The Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region has quietly grown into the 7th-largest crypto market worldwide in 2024, capturing 7.5% of global transaction volume (per Chainalysis). Unsurprisingly, $BTC still leads the way, attracting both institutional and retail money.
What really caught my attention is how quickly MENA is shaping its own approach to crypto. If you’re curious to dive deeper, I came across an insightful article and pulled out a few highlights that stood out to me 👇👇
🔹 Bahrain’s Tokenization Push
The Central Bank of Bahrain has broadened its rules to cover Digital Token Offerings, balancing investor protection with new opportunities for regulated firms. A solid case of regulation moving in step with innovation.
🔹 Saudi & UAE Momentum
WhiteBIT Group’s founder Volodymyr Nosov recently met with Prince Naif bin Abdullah in Saudi Arabia to discuss blockchain infrastructure and digital banking. At the same time, Ripple won approval from the DFSA to provide regulated crypto payments in Dubai. Both signal an openness to global partnerships.
🔹 UAE’s Regulatory Synergy
The SCA & VARA collaboration is simplifying licensing for virtual asset service providers (VASPs). Faster approvals + stronger compliance = more trust and smoother market access.
📌 To me, MENA isn’t just following the global $BTC narrative - it’s actively shaping the rules of the game. The balance between innovation and regulation could make it a global reference point for crypto adoption.
Top comments (0)