CoinMENA

On this day 16 years ago, October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin Whitepaper. In just 16 years, Bitcoin has risen from obscurity to a global reserve asset, outperforming all other asset classes since 2011 and protecting millions—and soon billions—from the silent theft of monetary debasement. Thank you, Satoshi 🙏

📧🎙️ This week on Kalam Crypto: 🚀#Bitcoin soars past $71,000, 3% away from a new all-time high 🤔Microsoft considers bitcoin investment 💪Tether.io challenges WSJ’s allegations as reckless reporting All this and more in this week’s edition of Kalam Crypto!

Bitcoin has already won—and it’s wild how early we still are. It’s been nearly 16 years since Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper to a cryptography mailing list. Sixteen years—that’s all. Bitcoin is just a teenager, and you can tell how young the industry is when you attend events like the Plan B conference last week in Lugano, Switzerland. Crypto is still such a fresh field that you can chat casually with pioneers like Adam Back, who was even referenced in Satoshi’s whitepaper for Hashcash, the precursor to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus mechanism. In just sixteen years, Bitcoin has risen from obscurity to a major asset class, now appearing on corporate balance sheets and proving itself as a hedge against monetary debasement. Critics claim Bitcoin has “failed” simply because we’re not paying for coffee with it (though, in many cities, you actually can). What they miss is that Bitcoin is challenging the entrenched network effects of fiat currency, so sixteen years is a blip. Yet, this critique persists, causing many to miss what I believe is the investment opportunity of our lifetime due to short-sighted FUD. A monetary asset goes through three phases as its being “monetized.” First, it becomes a store of value. Here, Bitcoin’s absolute scarcity draws comparison to gold. This use case is already proven; Bitcoin has emerged as a robust hedge against fiat debasement, with an annualized growth rate of 150% since 2011 (and over 50% annualized in the last five years). It’s the best-performing asset class globally. As a store of value, Bitcoin has already “won”. The next phase is to serve as a medium of exchange, and we’re starting to see this in small communities and cities worldwide. Here in Lugano, Bitcoin is legal tender; you can pay for meals, drinks, and even taxes with it. While still niche, “circular economies” living on a Bitcoin standard are emerging globally. This is bitcoin’s ultimate destiny, a “peer-to-peer electronic cash system”, the title of the bitcoin whitepaper. Finally, the third step is for Bitcoin to become a unit of account—the standard by which other goods are measured. Some of us have already adopted this mindset. Personally, I measure my net worth in Bitcoin, where everything from real estate to goods becomes more affordable over time. For example, an apartment in the Burj Khalifa cost around 1,400 BTC in 2016; today, it would cost around 20 BTC. Companies that overlook Bitcoin on their balance sheets may live to regret it. Tether, the most profitable company per employee, has accumulated over 82,000 BTC, valued at more than $5 billion in pristine capital. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, with over 200,000 BTC, has become the best-performing stock on the market, even outperforming giants like Nvidia. Plan B was an exceptional event, leaving me more bullish and optimistic than ever about the future of Bitcoin and stablecoins. And as for the new Satoshi statue? Absolute fire!

#Bitcoin soars above $71k 🚀 You, too can own the best-performing asset class in the world. Friendly reminder: each bitcoin consists of 100 million satoshis. You can buy a fraction of a bitcoin, as little as $15 worth, in your local currency. ✅Licensed & Regulated ✅Direct AED/BHD/Fiat deposits and withdrawals  ✅Easy-to-use app

I’m honored to have been named 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 by Women Changing The World. Thank you to the organizers for highlighting the achievements of women in tech and business, and inspiring the next generation of women leaders! This year, I’ve had the opportunity to help more women break into the tech space through employment, mentorship, and workshops. While there’s always more work to do, each step forward opens new doors for women to succeed and strengthens our community.

📧🎙️ This week on Kalam Crypto: 🚀#Bitcoin surpasses #GBP as the 6th largest monetary asset in the world 🤔#ECB paper reaches an interesting conclusion about #bitcoin 📈#BTC ETF inflows continue to increase And CoinMENA adds two new digital assets: 🐸PEPE & 🐶WIF All this and more in this week’s edition of Kalam Crypto!

