The modern world is seeing a rapid shift in the meaning of privacy. As technology advances and world superpowers extend their surveillance systems across the globe, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain true anonymity. Offshore bank accounts are not exempt from this trend.

Recent decades have seen developments such as relaxed privacy policies in Switzerland and increasingly broad surveillance by the U.S. However, knowing some more about the limitations of privacy in offshore banking can help you make sure you keep your assets protected.

Digital currencies or what are referred to as cryptocurrencies are an alternative medium of financial exchange and has gained momentum in the last few years, promising to reshape the global economic infrastructure by revolutionizing the medium in which goods are exchanged. The possibility of cryptocurrency is enormous, and it is difficult to estimate the impact it could have as the industry is relatively still within its early stages of experimentation and development. That being said, there are a few areas to keep an eye on

1. The Banking Industry - Bypassing the current stranglehold that centralized banks retain giving rise to Crypto Personal Investing empowering individual financial autonomy;
   
   
2. Individual Fund Management and Exchange - Revolutionary blockchain technology and Peer-2-Peer transactions will reshape the mode of exchange giving fluidity and transparency like never before; and
   
   
3. Fundraising and Venture Capital - The rise of Crypto Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) offers a new way to generate funds, build revenue, and offer investment incentives.

All of which will give individuals more autonomy, security and transparency in a highly decentralized and individualized transactional economy.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become an attractive option in which to conduct business, due to the Free Economic Zones that offer a number of advantages to individuals and companies seeking confidential and tax-free opportunities.

In the UAE, there are two offshore jurisdictions:

Ras Al Khaimah, commonly referred to as RAK Offshore, under the jurisdiction of Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA)

Dubai Offshore, under the supervision of the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA)

Thirty-eight Free Zones are offered by the seven Emirates in the UAE, with twenty-two in Dubai alone. Each zone is managed by a Free Trade Zone Authority that caters to a diverse range of business sectors and activities.