Yachts, Eric Trump and Habibi Doge: Dubai's crypto party is bigger than ever
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — On a humid Dubai night in early May, I joined guests gathered on the five-storey, 220-foot long Lotus megayacht to celebrate the culmination of TOKEN2049, a major crypto conference held in the glitzy desert emirate I call home.
The party was hosted by DogeOS, the app developer behind the blockchain for Dogecoin, the shiba inu-faced meme coin that saw a rip-roaring rally in 2021 and briefly turned a few bullish buyers into millionaires. It's part of a long string of high-profile UAE-based industry events and feels like a prescient symbol of the ever-growing exuberance around cryptocurrencies in the Middle East (and globally) right now.
The attendees around me spanned a colorful mix; crypto investors and startup founders, programmers, influencers – and those who, after half an hour of conversation, still wouldn't really explain what they do.
"You've probably heard of me. Elon retweets me a lot," one guest said as he introduced himself. I later heard him say the exact same line to three other people.
One pair of female attendees promoted their Dubai-based startup that designs business plans for corporates and entrepreneurs "by calculating their astrology and birth chart numerology." They told me that "millionaires often look down on this science … but billionaires love it."
The guests hailed from all over the world, sharing a common passion for the future of decentralized digital currency and the revolutionizing of finance. A microcosm of Dubai itself, the boat was a melting pot of nationalities and characters.
One American passenger wearing a cowboy hat and a ninja turtle backpack hawked a meme token featuring a shiba inu in a cowboy hat called $WIT coin, standing for "what in tarnation." Between shots of tequila he discussed collaboration with crypto enthusiasts who'd flown in from China.
The guestlist also featured Olaf Carlson-Wee, the bleach-blonde original "bubble boy" of crypto, who was Coinbase's first employee and later founded Polychain Capital, one of the world's largest crypto hedge funds. Carlson-Wee, whose net worth is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions, said he is frequently flown in from Los Angeles to work with the UAE government.
The bullish energy of the yacht party — complete with open bars, teppanyaki grills and Vegas-style belly dancers wearing feather headdresses — matched the unbridled optimism currently pulsing through the global crypto community.
Posts of "WE'RE SO BACK" have abounded on social media in the months following U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House and his pledge to make America the "crypto capital of the world."
His son Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization and board member of Trump-family-owned crypto platform World Liberty Financial, was a keynote speaker at Dubai's Token2049. He was joined by Zack Witkoff, World Liberty Financial's co-founder, and the son of Steve Witkoff, the Trump administration's Middle East envoy.
"Smart people, low taxes … and the willingness to actually look forward and realize that the modern financial system is broken" is part of what makes the UAE so attractive for cryptocurrency enthusiasts like himself, the younger Trump told CNBC during the conference.
Speaking onstage at the event on May 1, Eric Trump also announced that the Trump family's World Liberty Financial would provide the stablecoins for Abu Dhabi state-backed investment firm MGX's mammoth $2 billion investment into Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.
"We thank MGX and Binance for their trust in us," Zack Witkoff told the audience. "It's only the beginning."
Jordan Jefferson, CEO of MyDoge, the team behind DogeOS, moved from Canada to Dubai in 2022 in search of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment. At a time when North America was cracking down on the industry, he said the UAE was "embracing it and leading regulation."
"I came out here because it was at the forefront of the industry. And everybody was here – the energy was amazing," he told CNBC at the yacht party. Jefferson and his colleagues had donned shirts emblazoned with a picture of the Doge shiba inu wearing an Emirati headdress, the kandura, which they dubbed "Habibi Doge."
Major crypto exchanges like Binance, Crypto.com, OKX, Bybit, and Kraken have received approvals or provisional licenses to operate in the UAE, with many choosing to open offices and regional headquarters there. The Gulf country has also established a "UAE blockchain strategy," hosts several major crypto events annually and offers visas to remote workers and entrepreneurs along with streamlined procedures for starting businesses.
