compliance. From regulated security tokens to NFTs, Hedera empowers the efficient creation of diverse asset types by providing enterprises and developers with robust open-source tools to unlock illiquid assets and drive the evolution of financial markets. For more information about Hedera, visit Photo: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Hashgraph Association Sign in to access your portfolio
