UAE emerging as global cryptocurrency hub, says industry expert

Mena region received over $271 billion worth of crypto between July 2020 and June 2021

The UAE is becoming a global center of cryptocurrencies, said a senior official of Kraken, one of the world's largest digital asset exchanges.

In April of this year, Kraken became the first global cryptocurrency exchange to receive a full license to operate a regulated virtual asset exchange platform on the Abu Dhabi Global market (ADGM). Earlier this week, Kraken and RAKBank announced that UAE residents will soon be able to trade virtual assets in dirhams using their local bank accounts.

Benjamin Ampen, managing director of Kraken Mena, stressed that the introduction of cryptocurrency in the UAE is growing rapidly.

"With Kraken, investors in the UAE and the wider Mena region will, for the first time, be able to participate and invest in the crypto market more securely, more reliably, more efficiently and at a lower cost through a fiat gateway in dirhams."

According to the Gemini survey, the UAE is the third largest country in the world in terms of the introduction of cryptocurrencies: 35% already own some form of cryptocurrency.

"By being able to invest directly in cryptocurrency, as well as deposit and withdraw funds from your Kraken account directly in dirhams, regional investors and institutions can benefit from a seamless trading experience and much wider access to the crypto market."

According to the Chainalysis report "The 2021 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report", in the period from July 2020 to June 2021, the Middle East received a cryptocurrency worth $271.7 billion, which is 6.6 percent of global activity. The UAE ranked third after Turkey and Lebanon with a volume of transactions of $ 25.5 billion.

Ampen noted that the trade denominated in dirhams will increase the volume of trade in the UAE.

"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency markets in the world. Clients from the UAE are already using Kraken to make transactions with a trading volume of more than a billion dollars, and this is without direct fiat onramp. Trading pairs with dirhams will allow Kraken to connect directly to the liquid capital markets of the UAE, which will create great potential for a significant increase in trading volume."

Ampen said that ADGM, a reliable financial services center, is an ideal and irreplaceable partner.

"Kraken was very pleased to cooperate with ADGM, which played an important role in making our vision of introducing the dirhams cryptocurrency trading in the UAE a reality. The regulatory policy in the region has been highly progressive, forward-thinking and forward-thinking, as evidenced by the ADGM Virtual Asset System, which continues to encourage the introduction and innovation of new technology-based investment strategies. We are honored to receive such great support and approval from them."

Ampen noted that progressive regulatory reform, legislative actions and technological innovations put the UAE in a strong position as a leader in the crypto market.

"The UAE's crypto strategy is ambitious and convincing, but at the same time it is developing at a high speed. For the first time in the region, by providing investors with access to crypto trading directly in dirhams, we want to help increase activity, implementation, investment flows and awareness of the UAE's status as a rapidly developing global crypto market."

Ampen added that Kraken wants to be a reliable partner of the UAE.

"This is an exciting opportunity for us to accelerate the introduction of cryptocurrencies in a region with such high potential. We firmly believe that our proposal is in line with national interests and can help support the vision of the region."