Turkey dominates MENA crypto market amid regional slowdown
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region experienced a significant slowdown in cryptocurrency adoption in 2025, according to Chainalysis’ latest MENA Crypto Adoption Report.
The report revealed that crypto growth rates in MENA were 33% lower than in previous years, falling behind other key regions such as Asia-Pacific (69%) and Latin America (63%), reports Cryptopolitan.
Despite the broader decline, Turkey emerged as the region’s crypto leader, recording nearly $200 billion in annual transactions — four times that of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which ranked second at $53 billion. Egypt followed closely with $48 billion, while Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Morocco rounded out the top-performing countries.
Turkey’s crypto boom driven by economic hardship
Chainalysis attributed Turkey’s dominance to its challenging economic conditions, where citizens increasingly turn to crypto as both an investment and an alternative financial infrastructure. Since early 2021, Turkey has recorded $878 billion in gross crypto inflows, surpassing all other MENA markets combined.
However, the report also pointed to shifts in transaction patterns. Large institutional transfers (above $10 million) have decelerated, while professional traders ($10,000–$1 million) saw growth plunge from 41.6% to just 4.1%. Meanwhile, large retail ($1,000–$10,000) and small retail (under $1,000) segments both contracted by 1.6% and 2.3%, respectively — signaling declining disposable income or waning confidence among smaller investors.
Chainalysis suggested that this shift could reflect tighter Turkish regulatory oversight and alignment with FATF standards, as well as broader macroeconomic constraints. Still, trading data shows renewed interest in altcoins, with Turkish exchanges seeing daily volumes surge from $50 million to over $250 million by mid-2025.
UAE maintains steady growth amid regulatory clarity
While the UAE held its position as MENA’s second-largest crypto hub, its growth rate cooled to 33% in 2025 — down from 86.4% in the prior year. Yet, the country’s institutional and transfer segments remain robust, accounting for 54.75% and 37.2% of total transaction volumes, respectively.
More notably, retail adoption in the UAE is accelerating, with small retail transactions growing 88.1%, large retail by 83.6%, and professional transfers by 79.5%. Chainalysis attributes this surge to the UAE’s growing emphasis on real-world crypto payments, backed by new AED stablecoin regulations and government partnerships.
Major players such as Crypto.com and AECoin — the first regulated AED stablecoin issuer — are helping expand crypto usage across both merchant and retail ecosystems, marking the UAE as a regional leader in regulated crypto innovation.
Recently we wrote that the Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license was granted by the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), making Bybit the first crypto exchange to obtain such approval.
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