"They're leading the way in regulation, definitely trying to be one of the premier jurisdictions where everything is fully regulated," Jefferson said of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Dubai in 2022 established the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA — the world's first independent crypto regulator — which oversees virtual asset activities in the emirate and provides licensing and supervision to crypto businesses.
Abu Dhabi Global Market in the UAE capital also updated its digital asset framework in 2023, providing a clearer licensing and regulatory environment for crypto exchanges, custodians, and other virtual asset service providers.
Despite enjoying a rally in prices in recent years, the crypto industry has faced numerous scandals and controversies over time, from the collapse of FTX to the jailing of the crypto exchange's founder Sam Bankman-Fried and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Before declaring bankruptcy in November of 2022, FTX had established its regional headquarters in Dubai and was one of the early firms issued a license by VARA in March of that year, as the emirate worked to entice crypto businesses.
Zhao, a Dubai resident, has since been released from prison after serving a four-month term on charges of money laundering. He was granted UAE citizenship, though the timing of his Emirati naturalization has not been publicly disclosed.
In February, Dubai-based digital currency exchange Bybit revealed it was the victim of a hack that saw cybercriminals make off with $1.5 billion worth of tokens — the largest-ever crypto heist in history.
The UAE has learned from its experiences, Token2049 attendees told CNBC.
"It's not easy" to implement robust regulation, Jefferson of DogeOS said. "It's easy to say, 'hey, you can do anything here'. It's harder to do a regulatory framework where other countries around the world will accept it and realize that if you're a company built here [in the UAE] and under these regulations, it's legit. So I think that's probably the most important part."
Several crypto investors described due diligence work in the UAE as having become more sophisticated, but to a level that still makes it friendlier to the industry than the U.S. or Europe.
"People really feel much safer building crypto companies in Dubai versus in the United States — the U.S. is very over-regulated. And that's something they're working on – Trump and Elon suggested that they would like to remove 10 regulations for every one they add. But we just haven't really seen that yet," said William Athanas, Miami-based founder of xMarkets, a new prediction market launching on DogeOS.
On the night of the yacht party, May 1, Bitcoin was trading at $94,808. At the time of publishing, it is trading at $110,538.
Danni Liu, a Chinese national currently based in Sweden who co-founded LIFE Protocol — a platform that uses the blockchain to enable community-driven scientific research — was in Dubai for the first time to attend the crypto conference and DogeOS boat party.
"Before I got here, it felt like the market sentiment was not that high, people were less willing to take risks," Liu said. "But I came to Dubai, and I see that people are still dancing. I was surprised. The show is going on."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
13 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Algeria–U.S. energy ties grow amid Western Sahara tensions
Algeria is taking strategic steps to expand its energy partnership with the United States as tensions over the Western Sahara dispute continue to mount. Algeria is enhancing its energy partnership with the U.S. amidst Western Sahara tensions. Washington shows interest in reviving Western Sahara negotiations ahead of a UN session. Economic partnerships align with Algeria's diplomatic strategies and regional positioning. This renewed engagement comes as part of Algeria's broader push to assert economic diplomacy in the face of growing international pressure surrounding the long-standing territorial issue. On June 24, the Secretary-General of Algeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lounes Magramane, met with U.S. Ambassador Elizabeth Moore Aubin to discuss regional developments and bilateral cooperation. Both parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening ties, with Ambassador Aubin later emphasizing the importance of this dialogue through her social media platforms. As U.S. interest in the Western Sahara issue intensifies, reports indicate that Washington may be looking to revive stalled negotiations ahead of a key UN Security Council session scheduled for October. The Trump administration is said to support Morocco's 2007 autonomy proposal, prompting Algeria to step up its own diplomatic efforts. Algeria deepens energy investment with US firms In a parallel move on the economic front, Algeria has opened its doors wider to American energy investors. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently held back-to-back meetings with top executives from Chevron and ExxonMobil. Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab and Sonatrach CEO Rachid Hachichi were also present, signaling a unified and high-level push for foreign partnership. Central to Algeria's new approach is a proposed energy law that would allow foreign companies to hold up to 80 percent ownership in new oil and gas ventures marking a major shift from previous investment rules. Minister Arkab described the legislation as a transformative step, aimed at modernizing the sector while maintaining national resource control. Earlier this year, Algeria's Ambassador to the U.S., Sabri Boukadoum, also expressed the country's openness to negotiating broad resource-based agreements with Washington, stating that 'the sky's the limit.' As efforts to reignite UN-led talks on Western Sahara remain uncertain, Algeria's energy overtures could serve both as an economic opportunity and a calculated diplomatic response.
