How's crypto faring in the Middle East and North Africa? Read the top stories and fresh updates with our MENA crypto news.

MENA Crypto News

Despite the suffering of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in 2022, owners of investment capital in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region still have a positive vision toward the two sectors.



In a survey which came in report named &#8220;MENA Investor Survey 2022-2023&#8221;, the investors said they intend to increase their investments in projects of cryptocurrencies and blockchain in 2023 as the most of investments will be allocated for blockchain infrastructure, metaverse, and decentralized finance.



<a href="https://ar.cointelegraph.com/news/mena-venture-capitalists-to-increase-investments-in-crypto-and-blockchain-in-2023" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to Cointelegraph Research&#8217;s data</a>, the number of investment capitals used to finance the crypto world globally in 2022 exceeded the number recorded in 2021. The data showed that despite the bear market, the number in 2022 hit $36.1 billion compared to $30.3 million in 2021.



In addition, the survey showed that the MENA region witnessed large investments in crypto and blockchain in 2022. For example, cryptocurrency exchange RAIN received $110 million in investments, including from MENA investors like Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), and BitOasis raised $30 million with UAE-based Wamda Capital.



About 19% of the surveyed said they invested more than 50% of the funds in crypto and blockchain entities in 2022. The majority, at 33%, invested between 5-15% of their capital in crypto and blockchain entities. Meanwhile, 27% invested between 1-5% of their capital in the world of crypto and blockchain.



Also, 65% of the surveyed mostly invested in blockchain infrastructure projects in 2022, followed by the blockchain then decentralized finance. While 33%-35% invested in metaverse and crypto assets.



Blockchain infrastructure projects accounted for 50% of the investments in November 2022, but the Web 3.0 sector was the top sector that saw the most deals. The global blockchain infrastructure sector raised $483.9 million in investment capital in 2022.



In addition, 22% of the participants in the survey see metaverse projects as high-growth sectors in the technology world, as the global metaverse market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39.4% during the period between 2022 and 2030.

MENA

Blockchain

Crypto

MENA Investors to Pump More Capitals in Crypto, Blockchain in 2023

Despite the crypto bear market, the interest in crypto is still growing as people seek crypto-related information. A recent study by CryptoManiaks, a crypto education platform, found that Turkey topped the Middle East&#8217;s countries in terms of searching for cryptocurrencies.



CryptoManiaks reported that Turkey accounted for 4.7 million crypto-related searches (5.5% of the population). While the Netherlands topped the world&#8217;s countries in searching for crypto-related items (8.2% of the population), <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/turkey-has-an-obsession-with-crypto-specifically-dogecoin-study" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according to Coin Telegraph</a>.



Turkey became the world&#8217;s top country in Dogecoin-related searches, hitting 812,000 monthly searches. This number doubles the number of searches for Ethereum, which is the third most searched cryptocurrency in the country. Binance Coin, Bitcoin, and Solana were among the cryptocurrencies mentioned in the research.



Germany, the Czech Republic, and Canada came following the Netherlands and Turkey. Although the US and UK are major players in the crypto industry, they were not ranked in first or second places regarding the number of searches. The US came in 15th place with 1.9% of the population searching for crypto-related items. While the UK came in 12th place (2.6% of the population).



In this regard, CryptoManiaks spokesman said that Dogecoin&#8217;s popularity has remarkably exceeded Ethereum&#8217;s popularity in a number of countries, reaching about 2 million more monthly searches worldwide for the cryptocurrency. Dogecoin&#8217;s popularity grew up over the past month after Elon Musk&#8217;s acquisition of Twitter.



It is worth mentioning that Turkey took significant steps in crypto regulation. According to research by the Turkish crypto exchange Paribu in 2022, there are at least 8 million people in Turkey engaged in crypto. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan showed his interest in making his country a producer of digital assets, not a consumer.

Turkey

Turkey Tops World’s Countries in Searching for Dogecoin

Islamic Coin, an emerging cryptocurrency that complies with the rules of Shariah, won Most Promising ESG Crypto award at the prestigious Middle East Blockchain Awards (MEBA), <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-network/islamic-coin-wins-esg-crypto-at-the-middle-east-blockchain-awards" target="_blank">according to Khaleej Times</a>.



Islamic Coin is a native currency of Haqq, a community-run network, dedicated to empowering an ethics-first Shariah-compliant financial ecosystem. Haqq is a halal-compliant, application-specific blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK.



The Middle East Blockchain Awards event was held in Abu Dhabi on November 18, honoring 14 of the region’s key players in the field of blockchain and Web 3.0.



