Image Credit : Bybit
The United Arab Emirates has been recognized as the leading country for cryptocurrency adoption in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), ranking fifth globally, according to the World Crypto Rankings 2025 report by Bybit and DL Research. The findings underline the UAE’s growing influence as a global hub for digital assets, with Dubai playing a central role in advancing tokenization initiatives and settlement systems.
Beyond regional leadership, the UAE has positioned itself as a vital connector between Asia, Europe, and Africa in the evolving tokenized finance ecosystem. Its strong performance places it among established global crypto centers such as Singapore, the United States, Lithuania, and Switzerland.
The country’s success is attributed to a combination of forward-looking policies, innovation-friendly regulations, and high levels of user participation. Clear anti-money laundering standards and well-defined legal frameworks have created a supportive environment for digital asset providers, while strong remittance-driven usage has boosted grassroots adoption. These factors, along with the UAE’s appeal to international talent and businesses, have reinforced its status as a policy-driven global tokenization hub.
Saudi Arabia is also making notable progress in developing its digital asset landscape, expanding licensing frameworks, and recording high crypto ownership rates, reflecting strong public interest. In North Africa, countries such as Morocco demonstrate widespread grassroots adoption despite operating under more restrictive regulatory conditions.
The report characterizes the MENA region as a “hybrid market,” where institutional leadership and bottom-up innovation coexist. On one side are regulated hubs like the UAE, and on the other are economies facing inflation, capital controls, and limited banking access, where cryptocurrencies serve as alternative financial tools.
Although regulatory clarity and infrastructure remain uneven across the region, rising demand—especially among younger users—signals significant growth potential if supported by the right policies and financial systems.
Michelle Daura, MENA Regional Manager at Bybit, highlighted Dubai’s rapid ascent as a crypto hub, noting the company’s early establishment in the UAE and its commitment to supporting the region’s development as a global center for digital assets.
On a global scale, the report emphasizes that crypto adoption accelerates when regulation, infrastructure, and institutional involvement align. While each of the world’s top five countries follows a distinct model, the UAE stands out for successfully blending ambitious regulatory frameworks with strong real-world usage, reinforcing its position at the forefront of the global crypto economy.
