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In a strategic direction unveiled in July by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed of Dubai, the Emirate’s capital has its sights set on becoming one of the world’s top ten metaversal economies. It has also already acquired land in the metaverse to build a virtual embassy.

Dubai is no stranger to innovation; it is known as the “city of the future” and has developed from a modest desert settlement to a megacity in just 50 years.

The city has a strong focus on technology and has launched 130 smart initiatives – reportedly saving the Dubai government $1.2 billion over the past 13 years. It is home to Hyperloop development and testing and number one in the world for direct investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics.

This helps it to be world-renowned for embracing and developing innovative new technologies and applications. The city has more than 1,000 blockchain businesses, and in 2019, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) partnered with Mashreq Bank to launch a leading blockchain-based mortgage platform.

Now, the city is doubling down on what it believes will be the next technological evolution: the metaverse.

Into the future

At Expo 2020 Dubai in March this year, the municipality’s director general, Dawood Abdul Rahman Al Hajri, unveiled the concept of One Human Reality and outlined a number of futuristic use cases that citizens could soon embrace.

He said: “One human reality is the point of meeting or integration between two worlds: the metaverse and the world in which we currently live together. Residents could be joined on a virtual walk through the city park by friends in other parts of the world in the form of avatars. Similarly, simulated time travel to historical moments or immersive tours of significant destinations could be other metaversal applications.”

Rahman Al Hajri also highlighted the importance of education on this topic by introducing One Human Reality Talks to bring together citizens, businesses and experts to realize these ambitions.

But Dubai isn’t just about that; actively takes steps to extract and add value to the concept of the metaverse. Back in May 2022 – less than two months after UAE Prime Minister and Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum established the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) and announced a new legal framework for cryptocurrencies in Dubai – land was purchased in The Sandbox metaverse for a new virtual embassy.

The Sheikh said: “By extending VARA’s resources to a borderless audience through the metaverse, Dubai is creating a prototype for a decentralized regulatory model, inviting international thought leaders – global authorities, governance watchdogs and industry creators – to participate, share knowledge and jointly solve problems to enable a dynamic sector virtual assets to build economic resilience, accelerate social inclusion and address environmental sustainability.”

VARA_metaverse

Dubai has already seen the metaverse add $500 million to its economy. And with Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum predicting it will contribute $4 billion to the economy within five years and create over 40,000 new “virtual” jobs, it’s no wonder the city is doubling down on its “Dubai Metaverse strategy” “.

Accordingly, the city formed a new committee chaired by the crown prince himself. The Higher Committee for Future Technology and Digital Economy will be tasked with creating policies, analyzing future trends for the digital economy and attracting international companies and conferences specialized in future technologies.

There is significant potential dollar value behind this strategy. Indeed, Citibank expects the metaverse to be worth up to $13 trillion by 2030.

Risks

However, while this presents some exciting future opportunities for businesses and consumers, it also makes for an attractive vector for illicit actors looking to figure out how they can exploit it for their nefarious purposes.

Elliptical research, for example, has already uncovered illicit activities associated with the MANA and SAND metaverse assets. Of this illegal activity, 99.5% is related to the theft of cryptoassets – highlighting the most common criminal activity at the moment.

In our recently published Crime in the Metaverse In the report, we dig into some of the criminal typologies already present in the metaverse, as well as expert insight into those that might develop. This is essential reading for all companies and individuals exploring the metaverse, to ensure that its potential can be exploited while mitigating the associated risks.

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