CNN
23 minutes ago
- CNN
Why are Dutch kids the world's happiest? A teenager weighs in
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mary Frances Ruskell graduated from high school last month in Columbia, South Carolina. She will be attending Dartmouth College in the fall. The summer before sixth grade, my friend Lou and I discovered an empty lot with an abandoned dock on the lake in her neighborhood in Columbia, South Carolina. It was always magical there. We only went in the late afternoon to avoid the heat, when the light was sliding into evening and the cicadas and frogs were sit on the dock eating candy and drinking slushees for hours. Those are some of my favorite summer memories from elementary and middle school. My parents gave me a long leash as a kid, provided I was home before the streetlamps turned on. I walked long distances, especially in the summer when I had more time. I'd wander down to the neighborhood drugstore for gummy candies, or all the way to a main shopping street to try on clothes I couldn't afford. I'd walk to restaurants, coffee shops and far-flung friends' houses. It was fun, and it taught me how to be on my own in the world, in its own small way. But I was a rare free-range child among my peers. Dozens of kids my age lived in the neighborhood, but only three were allowed to walk to my house to ask if I wanted to play when we were in elementary school. The other parents didn't let their kids go off in the neighborhood on their own. Instead, they called my mom to set up playdates in what felt like the far-off future. I appreciate how much effort and organization that took, but when you're a little kid, the desire to play was immediate. It was frustrating. When I visited friends in the Netherlands in March, the Dutch kids I encountered reminded me of my own childhood roaming my neighborhood. I was staying in Haarlem, a small storybook city outside of Amsterdam, with Tracy, a family friend and American expat now living in the Netherlands. Her three kids were born there and are being raised Dutch. They were always in and out of the apartment, headed to school, restaurants and friends' houses. These kinds of comings and goings aren't unique to their family. Many Dutch children enjoy a freedom of movement that most American kids don't, which might be the key to why Dutch kids are the happiest kids in the world, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. The agency measured childhood well-being in 43 countries that are members of the European Union and/or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The US was not fully ranked in mental health because researchers were missing relevant data. Even without a definitive mental health ranking for American children, I still think Dutch kids are far happier than American kids like me. Articles discussing the report offer lots of different answers as to why this happiness gap exists: better health care, high-trust culture, less pressure to excel academically. But when I asked parents and children in the Netherlands why they thought their children were so happy, they all had one answer: Dutch parents value giving their children independence, possibly above all else. American parents say they value independence, too. Nearly three-quarters of American parents with children ages 5 to 8 say 'they make it a point to have their child do things themselves, when possible,' according to the 2023 C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. The poll also found that among parents of children ages 9 to 11, '84% agree that children benefit from having free time without adult supervision.' So, if both American and Dutch parents value independence, why do Dutch kids seem so much happier? I wonder if the key difference lies in how both sets of parents understand what freedom for kids looks like. 'Dutch parenting is all about raising self-sufficient kids,' Tracy told me. 'My older two (ages 12 and 14) bike more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) daily to school since there are no school buses. 'If a teacher cancels a class, students just have free time instead of a substitute. My 14-year-old had two canceled classes this morning and simply stayed home until noon. This would be a logistical nightmare for schools and parents if we didn't just expect our kids to sort it out.' Dutch parenting, according to the close to a dozen parents in the Netherlands I spoke with, emphasizes allowing children a freedom of movement that many American kids don't have. When I was in Haarlem and Amsterdam, bikes and little kids on bikes were everywhere. Dutch kids get bicycles at an early age, Tracy told me, and that gives them the ability to move around their towns and cities by themselves. I also saw plenty of kids walking with their friends to stores and restaurants. Generally speaking, Dutch children and teens are allowed to move freely through the world. Most American kids don't have anything close to this degree of freedom. Only 33% of American children between the ages of 9 and 11 are allowed to bike or walk to a friend's house alone, according to the Mott survey. One-half are allowed to find an item at a store while a parent is in another aisle, and 15% may trick-or-treat