The use of cryptocurrencies was most common in English-speaking nations and industrialized nations. Still, now the Middle East and North Africa have the fastest-growing crypto adoption in the world, with a 48% increase in the volume of cryptocurrencies from January to June of this year, according to a report published by blockchain researcher Chainalysis.
The MENA
The MENA, often called WANA (West Asia-North Africa) or NAWA (North Africa-West Asia), stands for Middle East North Africa and is an acronym for countries within the Middle East and North Africa. It is a highly populated, culturally diverse area covering three continents. This area accounts for an extensive reservoir of petroleum and natural gas. The Middle East and North Africa region comprises 20 countries and territories.
A released data claims that people in the subregion got $566 Billion in cryptocurrency between July 2021 and June 2022. Compared to the prior year, there was a 48% increase. This growth contrasts with advances of 40% in Europe, 36% in North America, and 35% in Central and Southern Asia.
The Global Crypto Adoption Index 2022 lists the Middle East and North Africa as minor digital asset trading markets, but it has experienced rapid growth. With three of the top thirty crypto-adopting nations from the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. Turkey is ranked 12th, followed by Egypt in the 14th position, and Morocco in the 24th place.
The development of Crypto adoption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
The speedy development of crypto adoption in the Middle East and North Africa results from increased savings and remissions in cryptocurrencies and more lenient laws for trading crypto assets. These are what account for the sub-quick region’s expansion of the cryptocurrency industry.
Take, for instance, Egypt and Turkey: users have been forced to save their assets in cryptocurrencies to hedge against inflation and depreciation due to the ongoing devaluations of their respective national currencies (the Turkish lira and the Egyptian pound).
The increase in remissions from Egypt
The increase in remissions from Egypt this year has been another contributing element. Ranking fifth globally in terms of remissions from Europe and other Arab countries, research has shown that national income for this idea accounts for around 8% of the Gross domestic product of Egypt. And the country’s national Bank has an ongoing project to construct a crypto-based remission passage between Egypt and UAE, where most Egyptians work.
According to data from Chainalysis, from July 2020 – June 2021, the number of Bitcoin transactions in Egypt tripled in size over the previous year. The biggest market for cryptocurrencies in the area is still Turkey, as it made the most significant proportion in the MENA’s 566 Billion dollars and contributed 192 Billion dollars. Morocco is another nation where cryptocurrency trade has increased in recent months. This is because their government has maintained lower inflation rates (5.3%), in contrast to Egypt and Turkey.
Cutting-edge regulation will foster cryptocurrency trading
The market’s lenient laws appear more responsible for the swift acceptance of cryptocurrencies. The Moroccan government and central bank have modified their positions this year regarding cryptocurrency trading. In line with the IMF and the World Bank, they followed through on the sanctions and fines promised to cryptocurrency traders in 2017. Instead, they passed cutting-edge regulatory and consumer protection laws.
Saudi Arabia is the third cryptocurrency market in the MENA area, and the UAE is the fifth. The world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges are now based in Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, from whence they service markets outside the Middle East in Asia and Africa. Since its capture by the Taliban, Afghanistan has fallen over as the government likened the crypto market to gambling, which is against their faith.
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