Dubai’s University CUD to Embrace Crypto Payments

The Canadian University of Dubai (CUD) partnered with Binance to enable students to pay their fees in digital currencies.

With the recent collaboration, the exchange dived deeper into the local ecosystem. It received a cryptocurrency license from Dubai’s regulators in September last year. 

Settling the Semesters in Crypto

The world’s leading crypto platform disclosed the partnership on its Twitter account, saying current and future students of the CUD are allowed to settle their education costs in digital assets instead of fiat currencies.

#Binance helps bring crypto to @CUDUAE, a leading university in Dubai.

Prospective and current students can now pay their fees, including tuition fees, with crypto.

Powered by Binance Pay. pic.twitter.com/bqWuezZVKJ

— Binance (@binance) February 9, 2023

The payment technology Binance Pay supports over 70 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Polygon (MATIC), Ripple (XRP), and many others. Stablecoins such as USDT and USDC are also on the list.

Established in 2006, the Canadian University of Dubai (better known as CUD) offers an education system based on the curriculum employed in the North American country. It has approximately 1,200 students and is composed of four faculties: Architecture and Interior Design; Communication Arts and Sciences; Engineering Applied Science and Technology; and Management.

Binance strengthened its presence in Dubai in September last year, obtaining a minimal viable product (MVP) license from the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The extension of the previously secured authorization enabled it to offer digital asset services to institutional and qualified retail investors in the area.

Binance’s rival – Crypto.com – also received regulatory approval in Dubai, while the bankrupt FTX was allowed to establish regional headquarters.

Dubai’s Ban on Privacy Coins

Despite its pro-crypto stance and ambition to establish Dubai as an “international hub for virtual assets,” the domestic regulator recently banned all operations with privacy coins like Monero (XMR) and Zcash (ZEC). 

The VARA also set licensing requirements that digital asset organizations need to pass. Some of the principles include anti-money laundering procedures, prevention of insider trading, marketing protocols, and monitoring whether cryptocurrencies are employed in illicit activities.

“Any obfuscation of fund flows poses a challenge to detecting illicit activities, so it is unsurprising that regulators react strongly to these kinds of asset classes and mechanisms,” Angela Ang – Senior Policy Advisor at TRM Labs – stated.