Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

UAE PM's former tech advisor launches cryptocurrency exchange

UAE PM's former tech advisor launches cryptocurrency exchange

The former technology advisor to the UAE Prime Minister’s Office has launched the Gulf's first zero-fee cryptocurrency exchange.

Mohammad Raafi Hossain, CEO of Fasset, a provider of the world’s first comprehensive ecosystem dedicated to merging digital asset innovations with the real economy, has announced plans to launch its second flagship product, the Fasset Exchange (FEX).

Immediately available to both retail and institutional investors within the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the FEX will offer zero percent trading fees, compared to a market average of 4-5 percent on other regional exchanges, and sign-up rewards for new users.

Sign-ups for the FEX’s private beta are available now, with the public launch scheduled for later this year and expansion to the rest of the MENASA region over the next two years.


Hossain said: “While the last decade has seen a rise in cryptocurrency usage, persisting complexities - from trading to payments systems - hinder true mass adoption. In addition, the volatility and high-risk nature of digital assets makes the asset class unapproachable for the majority of investors as investors are unable to gauge their value.

"To date, accessing digital assets, whether cryptocurrencies or real asset-backed tokens, in the MENASA region has been an onerous process. The industry lacks competition and, as a result, local exchanges have maintained an opaque, and often expensive, fee structure and operating model, resulting in high barriers to entry and limited choices for investors.

"FEX brings to the GCC the accessibility, variety, and ease of use which increasingly characterises digital asset markets elsewhere in the world. It is our belief that every investor should have a healthy, risk-assessed allocation in digital assets. As such, we look forward to offering investors and asset owners across MENASA convenience and true diversification like they’ve never seen before.”


He said the FEX will serve to provide near-instant access and liquidity for both real asset-backed tokens such as gold-backed tokens or tokenised sustainable infrastructure projects and top cryptocurrencies like BTC, ETH, and USDT.

Hossain added that the exchange will significantly reduce transaction times for real assets as trades on the platform will take seconds.

During private beta testing, users will gain full access to the FEX platform and marketplace. Using targeted customer feedback and user behaviour analysis, the Fasset team will use the beta testing phase to optimise the FEX website, a statement said.

Hossain added: “After the 2017 ICO boom, tokenisation and security token offerings were supposed to legitimise the crypto industry, carrying the promise of bringing the liquidity of the ICO era to real assets.

“However, while stablecoins and security tokens served to ignite conversations within the cryptocurrency sector, neither have succeeded in bringing long-term substantive value to the marketplace. The launch of FEX brings a greater array of stable, high-yielding asset-backed tokens to the field, creating a robust foundation for innovative products in the future.

"With concerted efforts from leaders in the region, including regulators in jurisdictions such as Bahrain and the UAE, to support fintech innovation, we believe that investors in the Gulf have great appetite to explore the cryptocurrency sector further and to foster its long-term and sustainable growth.”

Founded in early 2019, Fasset said its leadership team draws on backgrounds in banking, ethical finance, governmental investing, and sustainable infrastructure, and from institutions including the World Bank, United Nations, Standard Chartered Bank, and the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs.

The company has already amassed more than $4.7 million raised from strategic backers in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Singapore.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×