‘Saudi Bidding’ Meme undermined by Crypto Investor Survey
- KuCoin found that sentiment is shifting negatively among Saudi crypto investors
- 76% of local owners of digital assets have less than one year of experience in the market
The Bitcoin discourse has been swept away by a new conspiracy meme that suggests that Saudi investors are ready to bid billions on the best cryptocurrency, and save us all from the ongoing bear market.
Such a move would diversify the kingdom’s reserves away from oil to “digital gold”, and secure its economic future in a world that hopes to one day eradicate its dependence on fossil fuels – or so the theory goes.
But if a recent report from the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is something to go by, it is largely unfounded.
Based on a commissioned survey, KuCoin found that the estimated total number of Saudi crypto investors has remained relatively stable throughout the year, at around 3 million. But their sentiment changes negatively, the exchange found.
The report states: “In the first quarter, around half (49%) of crypto investors intended to increase investments in crypto over the next six months, followed by the bearish market when we saw the intention of some decline in the second quarter of 2022, as more investors changed its strategies. “
KuCoin highlighted that cryptocurrency adoption in Saudi Arabia is lower than the global average, and comes in third place across the Arab world in terms of raw investor numbers. However, the growth in the number of registered KuCoin users from Saudi Arabia led the other GCC countries through 2021.
A majority (63%) of Saudi crypto investors are men, according to the survey, and people under the age of 30 make up at least a third of all investors, with the number rising to 37% through the second quarter of the year.
The report noted that the high proportion of new investors across Saudi Arabia is unique to their profile.
“About three-quarters (76%) of crypto-investors have less than a year’s experience in crypto-investment, including half (49%) of investors who first started trading crypto in the last six months, indicating strong demand for crypto-education in the market,” he said. wrote KuCoin.
Saudi investors are using trading robots to beat the bear market
Saudi Arabians generally invest in cryptocurrencies in the long run, the report found. 51% of the surveyed owners of digital assets are in crypto because they believe it is the finance of the future, while 44% believe that crypto can reap higher returns than other types of financial investments.
Although KuCoin reported that in the second quarter of the year, 42% of crypto investors used automated trading strategies – such as trading robots – to see them through the bear market, an increase of 7% from the first quarter.
Cryptocurrency exists in a legal gray area across the country, with local banks banning digital asset transactions since 2018. And while there are no legal dangers to cryptocurrency trading, Saudi-based investors often closely monitor which types of investments approved under Islamic law (halal).
According to KuCoin’s report, which was based on only 539 respondents, almost half of Saudi crypto investors buy crypto with fiat and spot trading every month, as it is the only form of crypto trading considered halal by some researchers in the Arab world.
Staking, futures trading and margin trading – involving interest rates and even gambling – are less popular.
When it comes to what investors plan to do with their potential gains, 42% said they plan to improve families’ living conditions, with other goals including buying a new house, saving for retirement or emergencies and other creatures like traveling and shopping.
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David Canellis
Block works
Editor
