A recent report unveiled the significant gains in the crypto sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) over the last year. According to a Chainalysis report, the UAE has marked a substantial capital gain of $204 million in crypto investment in 2023.
Though the UAE was only 38th in the top 50 countries with remarkable crypto investment gains, it secured the second rank among the GCC countries. Saudi Arabia, with a gain of $351 million, achieved the first position in the list of GCC countries and the 26th position in the top 50 countries. No other GCC countries were included in the list.
Notably, the United States led the rally with a total gain of $9.36 billion. The United Kingdom secured the second position, marking a gain of $1.39 billion. The upper and lower middle-income countries like Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and India follow suit with gains of $1.18 billion, $1.15 billion, $1.96 billion, and $1.05 billion, respectively.
The report further highlighted that Bitcoin is the most preferred cryptocurrency by UAE investors. Chainalysis stated, “This asset class delivered strong results for UAE investors, accounting for 70 percent of the total gains they made last year.” Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP secured the second and third positions for the most preferred cryptocurrencies in the UAE. Chainalysis’ Director of Research, Kim Grauer, stated,
The outsized popularity of Bitcoin and Ethereum indicates a level of maturity among UAE investors. The community is backing well-established digital assets with steady and proven performance, rather than more speculative cryptocurrencies.
Moreover, the report unearthed the global crypto investors’ gains that totaled $37.6 billion in 2023. Chainalysis cited, “2023 proved to be a year of strong recovery for global crypto markets, with asset prices and market sentiment rebounding positively after the turmoil of the previous year.”
