Middle East (UAE, Saudi, etc) - بتكوين في الدول العربية

[amoai]

Original Post:

Hi all, I'm looking for people that will help me establish a Bitcoin education and exchange system for the Arab world.
I feel as if we are responsible for establishing a working system. I have a Saudi Arabian passport, but I grew up in the U.S.

We have to deal with three broad issues:

1- Education
2- Safe Mode of Entry (Bitcoin Exchange)
3- Legality and Legitimacy

Working together, we can educate the Arab world about Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies technology and uses (1) Then provide a way for Arab/GCC/Middle Eastern countries to participate in the bitcoin economy (2), and we must do it through legal means so we don't create a negative image that will harm it's early adoption.

For education, I am looking for a collective group of people that can collaborate with me. For example, we can start with the video introducing Bitcoin that is used for weusecoins.org or bitcoin.org
(or a newer version) translated into Arabic. Then creating an Arabic FAQs, and see where we go from here...

For the exchange, we can begin with local exchanges and person-to-person transfers, but we must provide an alternative mode of entry into the Bitcoin ecosystem through an exchange, I am personally working on an exchange for Saudi Arabia, but I realized others were doing the same in Egypt, Kuwait, and the UAE. I propose a collective work for one large exchange to serve the GCC countries and perhaps another for North African countries, but that will depend on the legal limits of each country and the licensing involved with each. It will also involve a team of highly technical people, fortunatly for us there's an open-source bitcoin exchange platform in development we can use (Edit: Buttercoin was purchased and rebranded ), but the fate of adoption will be in our hands, we must make sure it is secure and easy to use, something that is proving to be already difficult for most people in the US (seeing how non-technical newbies are reacting to it). I don't want an armature job, or scammers, to ruin the reputation of bitcoin.

This will be no easy task, but we must take action because where there is money, there are scams, and people might use Bitcon's philosophy and technology to scam people in our Arab countries, and when they do, the reputation will be harmed along the way and our Arab world will lag behind if there is ever a global world adoption.

السلام عليكم
العنوان والنقاش هو عن تعليم ونشر فكرة العملة الالكترونية بتكوين فالدول العربية بالتعاون مع ناس فاهمين الفكرة بعميق زييي
أنا واحد مولود فالسعودية بس عايش في أمريكا،  إذا إنت ما تقرا إنجليزي رد علي بالعربي وإن شاء الله أقدر اشرحلك


Thanks,
- AMOAI

Update October 2018: We're launching Rain.bh



It took 5 years from my original post to finally get something off the ground, during the past 2 years we've made Rain happen by partnering with the central bank of Bahrain.

Full details from our announcement on our blog: Welcome to Rain

Read more about Rain in the news:

Forbes ME
Yahoo Finance
MenaBytes
ArabianBusiness
Zawya



Update July 2019: Rain is now the Central Bank of Bahrain's first licensed crypto-asset company!
https://www.coindesk.com/crypto-exchange-rain-raises-from-bitmex-opens-trading-in-middle-east

[sandlander]

Hey,

I live in Dubai and have been mining BTC with KNC Jupiters since mid October . All my family members are Bitcoin friendly but haven't adopted or done any transaction yet. I even tried to bribe them with Satoshi handouts.

My Emarati friends are becoming curious but always citing regulatory issues if they were to commit huge investments. Western friends in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are familiar with the concept but a bit skeptic and mostly indifferent. Interestingly, Indian and Bangladshi friends (Asians in general) are very involved due to the high fees of outward remittance they incur under the traditional banking system, and they seem to bring hope of at least running a market of peers.

I am pretty pessimistic about UAE or Dubai adopting Bitcoin officially. Germany's recognition of BTC was a strong push forward. Let's see how the US Senate fare with their deliberations. Perhaps the Arabs will follow suit.

It takes leadership, engagement and education let alone top level decision making regardless how popular it gets. But most importantly, there is a psychological aspect of Bitcoin that is self defeating. People tend to disfavour decimal point figures, like 0.003 because we all have 10 fingers and maybe because we inherently tend to amass stuff in ones, twos, thousands, millions...etc

Also, the region needs a bitcoin pool. I have had rough time with latency mining with French or US pools.

