Not even 24 hours after Canadian University Dubai (CUD) announced its partnership with Binance Pay to accept cryptocurrency course fees, a technical hurdle dampened the enthusiasm behind the short-lived initiative.
CUD, a private university in Dubai, was apparently interested in allowing students, both domestic and international, to pay their tuition and course fees in cryptocurrency. This initiative would have allowed students from diverse backgrounds to easily access the Canadian curriculum in Dubai.
Dear CUD community,
For technical reasons, CUD will not be accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method, until further notice.
We apologize for any inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/b9rERYHR7g
— CUDubai (@CUDUAE) February 10, 2023
Binance Pay, a payment gateway service launched by cryptocurrency exchange Binance, allows businesses to integrate support for cryptocurrency payments. According to the university’s initial announcement, the Binance partnership enabled the institution to “have adapted to the transforming digital payment space.”
#Binance help bring crypto to @CUDUAEa 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
Binance Pay supports over 200 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ethereum (ETH), and charges no transaction fees. On February 7, Binance hosted a cryptocurrency workshop and information session for CUD where students were taught about blockchain fundamentals, cryptocurrency fundamentals, web3, and metaverse.
As shown above, CUD is home to more than 1,800 national and international students, enrolled in one of 25 undergraduate and six graduate programs, paying an annual tuition of $18,000.
Canadian University Dubai has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.
Related: Crypto Projects Respond to Dubai Privacy Coin Ban
Just as Binance was considering a partnership with CUD, Dubai published crypto regulations for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) on Feb. 7. The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) issued its “Full Market Product Regulations”, which include four mandatory rulebooks and activity-specific rulebooks that set out the rules for operating VASPs.
⚠️Dubai News
The Dubai Virtual Assets and Regulatory Authority has issued the long-awaited Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) Comprehensive Market Regulations.
—Irina₿. Heaver (@IrinaHeaver) February 7, 2023
“Regulatory certainty is very good for business. It’s good for consumers, investors and the Emirate of Dubai. The regulations are long overdue and mostly welcome,” said Irina Heaver, a UAE-based crypto and blockchain lawyer, speaking to Cointelegraph.
