MENA records highest crypto market growth in 2022
Users from the Middle East and North Africa received $566 billion in crypto from July 2021 to June 2022 – up 48 percent from the previous year.
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region was the fastest growing market for cryptocurrency adoption over a 12-month period ending June 30 of this year.
According to a report published by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, MENA-based users received $566 billion in crypto from July 2021 to June 2022, which was 48 percent more than the previous year.
That growth compares with increases of 40 percent in Europe, 36 percent in North America and 35 percent in Central and South Asia.
In Chainalysis’ report, MENA is home to three of the top thirty countries in its 2022 Global Adoption Index: Türkiye (12), Egypt (14) and Morocco (24). Among the use cases for crypto in the region center on the preservation of savings, remittance payments and lax crypto regulations.
Of all MENA nations, Egypt saw the largest percentage increase, with crypto transaction volume increasing more than threefold. Chainalysis cited the devaluation of the Egyptian pound by 13.5 percent as well as the country’s remittance market as key drivers behind its adoption.
In Egypt, remittances account for around 8 percent of the country’s GDP, and the National Bank has started a project to build a crypto-based remittance corridor between Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Turkey, which accounts for $192 billion of MENA’s $566 billion transaction volume, holds the largest crypto market share of any country in the region. Among the drivers of adoption is the pressure the Turkish lira has come under since last year, strengthening the appeal of crypto for savings protection.
Despite the risks associated with crypto’s inherent volatility and looming government regulations, a Morning Consult survey found that 54 percent of Turkish crypto users continue to buy or sell digital currencies at least once a month, second only to Nigeria.
(chain light)
In Morocco, adoption levels appear to be more linked to a shift in the government’s regulatory stance. The kingdom, which is North Africa’s leading country for crypto ownership, has moved toward a more permissive legal framework by partnering with the IMF and the World Bank to design regulations that emphasize innovation and consumer protection.
Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE – have become institutional crypto players in their own right.
While Saudi Arabia has the third largest crypto market in the region and the United Arab Emirates is fifth, the emirate of Dubai has become a global hub for crypto companies that have tied up with banks and financial institutions, serving retail customers not only in the MENA region but across Asia too.
Much of the usage in the GCC states is driven by younger tech-savvy users with high disposable incomes, where crypto is more likely to be considered an investment option.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan, which was ranked 20th by Chainalysis for crypto adoption in 2021 with an average volume of $68 million transactions per month, saw volumes plummet to less than $80,000 per month following the Taliban takeover last August and the subsequent crackdown on the industry.
Source: TRT World