In this regard, Islamic Coin Co-founder Mohammed AlKaff AlHashmi said the award is proof that the cryptocurrency aligns with the requirements of the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles and promotes ethical and sustainable activities.



Meanwhile, Islamic Coin&#8217;s Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Andrey Kuznetsov said: &#8220;We have a digital currency that not only makes social contributions through charity but is also good to society because it uses a proof-of-stake system that requires the purchase of tokens to be part of the network, a process that saves significant amounts of energy.&#8221;



Islamic Coin targets reaching 1.1 billion Muslim internet users worldwide. Recently, the Islamic cryptocurrency has gained a wide reputation from eminent figures in both traditional and Islamic finance and has secured support from royal families in the United Arab Emirates.



According to Islamic Coin website, the value of Islamic finance is predicted to reach $3.69 trillion. It is worth mentioning that the Islamic finance industry expanded by approximately 11% last year. The website also expected an increase in the number of major corporations and regional governments, which want to tap into the Islamic finance ecosystem.

Islamic Coin

Islamic Coin Wins Most Promising ESG Crypto at MEBA

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, plans to expand its footprint in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) after reports of a surge in users in the region.



<a href="https://www.binance.com/en/blog/markets/binance-ramps-up-web3-adoption-in-the-mena-region-9207860706271326846" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance reported</a> a 49% growth in user sign-ups in MENA during 2022 so far. The world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange attributed this increase to the growing interest in virtual assets thanks to remarkable government initiatives that encouraged businesses to enter this world.



It pointed out that the MENA’s support of virtual assets and blockchain raised awareness of the importance of the virtual world and drove Web 3.0 adaptation.



To cope with the increasing number of users and partnerships, Binance increased the number of its employees to 400 in Dubai alone, including additions to the executive directors&#8217; team.



In this regard, Regional Head of MENA at Binance Richard Teng described this level of growth in users and expansion in new employees as encouraging, especially in the United Arab of Emirates (UAE).



&#8220;We are witnessing rapid adoption of blockchain technology in the region and we believe there is huge potential for the UAE to soon become a leading virtual asset hub,&#8221; Teng said.



Teng pointed to his company&#8217;s exciting plans for the MENA region, noting that Binance is committed to closely working with local regulators to set up a safe and secure ecosystem for its users.



According to Teng, Binance will continue its cooperation with officials in Dubai and the UAE in general to develop a strong virtual infrastructure protecting the investors and markets.



The cryptocurrency exchange deepened its presence in the MENA region lately. In the UAE, it inked a partnership agreement with Majid Al Futtaim, the retail giant in the UAE, on enabling customers to buy virtual assets at Majid Al Futtaim’s different facilities as well as signing partnerships with Virtuzone, Palazzo Versace, and Jebel Ali Resorts.



Also, In September, Bahrain-based EazyPay partnered with Binance to launch the first regulated and approved crypto payments service offering in the Kingdom, Binance Pay.

Binance

Binance Eyes Investing More in Web 3.0 in MENA

The cryptocurrency market had remarkably developed in the Arab world over the past years in conjunction with the world&#8217;s realization of the importance of such currencies.&nbsp;



In this regard, several Arab figures joined the cryptocurrency world and achieved great success in it. One of these figures who entered this world very early is the Jordanian entrepreneur Talal Tabbaa. We will showcase his crypto career in this article.&nbsp;



Who Is Talal Tabbaa?&nbsp;



Tabbaa is a Jordanian entrepreneur, who graduated from Purdue University, the US, after receiving a bachelor&#8217;s degree in industrial engineering. He also received an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Amman Baccalaureate School.&nbsp;



Despite being young, Tabbaa assumed several posts at many global institutions and companies. He is now the co-founder and executive director of operations at the Swiss-based Jibrel Network, which aims to bridge the gap between traditional and crypto economies.&nbsp;



He is also the cofounder and CEO of CoinMENA, a crypto exchange, which is headquartered in Bahrain, in addition to being a board member at the Middle East Payment Services (MEPS) in Jordan.&nbsp;



How Did Tabbaa Join The Crypto World?&nbsp;



At the beginning of his career, Tabbaa worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, so he had to communicate with several banks and companies, working in the financial sector. At that time, he faced a major problem, which is that most companies and banks did not use technology.&nbsp;



Hence, he began to search for a way through which technology could be linked to the financial sector, and he did not find a better way than cryptocurrency to play this role.



