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Bybit And Ghaf Labs Partner To Advance MENA Web3 Adoption
The duo plans to co-develop startups, talent, and lifestyle use cases that bring crypto closer to everyday life.
Bybit, the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with Dubai-based Web3 advisory firm Ghaf Labs to accelerate blockchain adoption and ecosystem development across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formalizes a collaboration designed to position the MENA region as a global Web3 hub, focusing on innovation, regulatory support, and real-world blockchain applications — from finance to hospitality.
“Our partnership with Ghaf Labs is rooted in a shared vision for the MENA region — one where crypto isn’t just adopted, but lived,” said Helen Liu, COO and Partner at Bybit. “From developer tooling to lifestyle integration, we’re building the bridges that bring crypto into everyday life”.
Through the partnership, Bybit and Ghaf Labs will offer equity-free grants, access to resources, and strategic guidance for startups working at the intersection of blockchain, AI, and sustainability — three pillars of the region’s digital transformation agenda.
Bybit and Ghaf Labs will also focus on nurturing a robust talent pipeline through university programs, bootcamps, and hackathons aimed at empowering developers and entrepreneurs in Arabic- and English-speaking communities.
“This partnership with Bybit reflects our shared commitment to advancing Web3 infrastructure, education, and institutional engagement,” said Feras Al Sadek, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Ghaf Labs. “Together, we aim to accelerate innovation and continue to position the UAE as a global hub for digital assets”.
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Beyond infrastructure and talent, the partnership also seeks to amplify crypto’s real-world utility through products like the Bybit Card, which connects digital assets to high-end experiences. Early use cases include premium travel perks with Grand Millennium Hotels in Dubai — part of a broader push to embed crypto in lifestyle, luxury, and day-to-day spending.
The collaboration will also strengthen Web3’s cultural footprint through co-branded regional events like the Crypto Polo Cup and Crypto Fight Night, blending sport, entertainment, and crypto to spark mainstream engagement.
With this MOU, Bybit and Ghaf Labs plan to further explore institutional integration, innovation funding, and sector-specific blockchain use cases, including applications in finance, hospitality, and education. The initiative complements the UAE’s broader strategy to establish itself as a digital-first economy.
News
Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”
Instagram’s first wordmark refresh in a decade arrives with new fonts, a restrained gradient — and a Reddit verdict of sidegrade.
Although Instagram’s famous camera icon hasn’t changed, the company has refreshed the handwritten wordmark at the top of its app. This is the first redesign we’ve seen in ten years, and one the internet promptly set about renaming.
“The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on August 13, describing the new version as “cleaner and more modern” while keeping references to the original design.
Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options — all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, even literal handwriting — before returning to script. “Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right,” Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement. “The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram”.
The wordmark is part of a broader brand overhaul: an updated Instagram Sans typeface, two new fonts — the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono — plus refreshed motion and layouts, and more restrained use of the signature gradient. The wordmark is rolling out globally now, with the rest arriving throughout 2026 and beyond.
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The design mixes cursive and print lettering, some characters connected and others floating free. That hybrid approach, combined with unusually shaped “s” and “r” characters, led some users to conclude the logo actually reads “Instagzam”. On the r/logodesign subreddit, one user said the wordmark looked “fan-made,” like something built in Canva; another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive”; a third summarized it as a “sidegrade” — or, inevitably, a “zidegrade”.
Not everyone was hostile to the new look. Some found the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others called it an improvement on its predecessor, and one commenter argued Instagram was simply adopting minimalist branding later than everyone else. Either way, the platform now has a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and an unofficial new pronunciation.
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