6th March 2026 > > Dubai, AI, & CBDCs.
- Mar 6
- 5 min read
tl;dr
Is it Dubai or Saudi Arabia? Agentic A.I.s will use USDC across several blockchains. A USD CDBC will soon officially be banned, via a backdoor, but whatever, it’s the outcome that is important.
Market Snap
Market Wrap
A short-lived rally to $74k was a surprising move given the uncertainties in the world today. BTC price historians point to similar moves shown during prior four-year cycles suggesting that if history is to repeat, we will shortly see a move to $60k or so. I think geo-political events take precedence over pattern-spotting if you are in the pointless business of making short-term price predictions.
Occasional Series – Dubai/Saudi Arabia
I think the last time we spoke I was torn between a bus to Riyadh on the Wednesday afternoon or a flight out of Dubai on the Thursday morning. A short while after deciding against the bus and in favour of waiting one more night to get the flight, suddenly all flights out of Dubai the next day were cancelled. Great. Back-up plan C was to try to find another bus, which was suddenly superseded by some new flights out of Dubai to Riyadh tonight. That will do I thought and booked immediately.
But having learnt the hard way that having one back-up plan does not cut the mustard and not having one at all leaves you dangerously exposed, we headed off to the central Emirates office near Dubai airport to investigate other options. Outside the office was the largest queue I hope never to see again. A day of waiting in sunshine with the vague possibility of a flight sometime next week did not sound appealing. In addition, he lack of an online check in option for the new flight to Riyadh was concerning, so a fact-finding visit to the airport seemed to be in order.
That was a good move because a very helpful chap, whose primary job was to stop people from getting into the airport, told us that the flight we had just booked to Riyadh no longer existed, though the airline had no intention of telling us that, which felt like yet another body blow. Long story short, after many shenanigans, we got booked onto a new flight last night to Riyadh, one whose existence had not previously been advertised.
With no back-up plan D in place at this point, I was a little concerned. Still, we got on the plane and out it taxied. Once on the runway, incoming missile alerts sounded on everyone’s mobile phones:
Remarkably, the plane still took off despite the best efforts of the racist, misogynistic, and homophobic Mullahs to further disrupt my personal travel plans. We found ourselves in Riyadh last night with a flight to Heathrow booked for Monday morning. I have never fancied spending a weekend here, but it does have the distinct advantage of being further away from Iran than Dubai.
…
This morning – heavens above – a flight that was previously booked out suddenly became available leaving Riyadh today at 07.35am bound for Heathrow. A rushed exit from the hotel to the airport was met with the devastating news that no seats were available, and that in any case the records showed that we were supposed to leave yesterday. Chaos reigns supreme wherever I turn.
One of the many lessons I have learned this week is that you shouldn’t assume that anyone knows anything at all, especially those who appear to be in positions of responsibility. Using BA’s website, I quickly booked two seats on this morning’s “totally full” flight. What could possibly go wrong?
Whilst processing our hold luggage, the chap on the desk announced that because of a new and unexpected imminent attack on Saudi Arabia, the airspace was closed again. Here I am, nearly ten hours later, looking at a departures board which shows many cancelled flights, and delays of twelve hours or more for others. Some flights have left to places like Port Sudan, and Sharjah, but maybe those places are more dangerous than here, rendering an incoming Iranian missile as something to be ignored.
If I get out today, and land in Heathrow before the weekend is out, I will be one very happy bunny.
…
It is all starting to feel a little personal though.
I arrived in Dubai airport and twenty minutes later the war started.
Several days later, I board a plane at Dubai airport, and just before take-off the missiles are back.
Then I got very close to getting on a plane out of Riyadh, and those Iranian motherfuckers had me in their sights once more.
If you ever need to get out of a war zone, don’t book the same flight as me.
Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – A.I. agents and cryptos
There is no doubt that truly autonomous agents need cryptos to fund their energy usage in exchange for whatever services they may offer. They cannot use dirty fiat money for an agent cannot pass KYC and cannot comply with AML rules, rendering the possibility of opening a bank account at precisely zero.
Of late, there has been speculation that A.I. agents will create their own crypto for this purpose. Even Arthur Hayes, normally a wise man, has jumped on that bandwagon. Hogwash I say. Sungku Kim explains succinctly why I think that:
Sungku also posits a framework with some numbers to illustrate that framework which might help to inform your personal investment decisions:
The conclusion to draw is a simple one. Agentic A.I. will use a fiat linked stablecoin (USDC) across several blockchains that provide almost free and almost instantaneous settlement. There is plenty of scope for several crypto winners to emerge.
Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act
This bipartisan bill was passed 84 to 6 in the Senate and is heading Trump’s way for his signature. Its objective is to “… increase housing supply, cut regulations, and fight fraud, waste, and abuse in government programs to address housing affordability …” which all sounds mighty fine to me:
Sometimes you need to look more deeply into the details:
Yep, the Federal Reserve is now officially banned until at least 2030 from issuing a CBDC – the tyrant’s favoured tool of oppression, coercion, and control. I have no idea how this momentous decision made it into this bill, but we are all in a much better place because of it.
It is a disgrace that neither the EU nor the UK will follow suit. We will pay the price for allowing the “digital Euro” and the “Britcoin” to forge their way into existence. Shame on us.
Comments