Middle East Crypto Activity Triples to $350 Billion Amid Ongoing Conflict, Report Finds
Cryptocurrency activity across the Middle East and North Africa has surged to an estimated $350 billion in annual on-chain transaction volume, more than tripling from roughly $100 billion in 2022, according to a new report from the Bitcoin Policy Institute. The sharp increase comes as the region continues to face conflict, currency instability, inflation and major economic disruption.
The report suggests that the growth is not being driven by a single factor. In countries affected by currency depreciation, sanctions or conflict, individuals and businesses are increasingly turning to Bitcoin and dollar-backed stablecoins as alternative ways to preserve purchasing power and transfer money outside traditional financial systems.
The ongoing conflict involving Iran has added another layer to the trend. Researchers say regional investors initially responded to the outbreak of fighting by moving away from riskier cryptocurrencies and other risk assets. Bitcoin subsequently regained strength as investors increasingly viewed it as a tool for protecting wealth during economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Bitcoin’s behavior during the conflict has nevertheless been more complicated than the traditional “digital safe haven” narrative suggests. When the fighting initially intensified, Bitcoin fell alongside global equities as investors rushed toward safer assets. Its market share later climbed to about 64.8%, as some investors shifted away from smaller and more speculative cryptocurrencies.
The report highlights a major divide within the region. Economies experiencing currency instability or restrictions on conventional financial transfers are using crypto primarily as a means of preserving and moving wealth. Meanwhile, Gulf countries are developing themselves as regulated centers for institutional cryptocurrency investment and blockchain businesses.
Turkey remains the region’s largest crypto market by transaction value, with annual activity approaching $200 billion, according to the report. Persistent inflation and weakness in the Turkish lira have helped encourage cryptocurrency adoption as residents search for alternatives to holding wealth entirely in the local currency.
Saudi Arabia, however, has recorded some of the fastest growth. Its crypto transaction activity increased by approximately 154% year over year, while Qatar recorded growth of around 120%, according to figures cited in the report.
The United Arab Emirates is emerging for a different reason. Rather than crypto adoption being driven primarily by currency instability, the UAE has been attempting to attract institutional investors, exchanges and digital-asset companies through dedicated regulatory frameworks and financial infrastructure.
That institutional push has continued despite the region’s geopolitical turmoil. Earlier this month, Standard Chartered launched institutional spot cryptocurrency trading in the UAE, offering clients access to Bitcoin and Ether. The move made it the first globally systemically important bank to provide such services in the Gulf country.
The conflict has also provided a real-world test of cryptocurrency’s ability to function when conventional financial infrastructure becomes disrupted. Crypto markets operate around the clock and can allow users to transfer digital assets without relying on traditional banking networks that may be affected by sanctions, capital controls, bank closures or physical disruption.
Iran provides one of the clearest examples. Chainalysis tracked approximately $10.3 million leaving Iranian crypto exchanges between February 28 and March 2 following U.S.-Israeli airstrikes. Chainalysis cautioned that these transfers could have represented ordinary withdrawals, exchange liquidity movements or activity by state-linked entities, meaning the figures cannot automatically be interpreted as citizens fleeing the financial system.
The broader economic environment is also important. Iran continues to face sanctions, inflation and currency instability amid the prolonged conflict, while the Strait of Hormuz remains a major source of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. The resulting pressure on energy markets and regional economies has increased the demand for financial instruments that can move independently of traditional banking channels.
Stablecoins are particularly important in this environment because they provide crypto-based exposure to currencies such as the U.S. dollar without requiring users to hold physical dollars in a conventional bank account. In economies where the domestic currency is rapidly losing value, dollar-linked digital assets can therefore become an attractive store of purchasing power.
At the same time, the $350 billion figure should not be interpreted as $350 billion of new investment flowing into the Middle East. It represents estimated on-chain transaction activity. Such measurements can include transfers between exchange-controlled wallets and repeated movements of the same assets, meaning transaction volume is not equivalent to the number of users, the amount of capital invested or the economic value created by crypto.
The regional surge therefore reflects two very different cryptocurrency stories developing simultaneously. In countries such as Iran, Turkey and Lebanon, crypto can function as a response to monetary instability and restrictions. In Gulf markets such as the UAE and Bahrain, governments are attempting to turn digital assets into a regulated component of the financial system and attract international capital.
The geopolitical crisis could ultimately accelerate both trends. Continued instability may encourage individuals to seek decentralized or dollar-linked alternatives, while Gulf governments may see the growing demand for digital assets as an opportunity to strengthen their positions as international financial hubs.
The Middle East’s cryptocurrency boom is therefore becoming more than a speculative investment story. The rise from approximately $100 billion in 2022 to an estimated $350 billion in 2025–2026 suggests that digital assets are increasingly becoming part of the region’s financial infrastructure, although the nature of that adoption varies dramatically from one country to another.
The most significant question now is whether the region’s crypto expansion will remain tied to crisis-driven demand or evolve into a permanent financial transformation. If conflict, inflation and currency instability continue to push individuals toward digital assets while Gulf states simultaneously build regulated institutional markets, the Middle East could emerge as one of the world’s most important cryptocurrency regions.