As we mentioned, Tabbaa took part in establishing Jibrel Network in Zug town in Switzerland, which is known for its clear and explicit laws regulating digital transactions. The main goal for this company was to integrate the traditional economy with the crypto one.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://adminblog.upyo.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jibrel-Network.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1789" width="712" height="374" srcset="https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jibrel-Network.jpg 1024w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jibrel-Network-300x158.jpg 300w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Jibrel-Network-768x404.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px" /></figure>



CoinMENA Establishment&nbsp;



The establishment of CoinMENA is considered one of the most significant stations in Tabbaa&#8217;s crypto career. Headquartered in Bahrain, CoinMENA is a Sharia-compliant crypto-assets trading platform that is licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).



Through CoinMENA, users can buy, sell, store, and receive digital assets safely and securely, as well as deposit and withdraw in their local currency.



Tabbaa aimed to enable new investors in the Middle East and North Africa to take part in the new digital world.&nbsp;



CoinMENA offers its services in seven Arab countries, which are Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="https://adminblog.upyo.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CoinMENA.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1790" width="761" height="399" srcset="https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CoinMENA.jpg 1024w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CoinMENA-300x158.jpg 300w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CoinMENA-768x404.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 761px) 100vw, 761px" /></figure>



Ambitious Vision&nbsp;



Regarding his plans, Tabbaa targets to expand digital financial services to cover more clients and countries. He seeks to make CoinMENA the easiest and safest platform for trading digital currencies in the entire Arab world.



You can follow Tabbaa&#8217;s official accounts on social media via these links: 



<ul class="is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links"><li class="wp-social-link wp-social-link-linkedin wp-block-social-link"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/talaltabbaa/?originalSubdomain=ae" class="wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M19.7,3H4.3C3.582,3,3,3.582,3,4.3v15.4C3,20.418,3.582,21,4.3,21h15.4c0.718,0,1.3-0.582,1.3-1.3V4.3 C21,3.582,20.418,3,19.7,3z M8.339,18.338H5.667v-8.59h2.672V18.338z M7.004,8.574c-0.857,0-1.549-0.694-1.549-1.548 c0-0.855,0.691-1.548,1.549-1.548c0.854,0,1.547,0.694,1.547,1.548C8.551,7.881,7.858,8.574,7.004,8.574z M18.339,18.338h-2.669 v-4.177c0-0.996-0.017-2.278-1.387-2.278c-1.389,0-1.601,1.086-1.601,2.206v4.249h-2.667v-8.59h2.559v1.174h0.037 c0.356-0.675,1.227-1.387,2.526-1.387c2.703,0,3.203,1.779,3.203,4.092V18.338z"></path></svg>LinkedIn</a></li>

<li class="wp-social-link wp-social-link-twitter wp-block-social-link"><a href="https://twitter.com/tabbaa4" class="wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M22.23,5.924c-0.736,0.326-1.527,0.547-2.357,0.646c0.847-0.508,1.498-1.312,1.804-2.27 c-0.793,0.47-1.671,0.812-2.606,0.996C18.324,4.498,17.257,4,16.077,4c-2.266,0-4.103,1.837-4.103,4.103 c0,0.322,0.036,0.635,0.106,0.935C8.67,8.867,5.647,7.234,3.623,4.751C3.27,5.357,3.067,6.062,3.067,6.814 c0,1.424,0.724,2.679,1.825,3.415c-0.673-0.021-1.305-0.206-1.859-0.513c0,0.017,0,0.034,0,0.052c0,1.988,1.414,3.647,3.292,4.023 c-0.344,0.094-0.707,0.144-1.081,0.144c-0.264,0-0.521-0.026-0.772-0.074c0.522,1.63,2.038,2.816,3.833,2.85 c-1.404,1.1-3.174,1.756-5.096,1.756c-0.331,0-0.658-0.019-0.979-0.057c1.816,1.164,3.973,1.843,6.29,1.843 c7.547,0,11.675-6.252,11.675-11.675c0-0.178-0.004-0.355-0.012-0.531C20.985,7.47,21.68,6.747,22.23,5.924z"></path></svg>Twitter</a></li></ul>

Talal Tabbaa

Talal Tabbaa… Ambitious Journey in Crypto World

In 2015, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region witnessed an important event, which was the launch of the first and biggest platform for trading cryptocurrencies in the region, which is BitOasis, headquartered in the United Arab of Emirates.&nbsp;



One of the most prominent women in the Arab world was behind this event, Ola Doudin, the Jordanian entrepreneur. In the following lines, we will review Doudin&#8217;s success story in the field of cryptocurrencies.&nbsp;



Who Is Ola Doudin?&nbsp;



Doudin graduated from Birmingham University and got a bachelor&#8217;s degree in electronics and communications engineering with honors in 2008.&nbsp;



