Cryptocurrency transaction volume across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has risen from approximately $100 billion in 2022 to an estimated $350 billion by 2025–2026, according to data from the Bitcoin Policy Institute. This growth is increasingly shaped by two distinct forces: regulated institutional adoption in Gulf states and heightened demand for bitcoin and dollar-backed stablecoins amid regional conflicts, inflation, and currency depreciation.
Regional Market Leaders and Growth Drivers
Turkey stands as the region's largest individual market, processing close to $200 billion annually. The United Arab Emirates handled approximately $150 billion in 2025, while Saudi Arabia recorded the fastest regional growth at 154% year-over-year, followed by Qatar at 120%.
The expansion reflects a dual adoption model across the region:
- The Gulf States: Countries like the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar are establishing regulated digital-asset frameworks as part of broader economic diversification efforts. In the UAE, bitcoin accounts for about 38% of trading activity, followed by ether at 22% and dollar-backed stablecoins at roughly 30%.
- Crisis-Affected Economies: In countries such as Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran, currency weakness has driven demand for alternative stores of value. Following successive devaluations of the Egyptian pound, peer-to-peer bitcoin trading in Egypt surged by more than 300%.
Geopolitical Tensions and Market Resilience
Regional conflicts have tested the behavior of digital assets during geopolitical stress. Following initial Israeli strikes in June 2025 during the Israel-Iran conflict, the broader crypto market dropped roughly 3.7% within hours, with bitcoin falling 2.3% and ether declining 7.5% as investors reduced risk.
However, market dynamics shifted as the conflict persisted. Capital rotated out of riskier altcoins and into bitcoin, driving bitcoin dominance to a peak of 64.8% at the time amid rising concerns over oil prices, inflation, and the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, digital asset exchanges maintained operational continuity throughout regional conflicts even when conventional stock exchanges were closed, underscoring the role of crypto as a continuously traded infrastructure.
