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Will 2018 Witness the Spread of Digital Currencies?

Bitcoin medals. (AFP)
Bitcoin medals. (AFP)
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Will 2018 Witness the Spread of Digital Currencies?

Bitcoin medals. (AFP)
Bitcoin medals. (AFP)

The year 2017 was exceptional for digital currencies, especially bitcoin, whose value rose 1,800 percent to reach nearly $20,000 in December. Trade in the currency started in January at less than $1,000.

Spread of digital currencies

The combined market value of digital currencies has reached more than $730 billion, reported coinmarketcap.com. This makes them more valuable than giants such as Amazon ($570 billion) and Microsoft ($660 billion). It appears that it will only be a matter of time before the market value of digital currencies reaches a trillion dollars, surpassing the world’s largest company Apple, whose value lies at around $990 billion.

It appears that these digits will not stop increasing any time soon. Each day we hear reports about a new digital currency that attempts to offer innovative solutions to some problems in our daily and monetary lives. Among these new currencies, is one that can currently be traded in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The possibility of issuing the currency is still being studied. Should that happen, it will be part of a joint project between the UAE central bank and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. Should it materialize, this will mark the first ever cooperation between monetary authorities between two countries to adopt these new innovations.

Some websites said that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was studying the pros and cons of digital currencies. This could be the early signs of a possible partnership between him and one of the digital currencies. He may even go beyond that and decide to have Facebook issue its own currency to challenge bitcoin.

Other reports said that the Telegram app is seeking to develop its own digital currency to follow in the footsteps of the Kik app that issued its own currency, KIN.

These developments and others indicate that 2018 will be a busy one for digital currencies as more major companies and individuals are lured to this new trend for investment. Interest has reached such an extent that some digital currencies have actually turned away new users due to the record level of demand.

Withdrawing bitcoin

How do I get bitcoin? The currency can either be withdrawn or purchased. Whichever method you choose, you must first have an electronic wallet to store the currency. Wallets can be obtained from sites such as Web Wallet, Electrum, Software Wallet, blockchain.info and many others.

In the past, it was very easy to withdraw, or “mine”, bitcoin by using a computer or laptop through the proper program on your device. However, with the growing number of the currencies being released from as far back as 2009, the withdrawal process grew more complicated. Dedicated powerful “miners’ have therefore been manufactured to withdraw the currency. They include the Antminer S9, Avalon 6 and SP20 Jackson. These miners come at a price and some can cost more than $3,000. They also consume a lot of power and require constant cooling. One should take all these factors into consideration before making this kind of investment.

Fortunately, many websites that rely on cloud technology have emerged to make the consumer’s life easier. The sites allow users to rent out miners. Such websites include hashflare.io and genesis-mining.com.

Another way to obtain bitcoin is through buying the currency. They can be purchased through a smart bank transfer or through a bank card. Several websites offer such services, such as Coinbase.com, Xapo.com, BitStamp.com or through bitcoin’s official website, buy.bitcoin.com

Alternate currencies

Bitcoin was not the only currency enjoying an upward trend in markets. Other alternate currencies have emerged in the past year and achieved astronomical success worth 14,285 percent of their price at the beginning of the year. Verge, for example, started the year at no more than $0.00002 and by the end had risen to $0.24. This may seem like a simple figure, but the increase is massive.

Other currencies that enjoyed noticeable growth were Ripple, Dash, Litecoin and Ethereum, the second largest digital currency after bitcoin. Other promising currencies that have entered the market include Electroneum, TRON, Ethos and Cardano.

A word of advice. The digital currencies market is very unstable. It can witness great highs and very quick drops that cannot be predicted. You should therefore carefully study the market and the currency you want to invest in before embarking on an experience that may make you a millionaire or, in the blink of an eye, cost you all that you have invested.

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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
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IMF and Arab Monetary Fund Sign MoU to Enhance Cooperation

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA
The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki - SPA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference on Emerging Market Economies (EME) to enhance cooperation between the two institutions.

The MoU was signed by IMF Managing Director Dr. Kristalina Georgieva and AMF Director General Dr. Fahad Alturki, SPA reported.

The agreement aims to strengthen coordination in economic and financial policy areas, including surveillance and lending activities, data and analytical exchange, capacity building, and the provision of technical assistance, in support of regional financial and economic stability.

Both sides affirmed that the MoU represents an important step toward deepening their strategic partnership and strengthening the regional financial safety net, serving member countries and enhancing their ability to address economic challenges.

