IOTA Launches $100 Million Foundation in Abu Dhabi, Spurs 43% Market Jump

By: Eliza Bennet

In a significant development in the Middle East's blockchain sector, the IOTA Ecosystem DLT Foundation was officially launched in Abu Dhabi. This is the first foundation to be approved by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) regulators following the establishment of the ADGM's comprehensive regulations pertaining to Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) earlier in November.

IOTA, an open-source blockchain developer, announced that this new foundation will be primarily focused on expanding its DLT in the Middle East. Over the course of the next four years, the foundation will be backed by IOTA digital tokens worth $100 million. IOTA's co-founder and chairman, Dominik Schiener stated that one of the primary objectives of the foundation is to accelerate the DLT growth and initiate the process of 'tokenizing' assets or converting real-world assets into digital ones as it's more feasible now in UAE.

Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, the chief executive of the ADGM Registration Authority, asserts that this new initiative positions the country as the leading jurisdiction for the blockchain industry. Besides, the new regulations set by ADGM are designed to create opportunities for organizations to expand into DLT, including the possibility for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations to operate legally and issue tokens to its members.

Following the announcement, IOTA saw a corresponding surge in its value, impressively jumping 43%.