Middle East-North Africa Strengthens Its Position with 7.5% of Global Crypto Trades

The Middle East and North Africa(MENA) region has played a significant role in the cryptocurrency market. From July 2023 to June 2024, it represented 7.5% of total trading volume.

On Thursday, the blockchain media outlet Cointelegraph reported that the trading volume totaled $338.7 billion. Most of the trades were made by institutional and professional investors.

Moreover, about 93% of trades exceeded $10,000. This significantly outpaces the small retail investors, who only accounted for 1.8% of the total trading volume in the region.

MENA’s on-chain traffic primarily occurred through centralized exchanges. However, the report noted that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia also want the potential of the decentralized platform.

Chainalysis particularly highlighted the UAE’s advancement as a global cryptocurrency hub, mainly driven by clear regulations and a progressive stance on digital asset technology.

Correspondingly, the Central Bank of the UAE recently approved a custody insurance product designed to protect customers from losses due to hacking, internal fraud, and damage to storage infrastructure.