Business

Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
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Saudi Chambers Federation Announces First Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council

File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT
File photo of the Saudi flag/AAWSAT

The Federation of Saudi Chambers announced the formation of the first joint Saudi-Kuwaiti Business Council for its inaugural term (1447–1451 AH) and the election of Salman bin Hassan Al-Oqayel as its chairman.

Al-Oqayel said the council’s formation marks a pivotal milestone in economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, reflecting a practical approach to enabling the business sectors in both countries to capitalize on promising investment opportunities and strengthen bilateral trade and investment partnerships, SPA reported.

He noted that trade between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reached approximately SAR9.5 billion by the end of November 2025, including SAR8 billion in Saudi exports and SAR1.5 billion in Kuwaiti imports.

Business

Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
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Leading Harvard Trade Economist Says Saudi Arabia Holds Key to Success in Fragmented Global Economy

Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).
Professor Pol Antràs speaks during a panel discussion at the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies (Asharq Al-Awsat).

Harvard University economics professor Pol Antràs said Saudi Arabia represents an exceptional model in the shifting global trade landscape, differing fundamentally from traditional emerging-market frameworks. He also stressed that globalization has not ended but has instead re-formed into what he describes as fragmented integration.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Antràs said Saudi Arabia’s Vision-driven structural reforms position the Kingdom to benefit from the ongoing phase of fragmented integration, adding that the country’s strategic focus on logistics transformation and artificial intelligence constitutes a key engine for sustainable growth that extends beyond the volatility of global crises.

Antràs, the Robert G. Ory Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is one of the leading contemporary theorists of international trade. His research, which reshaped understanding of global value chains, focuses on how firms organize cross-border production and how regulation and technological change influence global trade flows and corporate decision-making.

He said conventional classifications of economies often obscure important structural differences, noting that the term emerging markets groups together countries with widely divergent industrial bases. Economies that depend heavily on manufacturing exports rely critically on market access and trade integration and therefore face stronger competitive pressures from Chinese exports that are increasingly shifting toward alternative markets.

Saudi Arabia, by contrast, exports extensively while facing limited direct competition from China in its primary export commodity, a situation that creates a strategic opportunity. The current environment allows the Kingdom to obtain imports from China at lower cost and access a broader range of goods that previously flowed largely toward the United States market.

Addressing how emerging economies should respond to dumping pressures and rising competition, Antràs said countries should minimize protectionist tendencies and instead position themselves as committed participants in the multilateral trading system, allowing foreign producers to access domestic markets while encouraging domestic firms to expand internationally.

He noted that although Chinese dumping presents concerns for countries with manufacturing sectors that compete directly with Chinese production, the risk is lower for Saudi Arabia because it does not maintain a large manufacturing base that overlaps directly with Chinese exports. Lower-cost imports could benefit Saudi consumers, while targeted policy tools such as credit programs, subsidies, and support for firms seeking to redesign and upgrade business models represent more effective responses than broad protectionist measures.

Globalization has not ended

Antràs said globalization continues but through more complex structures, with trade agreements increasingly negotiated through diverse arrangements rather than relying primarily on multilateral negotiations. Trade deals will continue to be concluded, but they are likely to become more complex, with uncertainty remaining a defining feature of the global trading environment.

Interest rates and artificial intelligence

According to Antràs, high global interest rates, combined with the additional risk premiums faced by emerging markets, are constraining investment, particularly in sectors that require export financing, capital expenditure, and continuous quality upgrading.

However, he noted that elevated interest rates partly reflect expectations of stronger long-term growth driven by artificial intelligence and broader technological transformation.

He also said if those growth expectations materialize, productivity gains could enable small and medium-sized enterprises to forecast demand more accurately and identify previously untapped markets, partially offsetting the negative effects of higher borrowing costs.

Employment concerns and the role of government

The Harvard professor warned that labor markets face a dual challenge stemming from intensified Chinese export competition and accelerating job automation driven by artificial intelligence, developments that could lead to significant disruptions, particularly among younger workers. He said governments must adopt proactive strategies requiring substantial fiscal resources to mitigate near-term labor-market shocks.

According to Antràs, productivity growth remains the central condition for success: if new technologies deliver the anticipated productivity gains, governments will gain the fiscal space needed to compensate affected groups and retrain the workforce, achieving a balance between addressing short-term disruptions and investing in long-term strategic gains.