The Middle East and North Africa region was the fastest growing market for cryptocurrency adoption over a 12-month-period that ended on June 30 this year.published by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, MENA-based users received $566 billion in crypto from July 2021 to June 2022, which was 48 percent more than the previous year.
That growth compares with increases of 40 percent in Europe, 36 percent in North America and 35 percent in Central and South Asia. In Chainalysis’ report, MENA is home to three of the top thirty countries in its 2022 global adoption index: Türkiye , Egypt , and Morocco . Among the use cases for crypto in the region centre around savings preservation, remittance payments, and lax crypto regulations.
Of all MENA nations, Egypt saw the largest increase in percentage terms, with its crypto transaction volume increasing more than threefold. Chainalysis cited the devaluation of the Egyptian pound by 13.5 percent as well as the country’s remittance market as key drivers behind adoption. In Egypt, remittance payments account for about 8 percent of the country’s GDP, and its national bank has started a project to build aTürkiye, which accounts for $192 billion of MENA’s $566 billion transaction volume, owns the largest crypto market share by one country in the region. Among the drivers for adoption is the pressure the Turkish lira has come under since last year, strengthening the appeal of crypto for savings protection.