Co-Founder and Chief Cryptographer of Mysten Labs, Kostas Kryptos Chalkias, Gregorios Siourounis, Co-Founder and CEO of Xmoney Global, Mohamed Abdou, CEO and Founder of MENA-based Pravica, and A. Tony Amer, CEO of EMURGO Labs, met up in Egypt with a mission to integrate blockchain into the economies and societies of Egypt and MENA.
The global and regional blockchain leaders met in Egypt this week with a plan to build blockchain solutions across multiple sectors in the Arab world. They plan to integrate blockchain technology into several sectors, including the financial sector, logistics, academia, government, and other areas, as they seek to build MENA’s digital economy.
The meeting was hosted by the newly established Arab Blockchain Center, a joint initiative between Egyptian-based Pravica, a MENA-focused blockchain infrastructure company building secure digital communication tools and fintech solutions such as S3 Money, and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT).
Mysten Labs co-founder wants to develop blockchain solutions in Egypt
The expert group plans to grow mass adoption in blockchain and challenges around blockchain use cases for off-chain transactions and the cross-border payments sector. In addition, they also discussed documentation sharing, especially for the governmental sector, where the security of documents and confidentiality are key. The remittance sector was talked about, given that 9% ($35 billion) of Egypt’s $386 billion GDP comes from remittances sent by more than 15 million Egyptians abroad.
“The discussions we’ve had here in Cairo, focused on practical blockchain applications like cross-border payments and digital identity, are essential for building a more inclusive and efficient financial future for the MENA region. Sui’s architecture, with its focus on scalability and asset ownership, is uniquely positioned to empower this transition and help create a digital economy that benefits everyone,” Kostas Kryptos Chalkias, Co-Founder and Chief Cryptographer of Mysten Labs, creators of Sui, stated.
Mohamed Abdou, CEO and Founder of Pravica, explained that the goal is to leverage blockchain to build a truly on-chain banking 2.0 infrastructure. “This will go far beyond simple digital payments to enable a new suite of services, from instant cross-border remittances to more secure lending. The initiative is a massive step towards financial inclusion for Egypt. The work is complex, but the potential is limitless,” he explained.
Professor Georgios Siourounis, CEO of xMoney Global, shared his vision for the future of cross-border digital payments, noting that financial systems must also connect people across borders, and this is how true inclusion starts. The meeting was attended by Egyptian high-level representatives from the academic, banking, and governmental sectors.
Finally, Tony Amer, CEO and Founder of EMURGO Labs, summed it up by stating that the goal is to ensure that Egypt and the region are not just observers of how blockchain is reshaping economies but active participants. Meanwhile, the trading or utilization of crypto remains banned in Egypt as they continue to work on blockchain implementations in trade, logistics, carbon markets, and exploration of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
