Today in crypto, Dubai has launched the Middle East’s first tokenized real estate project. Meanwhile, a crypto investor lost $2.6 million after falling victim to two phishing scams. In US politics, House Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed concerns over President Donald Trump’s memecoin dinner.
Dubai launches first licensed tokenized real estate project in MENA region
Dubai has launched the first licensed tokenized real estate project in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, previewing appetite for real-world tokenization in one of the world’s burgeoning crypto hubs.
Partners in the project include the Dubai Land Department (DLD), the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and the Dubai Future Foundation, according to an announcement from the Dubai government. The tokens will be tradeable on the newly launched “Prypco Mint” platform, with Zand Digital Bank appointed as the bank for the project’s pilot phase.
On May 19, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) updated its rules to include real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, allowing such tokens to be traded on secondary markets.
The project will allow individual investors to buy tokenized shares in “ready-to-own properties in Dubai,” with investments starting at 2,000 Emirate dirham ($545). During the pilot phase, all transactions will be carried out in the dirham (AED), with no cryptocurrency to be used. Although the pilot program will be limited to those with UAE ID holders, there are plans to expand it globally.
In April, the DLD and VARA agreed to link Dubai’s real estate registry with the tokenization of property. The stated goal was to attract global investors and enhance liquidity in Dubai’s real estate market. The project was initially announced in March.
Crypto investor loses $2.6 million in stablecoins in double phishing scam
A single victim was scammed two times within three hours, losing a total of $2.6 million in stablecoins.
According to data shared on May 26 by crypto compliance firm Cyvers, the victim sent 843,000 worth of USDt (USDT), followed by another 1.75 million USDt around three hours later. Cyvers said the scam used a method known as a zero-value transfer, a sophisticated form of onchain phishing.
Zero-value transfers are an onchain phishing technique that abuses token transfer functions to trick users into sending real funds to attackers. The attackers exploit the token transfer From function to transfer zero tokens from the victim’s wallet to a spoofed address.
Since the amount transferred is zero, no signature by the victim’s private key is necessary for onchain inclusion. Consequently, the victims will see the outgoing transaction in their history.
The victim may trust this address since it is included in their transaction history, mistaking it as a known or safe recipient. They may then send real funds to the attacker’s address in a future transaction.
In one high-profile case, a scammer using a zero-transfer phishing attack managed to steal $20 million worth of USDT before getting blacklisted by the stablecoin’s issuer in the summer of 2023.
Speaker Johnson shrugs off Trump crypto dinner concerns
US House Speaker Mike Johnson brushed off concerns on President Donald Trump’s dinner for the top holders of his memecoin when speaking to CNN on May 25 and dodged answering whether the attendees should be made public for transparency.
“We do not know who was there. The list has not been released. We do not know how much of the money came from outside the country,” CNN’s Jake Tapper told Johnson. “I really have a difficult time imagining that if this was a Democratic president doing the exact same thing, you wouldn’t be outraged.”
“Look, I don’t know anything about the dinner,” Johnson answered, claiming he “was a little busy this past week,” focusing on passing a $1.6 trillion federal budget funding bill.
He added he was “not sure who was there or what the purpose was” before claiming Trump is “the most transparent president” in history and “has nothing to hide.”
Trump invited the top 220 largest holders of his Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin to a dinner on May 22 at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia, but kept the guest list secret, with critics concerned that foreign nationals could have used the event to pay for access to the president.
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