with friends on their own. They cannot move through the world without their parents there. There may be many reasons why American parents are limiting their kids' physical independence, but the main reason seems to be concern for children's safety. American parents are afraid for their children's well-being, and that makes them anxious. In fact, 40% of parents report being extremely worried about their children struggling with depression or anxiety, and 36% report being 'somewhat' concerned, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey of American parenting. More than 4 in 10 parents describe themselves as overprotective, the survey noted. That may be why they limit their child's freedom of movement. That lack of freedom of movement might be undermining what parents say they actually want for their children: well-being. After all, don't parents protect their kids so they'll be happy and healthy? A team of researchers concluded in a 2023 study that 'a primary cause of the rise in mental disorders is a decline over decades in opportunities for children and teens to play, roam, and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults.' The study's researchers argue that independent activity in adolescents leads to the well-being that parents want. Independent activities require young people to make their own decisions and find their own solutions, leading to the development of a strong 'internal locus of control,' the researchers noted. That locus refers to a person's tendency to believe they have control over their life and can solve problems as they arise. A weak internal locus of control, stemming from less independence in adolescence, often leads to anxiety or depression. My high school classmate Cal commented on this anxiety once when we were talking about how Gen Z apparently parties less. 'People are too scared for their kids to go and do stuff, and I think, as a result (we) as a generation are too scared to do stuff now.' I'm not a parent, and I'm not trying to tell anyone how to raise their children. But I did just graduate from high school, so I know what modern childhood is like. I remember how wonderful and rare it was being able to wander in elementary and middle school, so I hope my perspective might be helpful to some anxious parents. This summer, consider letting your kids walk to the neighborhood park without you. Or give them money to buy an ice cream cone without your supervision. Encourage them to invite a friend. Let them have some physical freedom, and the memories that come with it. Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.
CNN
23 minutes ago
- CNN
Why are Dutch kids the world's happiest? A teenager weighs in
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mary Frances Ruskell graduated from high school last month in Columbia, South Carolina. She will be attending Dartmouth College in the fall. The summer before sixth grade, my friend Lou and I discovered an empty lot with an abandoned dock on the lake in her neighborhood in Columbia, South Carolina. It was always magical there. We only went in the late afternoon to avoid the heat, when the light was sliding into evening and the cicadas and frogs were sit on the dock eating candy and drinking slushees for hours. Those are some of my favorite summer memories from elementary and middle school. My parents gave me a long leash as a kid, provided I was home before the streetlamps turned on. I walked long distances, especially in the summer when I had more time. I'd wander down to the neighborhood drugstore for gummy candies, or all the way to a main shopping street to try on clothes I couldn't afford. I'd walk to restaurants, coffee shops and far-flung friends' houses. It was fun, and it taught me how to be on my own in the world, in its own small way. But I was a rare free-range child among my peers. Dozens of kids my age lived in the neighborhood, but only three were allowed to walk to my house to ask if I wanted to play when we were in elementary school. The other parents didn't let their kids go off in the neighborhood on their own. Instead, they called my mom to set up playdates in what felt like the far-off future. I appreciate how much effort and organization that took, but when you're a little kid, the desire to play was immediate. It was frustrating. When I visited friends in the Netherlands in March, the Dutch kids I encountered reminded me of my own childhood roaming my neighborhood. I was staying in Haarlem, a small storybook city outside of Amsterdam, with Tracy, a family friend and American expat now living in the Netherlands. Her three kids were born there and are being raised Dutch. They were always in and out of the apartment, headed to school, restaurants and friends' houses. These kinds of comings and goings aren't unique to their family. Many Dutch children enjoy a freedom of movement that most American kids don't, which might be the key to why Dutch kids are the happiest kids in the world, according to a 2025 UNICEF report. The agency measured childhood well-being in 43 countries that are members of the European Union and/or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The US was not fully ranked in mental health because