A Dubai developer wants to create a 40-storey Bitcoin Tower to represent Dubai’s embrace of the digital asset industry.
Bitcoin Tower Architect Promises Novel Experiences
Developer Salvatore Leggiero has asked architect Simone Micheli to inspire the building’s design in a virtual world. Micheli commented:
“I will use a logic and concept completely different from traditional constructions. It involves creating virtual environments that allow for experiences never imagined before.”
Leggiero hopes Bitcoin Tower will bridge the physical and virtual worlds. Artists can submit non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for inclusion in an exclusive collection detailing the building’s design or internal spaces.
Guests can stake cryptocurrencies to earn rewards and redeem NFTs incorporating special privileges.
The developer is the founder of Dubai-headquartered real-estate DCREW. He is also the CEO of Metaverse Investments LLC.
Bitcoin Tower will be presented on Wednesday at the Bella Restaurant Lounge in Dubai.
The project could complement the Department of the Future’s Web3 and metaverse initiatives that will open in Q2 2023.
United Arab Emirates Supreme Council Member Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi recently established a digital assets economic free zone under the department.
The region will welcome metaverse, blockchain, NFTs, decentralized autonomous organizations, and other Web3 companies.
The UAE recently implemented a new crypto exchange licensing program in April. Firms wishing to do business must comply with anti-money laundering and minimum capital requirements.
The new regulation applies to crypto businesses in areas excluding economic free zones and Dubai.
Will the Project Succeed?
Bitcoin Tower’s long-term success will likely depend on the sustained popularity of cryptocurrencies in Dubai. Chainalysis ranked Middle East and North African regions as the highest crypto adopters in 2022.
The region also boasts crypto banking support, which bodes well for the project’s future.
Bitcoin Tower would also need buy-in from government departments who have not always been on board with crypto’s embrace of the physical world.
El Salvador’s Ministry of Public Works recently confirmed that it was unaware of the nation’s ambition to build a geothermal Bitcoin City
The Ministry revealed in April that it did not know about the project despite President Nayib Bukele’s sharing of architectural drawings.
In addition, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority tightened its crypto rules and recently for more information on its ownership structure and financials.
