Cryptocurrency Markets in MENA Are Fastest Growing in 2022

Chainalysis concluded in its report that cryptocurrency markets in the Middle East and North Africa will grow more than any other region in 2022.

While the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region may be one of the smallest cryptocurrency markets in the Global Crypto Adoption Index 2022 ranking, it is the fastest growing.

In MENA, users received $566 billion in cryptocurrency from July 2021 to June 2022, up 48% from a year earlier.

Three of the top thirty countries in the Global Crypto Adoption Index 2022 are in MENA: Turkey (12), Egypt (14) and Morocco (24). In these countries, residents are struggling to keep their savings. In addition, cryptocurrencies have a regulatory framework in these countries.

The fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices have coincided with the rapid devaluation of fiat currency in Turkey and Egypt, which has led to cryptocurrencies growing in appeal. Over the past year, the Turkish lira has fallen in value by 80.5 percent and the Egyptian pound has weakened by 13.5 percent.

Egypt also has a significant remittance market, which accounts for about 8% of Egypt's GDP. The country's national bank is now working on a project to establish a cryptocurrency corridor between Egypt and the UAE. For instance, between July 2021 and June 2022, Egypt's transaction volume tripled from the previous year.

The largest cryptocurrency market in the region is Turkey. From July 2021 to June 2022, its citizens received $192 billion, but the growth rate was much lower than the previous year.

Morocco has also seen significant growth due to the government's new permissive stance on cryptocurrencies, rather than any specific macroeconomic factors. Earlier this year, it partnered with the IMF and World Bank to create cryptocurrency regulations that focus on innovation and consumer protection.

As for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman - they rarely make it to the top of the cryptocurrency adoption index, as it assesses countries on a per capita purchasing power parity basis.

However, their role in the cryptosphere is quite high. For example, Saudi Arabia is the third largest cryptocurrency market in the entire MENA region, while the UAE is fifth. Meanwhile, Dubai has become a hub for cryptocurrency companies that serve customers across Asia and Africa.