The Middle East and North Africa are the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency markets. The volume of crypto received in the region jumped 48% in the year to June, blockchain researcher Chainalysis said in a report on Wednesday.
While both regions are one of the smallest crypto markets, its growth to $566 billion received in cryptocurrency between July 2021 and June 2022 shows adoption is rising rapidly.
Latin America follows MENA [Middle East & North America] at 40%. North America was next at 36% growth, followed closely by Central and Southern Asia and Oceania at 35% growth, Chainalysis said.
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Three MENA countries are among the top 30 in Chainalysis’ 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index, with Turkey in 12th place, Egypt taking the 14th spot and Morocco 24th.
“In Turkey and Egypt, fluctuating cryptocurrency prices have coincided with rapid fiat (traditional) currency devaluations, strengthening the appeal of crypto for savings preservation,” Chainalysis said.
The Turkish lira has weakened nearly 30% this year to new record-lows, after losing 44% of its value last year amid a currency crisis triggered by rate cuts.
Turkey tops the MENA region in terms of value of crypto received by far, having received $192 billion worth of crypto in the year to end-June, though only saw 10.5% year-on-year growth.
Egypt’s currency has also lost about a quarter of its value against the dollar at the start of the year.
