The Middle East and North Africa processed roughly $350 billion in annual crypto transactions in 2025–2026, according to a Bitcoin Policy Institute report. Turkey remained the region's largest market with nearly $200 billion, while Saudi Arabia posted the fastest growth at 154%. The report tied rising activity to conflict, currency depreciation, regulation and institutional participation. The figures place MENA among the world's more active crypto regions, with adoption patterns shaped less by speculative trading alone than by local monetary conditions and diverging regulatory regimes across neighboring states.

Conflict Shifts Crypto Use Across MENA

The Bitcoin Policy Institute said the Iran conflict altered crypto market activity across the region in June 2025. Following Israel's first strikes, global crypto market capitalization fell 3.7% to about $3.26 trillion. Bitcoin dropped 2.3% to nearly $105,200, while Ethereum declined 7.5%. Investors later rotated from altcoins into Bitcoin, pushing Bitcoin dominance to 64.8%, and Bitcoin then held between $104,000 and $106,000 as Israel-Iran fighting continued.

The report noted that crypto markets stayed open throughout the conflict, enabling trading during periods when traditional markets were closed. The episode offered a real-time illustration of a long-cited property of crypto markets: unlike equity exchanges, which operate on fixed sessions and close on weekends and holidays, crypto venues trade continuously around the clock. Oil prices and inflation risks around the Strait of Hormuz shaped investor concerns during that time.

Gulf Markets Keep Building Digital Asset Rules

Despite regional tensions, the Gulf recorded continued digital asset activity. UAE-based firms maintained operations through cloud infrastructure during the conflict.

Stephen Coltman, Vice President and Head of Macro at 21shares, described the continued operation of crypto exchanges during the conflict, noting that stock exchanges closed while crypto exchanges continued operating normally.

Regulatory approaches differed across Gulf markets. The UAE and Bahrain introduced frameworks covering virtual asset service providers and stablecoin activities. Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), established in 2022 as the emirate's dedicated crypto regulator, updated rules on tokenization and virtual asset activities, and Bahrain — an early regional mover through its central bank's sandbox — introduced its Stablecoin Issuance and Offering Module. These frameworks stand in contrast to the more restricted environments elsewhere in the region, a divergence the report links to differing levels of institutional participation.

Saudi Arabia Records Fastest Regional Growth

Turkey remained MENA's largest crypto market, receiving nearly $200 billion annually. The UAE followed with about $150 billion in transactions during 2025. Bitcoin accounted for 38% of UAE trading activity and Ethereum for 22%, while U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins, mainly USDT and USDC, represented another 30%. Stablecoins, which are digital tokens pegged to fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar, are widely used as a way to hold and transfer dollar-like value without a traditional bank account — a function that becomes particularly relevant in economies with weak or devaluing local currencies.

Saudi Arabia recorded the region's fastest growth at 154% year over year. The report cited 97% smartphone penetration and a population that is more than 60% under the age of 35 as contributing factors. Qatar ranked second in growth at 120%.

Meanwhile, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Iran saw increased Bitcoin and stablecoin use amid currency depreciation. Egypt's peer-to-peer Bitcoin trading volume rose more than 300% after successive devaluations of the Egyptian pound. This pattern mirrors usage seen in other emerging markets, where dollar-pegged stablecoins often serve as a hedge-like store of value and a remittance channel when local currencies lose purchasing power. The report's mix of conflict-driven volatility, building regulatory frameworks, and currency-driven adoption suggests the next indicators to watch are further Gulf rule updates, Saudi growth rates, and stablecoin usage levels in inflation-hit economies.