Founder of ArabianChain, Alsehli on what the ArabianChain platform is and the status of digital currencies in the MENA region, during Unlock

ArabianChain was part of Unlock Startups Ecosystem, and participated with its founder, Mohammed Alsehli in Unlock Blockchain Forum which took place on January 14^th-15^th at the Ritz-Carlton, Dubai, and gathered more than 50 blockchain startups from over 39 countries.

CNN Arabic met with Mohammed Alsehli to discuss the ArabianChain platform and its relationship with digital currencies. When asked about what ArabianChain is, Alsehli answered “ArabianChain is the first public, decentralized platform for smart contracts and decentralized Apps in the MENA region.

The platform does not only revolve around the technical aspect of the technology, but it also aims to spread awareness about the Blockchain technology and to help startups, governments and large enterprises benefit from it.”

Digital currencies such as Bitcoin are part of the applications of the Blockchain tech, and Mohammed Alsehli explains the scope of digital currencies, and how to expand it through the platform in the MENA region.

Alsehli stated “The fact that some banks decided to stop the financial transactions of any trading platform is due to pressure, because the change was sudden. If you do not know how to deal with change in an appropriate manner, the reaction would be to stop the trading of digital currencies without considering its benefits and potential opportunities it provides.”

Following up on the religious warnings vis-à-vis digital currencies, Alsehli said “This is a fast judgement.

The issue is that the judgement is made before understanding the topic in terms of the technology, its uses, its future prospects, how it will transform many financial and economic transactions, and how it will open many opportunities for creativity in the future.

This picture is not taken into consideration when the warnings are issued and the decisions are taken.”

Concerning whether one should be concerned about the changes in the prices of digital currencies, Alsehli explained “The limitations of dealing with these digital currencies causes volatility. When digital currencies become more wide-spread, they become available to a wider spectrum of people, which reduces the volatility. This distribution reduces the control over some big portions of the digital currencies, which usually causes high fluctuations in prices.”