As the metaverse continues to expand at breakneck speed, the virtual and real worlds are more entwined than ever before.
In Dubai, where the crypto market is booming, more and more physical outlets are now accepting cryptocurrencies as payment, including the hospitality industry.
There are now several restaurants and cafes in the city allowing diners to pay for their meals using their digital wallets.
Here are some of the places to spend your crypto…
1. Doge Burger
Leading the way is Doge Burger, Dubai’s first fully crypto-based restaurant, which designed its entire concept around Dogecoin, including its logo.
Customers can order burgers, hot dogs and loaded fries via its website, paying in cryptocurrency, and receive their food at their door shortly afterwards.
www.dogeburger.co
2. Pickl
Last month, the popular Dubai burger joint announced it was entering the metaverse by launching a range of themed NFTs, virtual apparel and, eventually, its first virtual restaurant.
Here, customers will be able to place orders using crypto, and receive their Nashville chicken sandos direct to their real door.
“In the future, we want our virtual restaurant to replicate the full customer experience of our real-world venues,” the brand’s founder and chief executive Steve Flawith said. “We even plan to integrate it with delivery so customers can order their Nashville chicken sando or double cheeseburgers in the metaverse and then receive their burgers direct to their door — the full virtual-to-physical experience. We are actively exploring this possibility as we speak.”
www.eatpickl.com
3. The Bhukkad Cafe
Customers at this Indian street food joint can not only pay for their order using crypto, via the BitPay app, they can also brush up on their knowledge of cryptocurrencies and trading, thanks to free weekly sessions and lectures covering everything from the basics of investing to protecting your virtual financial health.
The Al Karama joint, which has built up a loyal following thanks to its creative dishes, is also planning to open a second branch in Dubai’s Silicon Oasis in April.
Open daily, 11am-midnight; Shamma building, Al Karama, Dubai; 04 349 9957
This DIFC spot made headlines in January when it opened Dubai’s first dedicated crypto lounge, with the aim of bridging the gap between the virtual and real worlds.
Not only can guests pay here using cryptocurrency, they can also immerse themselves in the metaverse thanks to a virtual reality room. The space is designed for like-minded individuals who want to discuss and learn more about the metaverse, with regular events covering topics such as NFTs and crypto trading.
Open daily, 5pm-3am; Central Park Towers, DIFC; 058 533 6023, www.metaterrace.life
5. Bake N More
Al Quoz cafe Bake N More has recently started accepting crypto payments alongside traditional cash and card options.
The French patisserie spot, which offers freshly baked creations, announced plans to accept crypto in March, in a bid to attract the area’s traders. The bakery gives users the chance to select their virtual currency from a drop-down menu at the counters, with signs advertising the fact that it accepts crypto dotted around the place.
Open daily, 7am-10pm; 27th Street, Al Quoz Industrial Area 3; 050 780 0813, www.bakenmore.ae
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
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