“Education, education, education,” said John Major, former Prime Minister of Great Britain. Those words ring true for any economist taking a longer-term view of a jurisdiction’s prosperity. Immigration can fill skill gaps, but it’s not ideal – it adds pressure on public services and creates long-term liabilities if those shortages prove temporary. Retaining talent is always an option, but it generally doesn’t deliver roaring success.
Starting with schools addresses future skill shortages at the root, reducing reliance on immigration for specialist roles. The UAE is betting big on the future, not just with technical skills but also financial literacy. Teaching students to understand value through an alternative monetary system like Bitcoin is likely to spark investor appetite at a younger age, fostering a cultural shift in attitudes towards finance and risk.
While Western societies largely leave crypto education as an extracurricular pursuit after school for the masses, the UAE is boldly investing in the future by proactively educating its populace ahead of the coming crypto boom – one accelerated by AI and smoother payment rails compared to traditional finance.
This forward-thinking approach aligns perfectly with Dubai’s explosive growth as a crypto hub: by late 2025, the UAE ranks fifth globally in cryptocurrency adoption, topping the MENA region with one of the world’s highest user penetration rates at around 33 per cent – nearly 3 million active users out of a population of roughly 10 million. Dubai, regulated by the progressive Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), has become a magnet for tokenisation projects, institutional players, and retail innovation, pulling in billions in investments and positioning itself as a bridge between Asia, Europe, and Africa in decentralised finance.
When the future is this clear, it’s mind-boggling why antiquated education systems aren’t rallying to update curricula and equip the next generations with the skills they’ll actually need.