تحياتي للجميع

[lophie]

I am a big time joe bitcoiner and I have spent years learning every aspect of Bitcoin and related subjects, economics, politics and technical aspects. I am the one behind the previous bitcoinarabia.com but it was literally closed because lack of interest.

I am born and raised in Mecca, A full Arabian descend with perfect grasp of the language. To whomever interested in spreading Bitcoin and got what it takes of knowledge and dedication, contact me

- Lophie

[JayB]

I am currently based in Lebanon and I'm interested in such a project.

I have previously held managerial positions in 2 of the region's most successful start-ups and have a good idea of how to tackle issues and plan strategically. Let me know if you're still interested and if there's anything we can do together.
 

[Abdussamad]

Wow certainly no shortage of talent in this thread and I wish you guys well. But I have to ask whether there are enough buyers and sellers in the ME to justify the cost of making and maintaining a trading engine for a full fledged exchange? Wouldn't it make more sense to start small and gauge interest with an OTC site?

[lophie]

Wow certainly no shortage of talent in this thread and I wish you guys well. But I have to ask whether there are enough buyers and sellers in the ME to justify the cost of making and maintaining a trading engine for a full fledged exchange? Wouldn't it make more sense to start small and gauge interest with an OTC site?

Due to the nature of political suppression and government control over the economies, it will be very rare for OTC transactions. An exchange tolerated by a government will work great. I hae a couple of plans for this

[amoai]

Hi all, thank you all for the posts.

There's more interest in creating a bitcoin-based-business than creating an informational community, which is understandable because there are many business opportunities. What I'm proposing is that before any of you decide to approach customers with a business, we have to establish an informational database. Not only will it give all the entrepreneurs in the region information to fall back on, but it will help people understand Bitcoin is far more than the entrepreneurs' business. I understand that we all recognize it is a new form of money and it's tempting to want to build a startup so quickly but please understand that if your business takes off, and it is the only one in the region and it suffers from one issue or another, it will damage bitcoins' credibility.

I wanted to create an easily-understood free information before anything else. With this information we can collectively increase the market share of bitcoins in the region and its use, if you'd like to create your own business and use this information you will be free to do so. We have to start with education, a brand for BTC that isn't directly connected to the businesses that may come up soon, including exchanges.

Q 1 > Do we do this individually or do we collaborate with translating Bitcoin.org and work with the bitcoin foundation?

I was made aware of the interest for foreign workers because of the lack of fees they incur when they transfer money back home.

I understand people are bound to full numbers, I have also talked to several people nationals from the UAE and many were amazed by the returns they could have made but   disregarded it. I had to start explaining money, then the world economy, then inflation and the petro-dollar, it became very political and I don't want it to be that way.
I make it very clear to them that I am not trying to sell them anything. If you approach somebody with your business and try to explain bitcoins then try to lead them to a sale people will lose trust in you, and bitcoins subsequently. I think you should be careful to advertise Bitcoin as a (high risk) investment instead of an alternative currency (even though it clearly is both).  

There may not be enough interest to fully design and engineer a secure exchange - I've looked into designing/developing one but it is unlikely I will create one within the next year, maybe one of you will step up for the challenge. I am indeed thinking more at a local level. I am thinking 4-5 years ahead and what to do if the world economy takes Bitcoin to be something even more than it is today.

Wow certainly no shortage of talent in this thread and I wish you guys well. But I have to ask whether there are enough buyers and sellers in the ME to justify the cost of making and maintaining a trading engine for a full fledged exchange? Wouldn't it make more sense to start small and gauge interest with an OTC site?

Not at the current market, obviously only a tiny percentage of people use or understand bitcoins in the M.E. UAE and Egypt are currently the highest.

I am currently based in Lebanon and I'm interested in such a project.

I have previously held managerial positions in 2 of the region's most successful start-ups and have a good idea of how to tackle issues and plan strategically. Let me know if you're still interested and if there's anything we can do together.
 

Great, I am in touch with some Lebanese entrepreneurs for other projects but it would help to have like-minded individuals work together.

Thanks,

[cAllisTo]

i got loads of good informations and oponions through your thread . but i want to ask a question ... Do you think the Government in countries like Uae or Saudi Arabia accept bitcoin as a legal Curreny ?
in my Oponion they can simply deny it just like china if they see its going big and bigger . Bitcoin can Hurt the profits on the Current Banking system and im sure they wont let it to happen .

