Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is looking to address a growing concern within the investment world, the inheritance of digital assets.
The DIFC Innovation Hub has enlisted Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer and Brussels-based financial market infrastructure provider Euroclear for the project.
According to the DIFC, the three bodies will collaborate on a three-month tech sprint that will deliver a white paper offering a potential solution for digital assets estate planning.
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It is hoped that this whitepaper can then be used as a blueprint by other regions looking to address the same issue.
It is estimated that as much as US$1 trillion of assets will be transferred to another generation in the Middle East over the coming decade.
But less than a quarter (24%) of high net worth individuals in the region has a full estate plan in place. And when it comes to digital assets, there are additional complexities to deal with, according to the DIFC.
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“The region is witnessing a trend of generational wealth being deployed across a variety of digital asset classes to diversify and future-proof their portfolios,” said Mohammed Allbooshi, chief executive, DIFC Innovation Hub.
“By bringing together global leading entities across wealth management, financial services providers, tech disruptors and regulators, this newly launched innovation project will help transform one of the largest, underserved markets in the region and open doors to a more inclusive and tech enabled future for family businesses and the wealth management industry.”