Sometimes we have to look back to see how far we’ve come. The 2024 State of Crypto report, generated by a16z (the biggest VC firm in crypto), tracks the progress of crypto adoption across key metrics. Just two years ago in 2022, there were no crypto ETFs, Ethereum hadn’t completed its shift to Proof of Stake, and Ethereum Layer 2s were still in their infancy. Fast forward to today, and we’re seeing all-time highs in crypto activity, with blockchain infrastructure maturing in ways that would have been hard to imagine. Here are my most interesting takeaways: Stablecoins Have Found Product-Market Fit Stablecoins are quickly becoming one of crypto’s most powerful applications. By enabling fast, cheap, global payments, among other uses, they’ve proven to be crypto’s “killer app.” In the second quarter of 2024, stablecoins accounted for $8.5 trillion in transaction volume across 1.1 billion transactions. To put that into perspective, that’s more than double Visa’s $3.9 trillion in transactions over the same period! Stablecoins are now being compared to household names like Visa, PayPal, ACH, and Fedwire, which shows just how powerful and useful this technology has become. At CoinMENA, we see this reflected in our own user base, which is why we continue to expand our stablecoin offering. We now offer USDT via three networks (ERC-20, TRON, & TON), USDC via three networks (ERC-20, Stellar, and as of today, Solana), PayPal’s PYUSD via ERC-20, and soon, we’ll be among the first globally to launch Ripple’s RLUSD when it’s released. Stablecoins aren’t just a trend. Even during market downturns, the number of stablecoin transactions keeps growing. This means people are using stablecoins for more than just trading—it's becoming a go-to method for transferring value globally. As more fiat currencies experience rapid devaluation, I fully expect stablecoin adoption to skyrocket. It's simply a superior technology for moving value across the globe. Crypto Activity Hits All-Time Highs There have never been more monthly active crypto addresses. In September, 220 million addresses interacted with a blockchain at least once—more than triple the number from the end of 2023. We also saw a record 29 million monthly mobile crypto wallet users in June 2024. While the U.S. still leads in the number of mobile wallet users, its share has been shrinking as crypto adoption grows worldwide, with countries like Nigeria, India, and Argentina emerging as key markets. Despite this explosive growth, much of it is happening quietly. Google search trends show that interest in Bitcoin is still below 2021 bull market levels and even lower than it was during the FTX collapse when we were deep in the bear market. Yet here we are today, with Bitcoin sitting at ~$68k, just 7% away from a new all-time high. All of these factors suggest that crypto is a coiled spring waiting to explode. The next few months are going to be very interesting! #bitcoin

We had a fantastic evening yesterday celebrating CoinMENA's partnership with Bitpanda Technology Solutions! A big thank you to Nadeem Ladki and Walid Benothman from Bitpanda, not only for working with us to secure this partnership but also for co-hosting such a successful event. It was a pleasure connecting with so many industry partners. Together, we look forward to bringing new products to the market and enhancing crypto services in the #MENA region. This partnership marks a significant step forward in our shared mission to drive innovation and expand access to secure, regulated digital assets. We are looking forward to the opportunities ahead!

Honored to have spoken at TEDx PSUT and to receive this award from my alma mater Princess Sumaya University for Technology. I shared my journey as an entrepreneur and discussed the incredible potential of cryptocurrencies in transforming financial services and providing access to the unbanked. Grateful for the opportunity to inspire and be inspired by the next generation of innovators!

We’re proud to announce that CoinMENA will be among the first platforms in the world to launch Ripple's #RLUSD, their dollar-pegged stablecoin. Once released, you’ll be able to find RLUSD on CoinMENA first, making us one of the first globally and the only platform in the MENA region to offer it! As stablecoins become a key part of the financial landscape, we’re excited to provide our users with early access to this innovative new asset. Stay tuned! 🚀 #Stablecoin #Crypto #CoinMENA #Ripple