Overview
- The Bitcoin Policy Institute estimates MENA on‑chain transaction volume rose to about $350 billion for 2025–2026, a jump from roughly $100 billion in 2022, with Chainalysis data showing Saudi Arabia growing fastest at 154% year over year.
- Turkey remains the region’s largest market by value at roughly $200 billion in annual on‑chain activity, driven largely by retail demand for dollar‑pegged stablecoins as a hedge against lira depreciation.
- Stablecoins now make up an estimated 45%–52% of regional on‑chain flows, reflecting their role as a tool for value preservation and cross‑border transfers in both retail and institutional use cases.
- Gulf financial centers are building formal infrastructure for institutions through licensing, custody and dirham–dollar stablecoin rails while Bahrain issued a Stablecoin Issuance and Offering Module in July 2025.
- Headline totals vary by methodology — Chainalysis and the Bitcoin Policy Institute produce different regionwide figures — and on‑chain volume counts token movements not unique users or net capital inflows, so totals should be read with those limits in mind.