As part of its Smart Dubai initiative, the UAE capital has implemented 24 blockchain uses cases across eight industry sectors.
 
This follows the Dubai Blockchain Strategy 2020 announced in October 2016 as it bid to build a thriving blockchain ecosystem in the city and establish Dubai as the world capital of blockchain development.
 
“We, at the Smart Dubai department, have worked with our government and private sector partners on developing a series of blockchain use cases across multiple sectors, in line with our mission to embrace advanced technologies and make Dubai the happiest and smartest city in the world,” said Her Excellency Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai department. “We look forward to multiplying our smart city transformation efforts this year.”
 
The Dubai blockchain strategy relies on three main pillars – government efficiency, industry creation and international leadership.
 
Under government efficiency, the strategy led to the launch of numerous use cases, a joint blockchain platform and the Dubai Blockchain Policy. Government and the private sector entities are working on 24 blockchain use cases. The use cases span the eight sectors of finance, education, real estate, tourism, commerce, health, transportation and security.
 
The shared Dubai blockchain platform was launched in partnership with IBM to allow government entities to develop use cases without investing in individual infrastructure.
 
The Dubai Future Council for Blockchain, which is also chaired by Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, launched the Dubai blockchain policy at the Smart City Expo and World Congress in Barcelona in November 2019. The policy is a blockchain implementation manual detailing all of Smart Dubai’s cumulative blockchain learnings, and is freely available on the Smart Dubai web site as part of the entity’s knowledge sharing efforts with the globe.
 
Dubai is now home to over 100 blockchain businesses in the industry creation pillar. Dubai’s blockchain market grew by 24% in 2018, surpassing the global average of 19%.
 
The third annual Global Blockchain Challenge, which Smart Dubai concluded in April 2019, received over 700 applications from 79 countries around the world, up from the 100 application submissions received in the first edition in 2017. The challenge is part of the Future Blockchain Summit, organised by Smart Dubai to host internationally acclaimed experts, scientists and decision makers to investigate an array of blockchain topics, from investments and regulations, to start-ups and disruption. The 2019 summit welcomed approximately 10,000 participants, said to be the largest-ever audience at a blockchain event anywhere in the world.
 
On international leadership, Dubai won the ‘First Smart City on the Blockchain’ award at the Barcelona Smart City Expo and took international headlines as the World Capital of Blockchain. It has also published reports in collaboration with global organisations including the United Nations and the World Economic Forum.
 
The Dubai Blockchain Strategy has played a key role in encouraging international blockchain and fintech firms, such as Atlas Capital, to host the Blockexpo and World Blockchain Summit 2020 in Dubai during the Expo 2020 Dubai. Atlas Capital has also committed to establishing a blockchain campus as part of the District 2020 site.