Before entering the crypto world, she held several important positions. She was an IT adviser at Ernst &amp; Young in London and worked for many start-ups in the Middle East and Aramex.&nbsp;



How Did Doudin Entered Crypto World?&nbsp;



Doudin mentioned in her interviews that her interest in cryptocurrencies or bitcoin, especially, was by chance. She found the idea a little crazy when she read about it in newspapers. She asked herself about the possibility of inventing peer-to-peer currencies instead of traditional currencies.&nbsp;



Hence, she decided to go in deep into this domain to understand it more and communicate with those who are interested in it. She saw that the future is in the crypto world and other jobs are waste of time.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://adminblog.upyo.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BitOasis-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1746" srcset="https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BitOasis-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BitOasis-300x169.jpg 300w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BitOasis-768x432.jpg 768w, https://3.111.63.208/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/BitOasis.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>BitOasis Platform</figcaption></figure>



Launching BitOasis



Doudin took part in setting up BitOasis, which is considered the first and biggest platform for cryptocurrency trading in the MENA region. She became the platform&#8217;s CEO. The platform&#8217;s goal was to offer a safe and regulated infrastructure for cryptocurrency trading for all traders and investors in the region.&nbsp;



The platform achieved great success as the volume of trading on it reached $3 billion. Through BitOasis, users could buy and sell over 60 cryptocurrencies quickly and easily.&nbsp;



One of its significant features is that it allows users to use local Arab currencies like the Saudi riyal and Emirati dirham in addition to being available in 14 Arab countries.



Overwhelming Success&nbsp;



In light of BitOasis&#8217;s grand success, Doudin topped the Forbes list of the 20 Women Behind Middle Eastern Tech Brands 2022.&nbsp;



The magazine, in its report, pointed to the unprecedented leap achieved by the platform in cryptocurrency trading.&nbsp;



You can follow Doudin&#8217;s official accounts on social media via these links:&nbsp;



<ul class="is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links"><li class="wp-social-link wp-social-link-twitter wp-block-social-link"><a href="https://twitter.com/odoudin?lang=en" class="wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M22.23,5.924c-0.736,0.326-1.527,0.547-2.357,0.646c0.847-0.508,1.498-1.312,1.804-2.27 c-0.793,0.47-1.671,0.812-2.606,0.996C18.324,4.498,17.257,4,16.077,4c-2.266,0-4.103,1.837-4.103,4.103 c0,0.322,0.036,0.635,0.106,0.935C8.67,8.867,5.647,7.234,3.623,4.751C3.27,5.357,3.067,6.062,3.067,6.814 c0,1.424,0.724,2.679,1.825,3.415c-0.673-0.021-1.305-0.206-1.859-0.513c0,0.017,0,0.034,0,0.052c0,1.988,1.414,3.647,3.292,4.023 c-0.344,0.094-0.707,0.144-1.081,0.144c-0.264,0-0.521-0.026-0.772-0.074c0.522,1.63,2.038,2.816,3.833,2.85 c-1.404,1.1-3.174,1.756-5.096,1.756c-0.331,0-0.658-0.019-0.979-0.057c1.816,1.164,3.973,1.843,6.29,1.843 c7.547,0,11.675-6.252,11.675-11.675c0-0.178-0.004-0.355-0.012-0.531C20.985,7.47,21.68,6.747,22.23,5.924z"></path></svg>Twitter</a></li>

<li class="wp-social-link wp-social-link-linkedin wp-block-social-link"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ola-doudin-5a026511?originalSubdomain=ae" class="wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M19.7,3H4.3C3.582,3,3,3.582,3,4.3v15.4C3,20.418,3.582,21,4.3,21h15.4c0.718,0,1.3-0.582,1.3-1.3V4.3 C21,3.582,20.418,3,19.7,3z M8.339,18.338H5.667v-8.59h2.672V18.338z M7.004,8.574c-0.857,0-1.549-0.694-1.549-1.548 c0-0.855,0.691-1.548,1.549-1.548c0.854,0,1.547,0.694,1.547,1.548C8.551,7.881,7.858,8.574,7.004,8.574z M18.339,18.338h-2.669 v-4.177c0-0.996-0.017-2.278-1.387-2.278c-1.389,0-1.601,1.086-1.601,2.206v4.249h-2.667v-8.59h2.559v1.174h0.037 c0.356-0.675,1.227-1.387,2.526-1.387c2.703,0,3.203,1.779,3.203,4.092V18.338z"></path></svg>LinkedIn</a></li></ul>

MENA Crypto News

Latest MENA Crypto News