Recent data shows that the MENA region is the fastest growing crypto market

A recent report by Chainalysis posted on October 5 revealed that the crypto market in the MENA region is the fastest growing in the world.

The data showed that MENA-based users received $566 billion in cryptocurrency from July 2021 to June 2022, which is 48% more than they received the year prior. 

The MENA region is followed by Latin America with a growth of 40% and North America with a growth of 36%.

Morocco previously made it to Chainalysis 2022 Global CryptoAdoption Index by landing the 14 spots despite the country’s ban on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 

“In Morocco, inflation rates have been contained to a more manageable 5.3%.  In fact, the North African country’s notable levels of grassroots adoption seem to be more tied to the government’s newly permissive crypto stance than to any particular macroeconomic tailwinds,” said the report explaining that in 2017, the central bank of Morocco declared that “penalties and fines” will follow any crypto transaction within the country. 

But earlier this year, the bank struck a partnership with the IMF and the World Bank to create crypto regulations that emphasize innovation and consumer protection in the country.

In the MENA region, the usage of cryptocurrencies finds practical use cases in savings preservation and remittance payments.

The wealthier countries of the MENA region such as the Gulf nation of the United Arab Emirates contributed to the local crypto scene in a different capacity. 

For example, Saudi Arabia is the third-largest crypto market in all of MENA, and UAE is fifth. 

The report showed that Dubai has become a hub for crypto companies that serve customers all across Asia and Africa, not just in the Middle East. 

 In these countries, crypto is often seen in large institutional usage rather than person-to-person payments.

Back in November 2017, Morocco became the first north African country to ban cryptocurrencies with the justification that “the use of cryptocurrencies entails significant risks for their users.”

Now that Morocco is taking another direction in this regard, it is expected that other countries with the crypto ban will move towards its regulation.