It's not biz as usual after Iran strikes at Dubai's hub

Dubai: As a Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) building was struck by debris from an intercepted Iranian strike on Friday morning, it rattled the Emirate's financial hub and triggered disruption to upcoming business events in the city.

The incident was followed by the cancellation of the much anticipated TOKEN2049 , one of the world's largest annual crypto gatherings held in dubai. The event, originally scheduled for April 29-30, has now been deferred to next year in view of the ongoing regional disruption.

Industry executives said that more events could be postponed in the coming weeks if tensions persist. Some upcoming events include Dubai AI Week, scheduled for April 6-9, Founders Forum MEASA from March 26-27, Dubai Fintech Summit,on May 11-12, Dubai Future Finance Week from May 11-15, and Capital Markets Summit.

The DIFC building Innovation One was struck by debris on Friday, which houses key startups, and venture capital firms. No injuries were reported as most offices had already shifted to remote operations following Iranian threats earlier this week that prompted the evacuation by several institutions including Citi. "Most of the offices in the building had already shifted to remote working since the Wednesday threats. There was no staff present in the building during the strike in the morning. However, with strikes coming to the financial centre now, there is a sense of panic and several professionals are planning to go back to their home countries to work remotely," said a senior executive with a financial advisory firm that has its office in DIFC.

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Queries emailed to the Dubai Media Office remained unanswered at the time of going to press.

The DIFC currently hosts more than 8844 active companies, including 102 hedge funds. It is an independent financial freezone and the largest cluster of financial services firms in the Middle East.

Hours after the strike TOKEN2049 announced, "In collaboration with our partners and stakeholders, and in light of the ongoing uncertainty in the region and its impact on safety, international travel and logistics, TOKEN2049 Dubai will be postponed to 21-22 April 2027."

It said that ensuring that the global crypto industry can gather safely remains its top priority.

The event last year was attended by 15000 participants from more than 160 countries and over 4000 companies, with the speakers including Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Binance CEO Richard Teng, Telegram CEO, Pavel Durov, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoini, among others.