Middle East’s economic woes to drive interest in 'stablecoins' in 2024

Already, 2024 looks like a strong year for the crypto industry in the Middle East and North Africa. The region, which has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing and most important markets for decentralized finance, saw almost $400 billion worth of crypto activity between July 2022 and June 2023, making it the world’s sixth largest crypto economy. 

Hopes are high despite the industry facing a number of controversies over the past couple of years. In December Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, withdrew its application for a license to manage a collective investment fund with Abu Dhabi’s financial regulator.

The license would have allowed Binance to offer clients the opportunity to invest their crypto in an investment trust managed by the company, helping Binance expand its offerings in the Middle East. But a spokesperson for the exchange said last month that “when assessing our global licensing needs, we decided this application was not necessary.”

In June 2022, the crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital collapsed just weeks after obtaining a provisional license to operate in Dubai. The high-profile collapse of FTX in November the same year was also particularly felt in the Gulf, as 4% of the exchange’s customers were based in the United Arab Emirates.