Major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has partnered with a real estate firm in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to allow real estate investors to pay in cryptocurrencies.
The Singapore-based crypto exchange has entered a partnership with fäm Properties, a tech-driven real estate agency based in Dubai, to offer crypto payment options for its real estate investors, UAE-based business publication AMEinfo.com reports Jan. 12.
Crypto to enable more stability and liquidity in the real estate market
Specifically, the partnership enables fäm Properties to accept payment in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), XRP and other major cryptos including stablecoins, the report reads. The cooperation will purportedly enable more stability and liquidity in the real estate market.
Moreover, the partnership will simplify investing in the UAE as well as provide the market with more value, according to fäm Properties CEO Feras Al Msaddi:
“This partnership will provide our clients immense opportunity and the ease of investing in prime locations in the UAE. Cryptocurrencies are becoming an increasingly popular payment method all over the world, and this added choice will increase our property transactions and bring more value to the real estate market here.”
Cointelegraph contacted fäm Properties to learn about the firm’s plans to tackle the volatility associated with crypto markets but has not received a response at press time.
Huobi to convert crypto into fiat for fäm Properties
Licensed by Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), an infrastructure provider for expanding commodities trading in Dubai, Huobi will ensure that fäm’s clients’ transactions are legally compliant.
Mohit Davar, a co-founder of Huobi OTC at DMCC, said that the firm will provide fäm with liquidity and resources to facilitate virtual money payments for customers. In an interview with Middle East-focused publication Zawya.com, Davar explained that the exchange will facilitate transactions from crypto to fiat:
"If someone wants to buy property and use crypto as a payment currency, then we will help facilitate that transaction and sell their cryptocurrency and make the payment to fäm in fiat currency.”
According to AMEinfo, Huobi’s OTC desk supports fiat currencies including UAE dirhams, United States dollars, euros and British pounds.
Meanwhile, the real estate market in the UAE has been actively embracing emerging technologies like blockchain and associated digital assets. In October 2019, Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based real estate giant that developed the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, released its new blockchain token-based referral and loyalty platform. Previously, the company announced its intention to launch a token and hold an initial coin offering in Europe.