[alkaint]

i got loads of good informations and oponions through your thread . but i want to ask a question ... Do you think the Government in countries like Uae or Saudi Arabia accept bitcoin as a legal Curreny ?
in my Oponion they can simply deny it just like china if they see its going big and bigger . Bitcoin can Hurt the profits on the Current Banking system and im sure they wont let it to happen .

hello , i thought about this BUT by looking at our system i won't be worry , the most important factor here is we pay ZERO taxes , it's the otherway around actually , the gulf governments pay taxes to the locals through tons of channels like supporting oil prices and food , free educations and healthcare, hell u can even get paid by the govermnets to get healthcare or education and get salary if you like doing it in other countries ^^

so i don't think the government will be worry about locals trade their currency for BTC , hell i think 70% of the currency are going outside the country by the contractors and labors channels alone

that and our governments are so stupid techwise to know what BTC is , if they ever gets the different between twitter and facebook  .

[jokerzz]

السلام وعليكم
انا من الجزائر  و من يريد التواصل معي او المشاركة او اي استفسار عن البتكوين انا هنا
اخوكم من الجزائر
skype( korn1239 )
email ( fortminor_rock2@hotmail.com )

[mmitech]

السلام وعليكم
انا من الجزائر  و من يريد التواصل معي او المشاركة او اي استفسار عن البتكوين انا هنا
اخوكم من الجزائر
skype( korn1239 )
email ( fortminor_rock2@hotmail.com )

algerien ? min men dzayer exactement ? meme ana algerien 3ayech fi leurope, 7ab nafhem wine rahom les algeriens m3a el Bitcoin ? ab3athli PM svp...

[BitAddict]

Hi there!
I'm from Spain, I've been learning and doing business with bitcoin since 2012. Now I'm moving to Dubai and would be nice to have some bitcoin contacts there.
Also my wife is Arabian, so she will help me there with the language

I hope we can start moving something there!

[cAllisTo]

Hi all, I'm looking for people that will help me establish a Bitcoin education and exchange system for the Arab world.

i posted a Pm for you if you interested to do some jobs together

[lophie]

i got loads of good informations and oponions through your thread . but i want to ask a question ... Do you think the Government in countries like Uae or Saudi Arabia accept bitcoin as a legal Curreny ?
in my Opinion they can simply deny it just like china if they see its going big and bigger . Bitcoin can Hurt the profits on the Current Banking system and im sure they wont let it to happen .

hello , i thought about this BUT by looking at our system i won't be worry , the most important factor here is we pay ZERO taxes , it's the otherway around actually , the gulf governments pay taxes to the locals through tons of channels like supporting oil prices and food , free educations and healthcare, hell u can even get paid by the govermnets to get healthcare or education and get salary if you like doing it in other countries ^^

so i don't think the government will be worry about locals trade their currency for BTC , hell i think 70% of the currency are going outside the country by the contractors and labors channels alone

that and our governments are so stupid techwise to know what BTC is , if they ever gets the different between twitter and facebook  .

Hello, I urge you to read about subsidies and budget defencies solutions as well as passive taxation through tareefs.

We have very high taxation rate with psychooogical manipulation.

- Lophie

[alkaint]

i got loads of good informations and oponions through your thread . but i want to ask a question ... Do you think the Government in countries like Uae or Saudi Arabia accept bitcoin as a legal Curreny ?
in my Opinion they can simply deny it just like china if they see its going big and bigger . Bitcoin can Hurt the profits on the Current Banking system and im sure they wont let it to happen .

hello , i thought about this BUT by looking at our system i won't be worry , the most important factor here is we pay ZERO taxes , it's the otherway around actually , the gulf governments pay taxes to the locals through tons of channels like supporting oil prices and food , free educations and healthcare, hell u can even get paid by the govermnets to get healthcare or education and get salary if you like doing it in other countries ^^

so i don't think the government will be worry about locals trade their currency for BTC , hell i think 70% of the currency are going outside the country by the contractors and labors channels alone

that and our governments are so stupid techwise to know what BTC is , if they ever gets the different between twitter and facebook  .

Hello, I urge you to read about subsidies and budget defencies solutions as well as passive taxation through tareefs.

We have very high taxation rate with psychooogical manipulation.

