The Middle East and North Africa region has become the seventh-largest cryptocurrency market as both retail and institutional adoption grows.
According to a Chainalysis report, MENA received $338.7 billion in cryptocurrencies between July 2023 and June 2024, securing the seventh spot. This accounted for 7.5% of the global on-chain value.
Türkiye leads the region with $137 billion in on-chain value received, followed by Morocco’s $12.7 billion. These two are the only countries in Chainalysis’ global crypto adoption index.
The report found that 93% of the transactions in the region were worth over $10,000, driven by professional and institutional movements.
Per Chainalysis, the United Arab Emirates witnessed impressive growth in retail and institutional on-chain value due to its favorable regulatory landscape.
Last month, Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, announced to create a dirham-pegged stablecoin in the UAE which will be backed by the country’s liquid reserves.
The stablecoin issuer joined forces with Fuze, a crypto infrastructure company, to educate both individuals and large institutions in Türkiye and the Middle East about cryptocurrencies and raise their awareness.
According to data from Chainalysis, Saudi Arabia’s crypto market saw a 154% year-over-year growth in the mentioned timeframe, emerging as the fastest-growing digital asset economy in the region.
Most of the on-chain activity in MENA happened on decentralized exchanges. 32.4% and 30.9% of the on-chain movements in the UAE and Saudi Arabia occurred on DEXs, per the report.
It’s important to note that Saudi Arabia and Qatar still don’t have an operational regulatory framework for crypto companies which could be the main reason behind their DEX use.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment invested $250 million in the Hedera blockchain in February to boost web3 development in the country.
