The government of Maldives signed an agreement with MBS Global Investments, a Dubai-based family office, to develop a $9 billion crypto and blockchain hub in Malé, the capital of the South Pacific archipelago nation.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the agreement, which was signed on May 4, was done in the hopes of moving the Maldives away from reliance on tourism and fisheries by attracting foreign direct investment into blockchain and Web3 technologies.

The project outlines plans for the Maldives International Financial Centre, an 830,000-square-meter facility that will reportedly employ up to 16,000 individuals.

Completing the project will take an estimated five years and the capital requirements for the ambitious development are more than the $7 billion in annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the Maldives.

The planned crypto hub reflects the growing importance of the crypto industry worldwide. However, the Maldives' ambitions to become a global center for financial technology must contend with well-capitalized, established jurisdictions like Dubai, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Established crypto and fintech hubs already on the scene

Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a rapidly growing crypto and Web3 hub thanks to its positive regulatory environment that encourages innovation and a local government willing to explore blockchain technology in real-world applications.

On April 6, Dubai's Land Department (DLD) and the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) signed an agreement to connect the land registry to blockchain, allowing for more comprehensive real estate tokenization.

Hong Kong has also positioned itself as a crypto hub through proactive regulations that have attracted hundreds of Web3 and fintech firms.

According to Ivan Ivanov, global CEO of WOW Summit, a blockchain conference in Hong Kong, the special economic zone leverages its position as a bridge between Western economies and China to attract investment and serves as a regulatory sandbox.

Singapore is also a major international crypto center, with dozens of digital asset exchanges based inside the country and hundreds of Web3 firms headquartered there.

The country continues to attract global investment through a regulatory approach that encourages technological experimentation without fear of regulatory reprisal.