- Lophie

well , asking someone to read more about his opinion when disagree with him without an input on the subject is diffenetly not a healthy way for a debate
check how much ppl earn per month in top countries before and after taxation for example a teacher in USA will find himself with only 2000$ per month after taxes and he still need to pay the bills and rentals , while in saudia you don't pay a shit for anything except your rental home if you don't own one or living with your family which is not a curse like other westren countries infact it consedered a good deed localy . 


i'm not praising our government in fact i belieave they do shity job economy wise even with their subsidy i'm just stating Bitcoin position in our taxation system , its more than safe here and i can't imagine how the government is going to tax it . plus don't forget gulf countries is not capitalist so again we are safe

[lophie]

i got loads of good informations and oponions through your thread . but i want to ask a question ... Do you think the Government in countries like Uae or Saudi Arabia accept bitcoin as a legal Curreny ?
in my Opinion they can simply deny it just like china if they see its going big and bigger . Bitcoin can Hurt the profits on the Current Banking system and im sure they wont let it to happen .

hello , i thought about this BUT by looking at our system i won't be worry , the most important factor here is we pay ZERO taxes , it's the otherway around actually , the gulf governments pay taxes to the locals through tons of channels like supporting oil prices and food , free educations and healthcare, hell u can even get paid by the govermnets to get healthcare or education and get salary if you like doing it in other countries ^^

so i don't think the government will be worry about locals trade their currency for BTC , hell i think 70% of the currency are going outside the country by the contractors and labors channels alone

that and our governments are so stupid techwise to know what BTC is , if they ever gets the different between twitter and facebook  .

Hello, I urge you to read about subsidies and budget defencies solutions as well as passive taxation through tareefs.

We have very high taxation rate with psychooogical manipulation.

- Lophie

well , asking someone to read more about his opinion when disagree with him without an input on the subject is diffenetly not a healthy way for a debate
check how much ppl earn per month in top countries before and after taxation for example a teacher in USA will find himself with only 2000$ per month after taxes and he still need to pay the bills and rentals , while in saudia you don't pay a shit for anything except your rental home if you don't own one or living with your family which is not a curse like other westren countries infact it consedered a good deed localy . 


i'm not praising our government in fact i belieave they do shity job economy wise even with their subsidy i'm just stating Bitcoin position in our taxation system , its more than safe here and i can't imagine how the government is going to tax it . plus don't forget gulf countries is not capitalist so again we are safe

Higher VAT and lower minimum wage, Higher tareefs and govetmental fees and a hysterical yearly reports of 40% of the budget spent on "utilities", Lack of "taxes" means when tens of thousands die in Jeddah because they DROWNED over a couple of inches of rain, no one even understood the implications, and much more.

[K.A.T]

وعليكم السلام و رحمة الله وبركاته

ما أدري كيف فاتني أشوف الموضوع لكن اشكر لك سؤالك.....

I worked with Lophie on he fist bitcoinArabia.com website but it was down for reasons out of our control....

Now Twitter account: @BitcoinArabia is still active.

There's also a WhatsApp group with 30+ members from Kuwait. Also, there was a meetup in Dubai two months ago, and anther is planned, I will update followers on Twitter with the account above. Interest is still low due to awareness.

I have a surprise that I hope to announce soon in the region

We need some sort of group to keep us all in the loop

[TheStuhlman]

نساعد الاخوة العرب المهتمين في مجال التنجيم عن العملات الالكترونية

Nitro.org Pools offer international users a lot of help in mining at our pools. We have an IRC channel on freenode #nitropool, you can PM Stuhlman or Biodragon for assistance. Or email us at one of our pools. We speak multiple languages including but not limited to : Arabic, English, Dutch, Spanish, Chinese, Indian and more. All is welcome.

مرحبا بكم
nitropool@email.com

[Abdussamad]

LOL what is this language called "Indian"?

[BitAddict]

Hey!
Now I'm living in Dubai and I asisted to two bitcoin meetings here. People is kind and wants to makes businesses and spread the bitcoin word.

Today we met in the first restaurant in Duba accepting bitcoin, ThePizzaGuys
http://www.coindesk.com/dubai-pizzeria-becomes-first-merchant-uae-accept-bitcoin/

Feel free to join the meet up group and assist to the next events.
http://www.meetup.com/Bitcoin-Dubai/

I would be really happy if we could make a huge community and open something like a bitcoin centre.