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Dubai Government Warns Against DubaiCoin Cryptocurrency Scam
The price of DubaiCoin rose from $0.09 to $1.13 within just 24 hours after a press release claimed it would be Dubai’s official cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrency investors have been facing some serious challenges lately. Prices of all major cryptocurrencies have been falling steadily ever since Elon Musk drew attention to Bitcoin’s energy consumption in a series of tweets, ultimately announcing Tesla’s decision to stop accepting Bitcoin as a payment method.
Watching their cryptocurrency portfolios deflate at an alarming rate, many investors have been turning their attention to various alternative cryptocurrencies and tokens of questionable value and origin, hoping that at least some of them will skyrocket in value.
This perhaps explains why a cryptocurrency called DubaiCoin increased by more than 1,000% after just 24 hours since its creators published a press released on a website called DubPay (website no longer available) and managed to get it listed on PR Newswire. Another reason for DubaiCoin’s short-lived success was certainly the fact that the press released claimed that it would become Dubai’s official digital currency.
“DubaiCoin will soon be able to be used to pay for a range of goods and services both in-store and online, with the clear intention for the coin to be used in place of traditional bank-backed currencies,” the press release said. “Circulation of the new digital currency will be controlled by both the city itself and authorized brokers.”
Also Read: The Top 3 Altcoins To Keep An Eye On In 2021
The price of DubaiCoin rose from $0.09 to $1.13, and it would likely continue to climb even higher if it wasn’t for Dubai’s government decision to issue a tweet in which they called DubaiCoin an elaborate phishing scam designed to steal personal information from its visitors.
The company responsible for the creation of DubaiCoin, ArabianChain Technology, has also used Twitter to publicly deny all claims made in the press release. Victims of the scam have rushed to social media calling for actions to be taken against online publications that were quick to promote DubaiCoin as Dubai’s “official cryptocurrency” without validating the source of the news.
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UAE Prepares To Launch Two Satellites: Thuraya-2 And MBZ-SAT
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council yesterday.
HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, chaired the first meeting of the Supreme Space Council in Dubai on December 16, 2024. The session highlighted the UAE’s ambitious space plans and took stock of the sector’s economic progress.
The council emphasized the growing role of private companies in advancing space technologies, noting that their contributions are now equal to that of the public sector. Members also praised initiatives like the Space Economic Zones Programme, which are designed to fuel innovation and investment in the space industry.
خلال ترؤسنا الاجتماع الأول للمجلس الأعلى للفضاء، بحثنا الاستثمارات الوطنية والمشاريع المقبلة في قطاع الفضاء والذي يشهد تطوراً مستمراً… وجددنا التزامنا بدعم ومواصلة تنفيذ برامج طموحة لاستكشاف الفضاء الخارجي حيث وصل حجم الاستثمارات في هذا القطاع إلى 40 مليار درهم خلال السنوات… pic.twitter.com/etJ33OnuSu
— Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) December 16, 2024
Discussing the UAE’s space journey, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked, “The national space sector continues to grow and advance, and we take immense pride in the remarkable achievements we have accomplished over the years”.
Sheikh Hamdan also received updates on two upcoming satellite projects: Thuraya-2 and MBZ-SAT. Thuraya-2, developed by Space42, is slated for launch this December. Meanwhile, the MBZ-SAT, created by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), will soon follow. MBRSC, a major driver of the UAE National Space Programme, continues to lead the nation’s space-related developments.
Space42 took the opportunity to showcase its advancements, including ongoing collaborations between public and private entities. The company also outlined strategies to promote innovation, boost revenue streams, and create new opportunities for growth in the sector.
Also Read: IBM Opens New Doha Office To Support Qatar’s Digital Growth
The UAE’s current projects build on a growing legacy of space exploration. Back in 2020, the nation made headlines with its Mars mission, successfully sending a probe into the planet’s orbit in 2021. This mission, which is now in its second phase as of June 2024, has been collecting critical data to develop a comprehensive diurnal image of Mars.
The UAE also ventured into lunar exploration with an unmanned mission aimed at studying untouched regions of the Moon’s surface. While the probe ultimately crashed during its landing attempt after communication was lost seconds before touchdown, the effort represented a significant step in the country’s exploration ambitions.