Middle East and North Africa on-chain transaction volume reached roughly $350 billion in 2025-2026, up 3.5 times from $100 billion in 2022, according to a Bitcoin Policy Institute report. The region has become one of the world's fastest-growing crypto markets, with transaction activity concentrated among a handful of countries that are reshaping digital-asset adoption through institutional participation and regulatory frameworks.
Turkey remains the largest market in the region by volume, with annual on-chain transactions approaching $200 billion. The United Arab Emirates recorded about $150 billion in crypto transaction volume over the same period. Saudi Arabia, however, posted the fastest growth rate: 154 percent year over year, followed by Qatar at 120 percent.
The Bitcoin Policy Institute attributed part of the surge to macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures. Conflict and currency depreciation have increased demand for Bitcoin and U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins in certain markets. Gulf states have positioned themselves as regional digital-asset hubs through clearer regulatory pathways and attraction of institutional capital. The UAE has licensed crypto exchanges and custodians under its financial regulator, while Saudi Arabia has moved toward digital-asset infrastructure through its Vision 2030 framework.
The $350 billion volume figure encompasses all on-chain transactions in the MENA region, including retail transfers, trading activity, and institutional flows. The metric does not separate transaction value from actual economic transfer size; high-volume exchanges generate many smaller transactions that can inflate absolute numbers compared to total assets under management or true economic throughput. MENA's growth rate of 250 percent over three years outpaces global on-chain volume growth, which has roughly tripled in the same span.
Institutional participation in Gulf markets has accelerated markedly. Major banks and asset managers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have begun offering crypto custody, trading, and settlement services to clients. Wealth management arms of regional sovereign wealth funds have explored digital-asset allocations, though public holdings remain limited. The regulatory clarity offered by UAE and Saudi regulators has attracted international crypto infrastructure providers seeking footholds in the region.
The report's figures arrive as MENA regulators diverge on digital-asset policy. While the UAE and Saudi Arabia have pursued licensing frameworks, other regional jurisdictions maintain outright bans or restrict institutional participation. Egypt's central bank has prohibited banks from handling crypto-related transactions. Lebanon has not formally regulated digital assets, though economic collapse and currency controls have driven informal adoption among residents seeking to preserve wealth.
Turkey's dominance in MENA transaction volume corresponds with its large population and the lira's depreciation against the U.S. dollar, which has made Bitcoin and stablecoins appealing stores of value for retail users. The country has no formal regulatory framework for crypto assets, and the central bank has discouraged banking institutions from handling them, yet on-chain activity persists. Saudi Arabia's 154 percent year-over-year growth occurs against a backdrop of regulatory expansion and government interest in fintech adoption as part of its broader economic diversification away from oil.
The three-and-a-half-fold increase in MENA transaction volume from 2022 to 2025-2026 mirrors broader adoption patterns in emerging markets where currency weakness or capital controls create demand for alternative assets. The Ukraine conflict and Russia's subsequent digital-asset use as a sanctions-evasion mechanism demonstrated similar dynamics; MENA's growth follows analogous macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures. If MENA's 250 percent volume growth over three years continues at even half that rate through 2028, the region could exceed $500 billion in annual on-chain transactions.
The key figure to track is Saudi Arabia's sustained year-over-year growth rate: whether it maintains triple-digit percentage increases as regulatory frameworks mature and institutional participation deepens, or whether growth moderates to single or double-digit percentages as the market becomes larger and regulatory arbitrage diminishes.
