Key Takeaways:
- Blockchain gaming platform Beam is set to launch a venture fund in 2025 that will accelerate the development of GameFi projects in the UAE.
- Beam Ventures, financed by Abu Dhabi-based investors and managing a pool of $150 million, will support blockchain gaming, AI, augmented reality, and user-content generation startups with brand development, market planning, and business development.
- Beam is currently awaiting regulatory approval for its venture capital fund and views Abu Dhabi as a city that embraces innovation. The UAE is making significant moves to position itself as a global hub for the crypto sector.
- The GameFi sector has re-emerged from the grueling crypto winter as blockchain-based gaming projects commanded over 25% of the crypto market last month. $222 million was raised by venture capital firms for various crypto-gaming projects in November.
Beam Foundation, the crypto-gaming-centric organization behind Beam blockchain, has revealed plans to launch a new venture fund in Abu Dhabi aimed at supporting blockchain-based gaming projects.
Beam is a blockchain network that provides a sovereign platform for game developers, where they are allowed to build games offering asset ownership to players. Currently, there are around 20 games featured on its platform.
Beam Blockchain Sets Up Beam Ventures In Abu Dhabi To Fund Blockchain-Based Gaming Projects
According to a December 11 announcement, the fund, aptly named Beam Ventures, will begin operations in the first half of 2025 and manage a capital pool of $150 million, financed by local investors.
Beam Ventures will primarily invest in blockchain-based gaming infrastructure and gaming finance (GameFi) projects, but its capital will also finance startups working in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), and user-generated content.
Additionally, Beam’s new venture arm will offer an accelerator program to aid tech startups in brand development, market planning, and business growth.
In an X post, Beam’s chief strategy officer Mark Borsten said the project is still in the process of securing regulatory approval to operate in the United Arab Emirates. He noted that after an initial “exploratory visit” to Abu Dhabi, his team felt the city “embraces innovation”, resulting in forming partnerships with key stakeholders to push forward Beam Ventures.
Beam Ventures is set to be the first gaming-focused qualified investor fund in Abu Dhabi. The fund is operated by Merit Circle, which in itself is an active investor in blockchain-based gaming projects and has a treasury of cryptocurrencies and NFTs worth well over $200 million.
Blockchain Gaming Market Is Coming Back From “Gruelling” Crypto Winter
The crypto gaming economy is coming back following a challenging ‘crypto winter’ set off in 2022, strengthened by the rally in the global crypto market after pro-Bitcoin former President Donald Trump’s overwhelming win over Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election of 2024.
According to data compiled by DappRadar, the blockchain gaming sector captured 28.2% of the crypto market share in November, with an average of 6.8 million active wallets participating daily. During this period, venture capital investment in the sector hit a record $222 million.
UAE’s Efforts To Become A Global Crypto Hub
Through a combination of frameworks and investments, the United Arab Emirates, and particularly Abu Dhabi, has been aggressively focusing on building a local Web3 ecosystem over the past few years.The monarchy’s attempts to turn the nation into a crypto-friendly jurisdiction have attracted a growing number of blockchain and crypto startups.
Some leading crypto firms that have already established operations in UAE’s capital include options trading platform QCP Capital, venture capitalists Hashed Ventures and Laser Digital, and market marker DWF Labs, among others.
A new method for monitoring and licensing stablecoins was approved by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates’ (CBUAE) board of directors in June. In an interview with local media outlet Unlock Blockchain, the founder of KARM Legal Consultants, Kokila Alagh, explained that the new regulations would clarify the issuance, licensing, and supervision of stablecoin pegged to the UAE dirham.
The law requires all payment tokens to be pegged to the dirham, while merchants and service providers only accept dirham-backed stablecoins for payments.
Apart from the stablecoin licensing, another one of the UAE’s financial regulators, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), introduced an additional criteria for recognizing crypto assets. Up until then, funds issued under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) could only invest in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), and Toncoin (TON).
However, under the revised token regime, investors can put their money into unrecognized crypto assets as long as the investment does not exceed 10% of the funds’ gross asset value.
At the time of writing, Beam (BEAM) is trading at $0.03563 – down 9% in the last 24 hours.
Also Read: Bitget Sets Up European Hub To Comply With MiCA Crypto Regulations
