Countries in the Middle East saw a 166 per cent increase in daily crypto traders in February earlier this year; Bitget Research, the research arm of the world’s crypto exchange and Web3 company Bitget, reveals in its latest report.
In February 2023, six countries in the Middle East saw 300,000 daily active users on centralised crypto exchanges. But in the same month a year later, there were over 500,000. Bitget Research has attributed much of this growth to favourable local crypto regulations in the Middle East, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, and the increasing attractiveness of digital assets amid a market upturn.
The UAE emerged as the region with the highest cryptocurrency adoption rate in the region, with 72 per cent of local users investing in Bitcoin. Twenty-nine per cent of UAE-based users surveyed believe that digital assets offer a more convenient way of holding assets. Meanwhile, 34 per cent of users are cryptocurrency traders, and 22 per cent use them for daily payments.
Bitget added that the leading position of the UAE as a hub of crypto activity is not surprising, considering that it has the most crypto-friendly policies in the Middle East. In the meantime, most other countries continue to improve their cryptocurrency regulations, moving from outright bans to a more compliant approach to stream new investments, projects, and users to their jurisdictions.
Gracy Chen, managing director of Bitget, states: “We are excited about the potential of the Middle East market and anticipate continued growth in both users and market size.
“The UAE, in particular, holds significant importance as a base within the region. It has emerged as a hub for cryptocurrency talents, funds, and enterprises, while also steadily gaining global influence in the crypto space. We look forward to contributing to and witnessing the further development of this dynamic market.”
Looking to the future
The research revealed that Middle Eastern countries are heavily reliant on global-level centralised exchanges. The Bitget research division has attributed such lacklustre values to the lower variety and liquidity of tradable assets on local exchanges compared to global exchanges, as well as the convenience of local currency deposit and withdrawal channels available on most global competing platforms.
Decentralised exchanges are also among the go-to venues for users across the Middle East. The primary platforms for P2P trading are based on blockchains like Solana, BSC, and Ethereum, and include DEXs such as Uniswap, Pancakeswap, Raydium, and others.
The Bitget report also highlights in conclusion that cryptocurrency adoption rates in the Middle East are expected to continue rising from 330,000 daily active users in 2023 to around 700,000 by the end of 2024. The main factors influencing such growth are favourable crypto regulation in the analysed countries, as well as the investment attractiveness of digital assets as a whole in light of a market upturn.
