Bitget Research provided a report on the adoption of cryptocurrencies in the Middle East region.
According to a study received by crypto.news, an average of 500,000 crypto traders will be active in the Middle East in 2024, an increase of 166% from last year. The number of traders is expected to reach 700,000 by the end of the year.
This growth can be attributed to favorable local cryptocurrency regulations, the approval of Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs, and the increasing attractiveness of digital assets amid a market rally. The UAE leads the region in cryptocurrency adoption, with 72% of regional users investing in Bitcoin.
“UAE users have also shown the highest appetite for investing in BTC and ETH, with BTC being referred to as ‘digital gold’ by UAE users. ”
biget research
Additionally, Middle Eastern countries rely heavily on centralized global exchanges. Local exchange platforms such as Rain and M2 are popular due to the lower diversity and liquidity of tradable assets on local exchanges compared to global exchanges, as well as the convenience of deposit and withdrawal channels in local currencies. It's not even in the top 10 in terms of absolute traffic.
Notably, the Middle East caused a sharp decline in the cryptocurrency market in mid-April. The prices of all virtual currencies plummeted from April 13th to April 14th due to the worsening situation in the Middle East.
Bitcoin fell by about 10% in just two hours, dropping to the $60,000 level. At the same time, the dominance increased sharply and most altcoins fell further.
