ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aqua Labs Investments, a licensed Abu Dhabi–based investment firm operating within the UAE’s regulated digital-finance ecosystem, hosted a VVIP closed-door strategic seminar focused on securing the post-quantum future of digital infrastructure and institutional finance at the Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental in Abu Dhabi.
Held on 4 February 2026, the event brought together a select group of senior decision-makers and international partners, including government officials, institutional investors, financial regulators, and leaders in defense, technology and sport from the United States, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. The forum highlighted Aqua Labs’ role in aligning emerging financial technologies with the UAE’s long-term economic agenda while advancing compliant cross-border collaboration in digital infrastructure and Web3 systems.
Participants included senior institutional representatives from UAE sovereign wealth funds and investment firms, alongside international delegates from North America, Europe, and Asia spanning capital markets, family offices, technology firms and global investment organizations, underscoring the growing convergence of sovereign capital, regulated financial infrastructure and next-generation digital systems within the UAE ecosystem.
The forum also brought together government delegates and policymakers, international development stakeholders and defense and security leaders with expertise in cyber resilience and national infrastructure protection, reinforcing the importance of governance and policy alignment in enabling digital-finance systems to operate at scale.
Discussions centered on the transition from experimentation to implementation in digital finance, spanning post-quantum cybersecurity, institutional blockchain infrastructure, stablecoin settlement layers, real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, and cross-border capital deployment. Rather than a traditional conference, the forum was structured as a working session focused on deployable infrastructure, investment platforms and compliant digital-finance initiatives.
The structured program reflected the UAE’s growing focus on secure financial architecture, opening with a keynote address from Bobby Zhou, Founding Partner of Aqua Labs Investments, on the convergence of capital, power and secure digital infrastructure. Contributions included a presentation on post-quantum cybersecurity by David Carvalho, CEO of Naoris Protocol, led by Neil Callaghan, CEO of Pilot Singa, a $1 billion fund chaired by General Wesley K. Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and a retired four-star U.S. Army general who now advises on geopolitics, security and emerging technologies, during which the company announced its partnership with Aqua Labs Investments.
Additional discussions addressed institutional settlement and liquidity frameworks, sovereign-grade stablecoin infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization, reflecting a broader shift toward deployable, regulated financial architecture rather than speculative applications. Overall, the evening reflected the growing alignment between institutional capital, secure digital infrastructure and the policy, defense and governance frameworks required to support their deployment at scale.
Bobby Zhou, Founding Partner of Aqua Labs Investments and host and Chair of the event, said:
“The next phase of digital finance will be shaped by institutions, not speculation. We are now entering a post-quantum era that cannot be avoided, and the security assumptions underpinning today’s digital financial systems must evolve accordingly.
“Our focus is on building regulated infrastructure that sovereign funds and global investors can deploy with confidence. We are working directly with institutional partners to develop Web3 strategies rooted in transparency, governance and real economic utility. Blockchain is becoming a core layer of modern financial systems. We are not imagining the future. We are building it.”
Dave Lee, Co-Founder of Aqua Labs Investments, added:
“What we are seeing globally is a shift from experimentation to implementation. Institutions are no longer asking whether digital finance will matter, but how to integrate it responsibly within clearly governed and regulated market environments. This seminar focused on real-world deployment and the creation of compliant systems that enhance liquidity, efficiency and cross-border capital access.”
About Aqua Labs Investments
Aqua Labs Investments LLC is a licensed Abu Dhabi–based investment firm dedicated to advancing responsible digital finance. Acting as a strategic advisor, Aqua Labs Investments supports funds, companies, and investors across the Middle East and Asia seeking to engage in Web3 investments and asset tokenization.
Aqua Labs Investments bridges emerging technologies with compliant finance. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of blockchain, real-world asset tokenization, and AI-driven financial infrastructure in line with the UAE’s Vision 2030.
Learn more at: https://aquainvest.fund/
Contact: [email protected]
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