researchers were missing relevant data. Even without a definitive mental health ranking for American children, I still think Dutch kids are far happier than American kids like me. Articles discussing the report offer lots of different answers as to why this happiness gap exists: better health care, high-trust culture, less pressure to excel academically. But when I asked parents and children in the Netherlands why they thought their children were so happy, they all had one answer: Dutch parents value giving their children independence, possibly above all else. American parents say they value independence, too. Nearly three-quarters of American parents with children ages 5 to 8 say 'they make it a point to have their child do things themselves, when possible,' according to the 2023 C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health. The poll also found that among parents of children ages 9 to 11, '84% agree that children benefit from having free time without adult supervision.' So, if both American and Dutch parents value independence, why do Dutch kids seem so much happier? I wonder if the key difference lies in how both sets of parents understand what freedom for kids looks like. 'Dutch parenting is all about raising self-sufficient kids,' Tracy told me. 'My older two (ages 12 and 14) bike more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) daily to school since there are no school buses. 'If a teacher cancels a class, students just have free time instead of a substitute. My 14-year-old had two canceled classes this morning and simply stayed home until noon. This would be a logistical nightmare for schools and parents if we didn't just expect our kids to sort it out.' Dutch parenting, according to the close to a dozen parents in the Netherlands I spoke with, emphasizes allowing children a freedom of movement that many American kids don't have. When I was in Haarlem and Amsterdam, bikes and little kids on bikes were everywhere. Dutch kids get bicycles at an early age, Tracy told me, and that gives them the ability to move around their towns and cities by themselves. I also saw plenty of kids walking with their friends to stores and restaurants. Generally speaking, Dutch children and teens are allowed to move freely through the world. Most American kids don't have anything close to this degree of freedom. Only 33% of American children between the ages of 9 and 11 are allowed to bike or walk to a friend's house alone, according to the Mott survey. One-half are allowed to find an item at a store while a parent is in another aisle, and 15% may trick-or-treat with friends on their own. They cannot move through the world without their parents there. There may be many reasons why American parents are limiting their kids' physical independence, but the main reason seems to be concern for children's safety. American parents are afraid for their children's well-being, and that makes them anxious. In fact, 40% of parents report being extremely worried about their children struggling with depression or anxiety, and 36% report being 'somewhat' concerned, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey of American parenting. More than 4 in 10 parents describe themselves as overprotective, the survey noted. That may be why they limit their child's freedom of movement. That lack of freedom of movement might be undermining what parents say they actually want for their children: well-being. After all, don't parents protect their kids so they'll be happy and healthy? A team of researchers concluded in a 2023 study that 'a primary cause of the rise in mental disorders is a decline over decades in opportunities for children and teens to play, roam, and engage in other activities independent of direct oversight and control by adults.' The study's researchers argue that independent activity in adolescents leads to the well-being that parents want. Independent activities require young people to make their own decisions and find their own solutions, leading to the development of a strong 'internal locus of control,' the researchers noted. That locus refers to a person's tendency to believe they have control over their life and can solve problems as they arise. A weak internal locus of control, stemming from less independence in adolescence, often leads to anxiety or depression. My high school classmate Cal commented on this anxiety once when we were talking about how Gen Z apparently parties less. 'People are too scared for their kids to go and do stuff, and I think, as a result (we) as a generation are too scared to do stuff now.' I'm not a parent, and I'm not trying to tell anyone how to raise their children. But I did just graduate from high school, so I know what modern childhood is like. I remember how wonderful and rare it was being able to wander in elementary and middle school, so I hope my perspective might be helpful to some anxious parents. This summer, consider letting your kids walk to the neighborhood park without you. Or give them money to buy an ice cream cone without your supervision. Encourage them to invite a friend. Let them have some physical freedom, and the memories that come with it. Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.
