Annual blockchain transaction value across the Middle East and North Africa reached $350 billion by 2025–2026, more than triple the roughly $100 billion recorded in 2022, according to the Bitcoin Policy Institute. The institute says the Iran conflict pushed a growing share of regional capital into digital assets instead of out of the region. Investors also rotated into Bitcoin, pushing its share of the crypto market to a one-month high.
Regional conflicts typically accelerate capital outflows. The Iran conflict did the opposite, according to a report published Friday by the Bitcoin Policy Institute: a growing share of MENA capital moved into digital assets rather than leaving the region.
MENA blockchain activity triples in three years
The institute estimates that annual blockchain transaction value across the Middle East and North Africa reached $350 billion by 2025–2026, more than triple the roughly $100 billion recorded in 2022. Researchers for the institute wrote that the conflict underscored cryptocurrencies' growing role as a hedge against economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Bitcoin's role shifted as fighting continued
Bitcoin initially fell alongside other risk assets after fighting broke out between Israel and Iran in June 2025, trading in line with global equity markets as investors adopted a risk-off posture rather than treating it as an immediate safe haven.
Investors then moved from riskier cryptocurrencies into Bitcoin, pushing its share of the crypto market to a one-month high of 64.8%, and its price stabilized despite continued fighting. The institute says investors sought to protect their money from higher oil prices, inflation and interest rates tied to the conflict. Crypto markets also stayed open around the clock while traditional markets were closed.
Currency pressure drove adoption in several countries
The report identified Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Iran as countries where currency depreciation has also pushed people toward Bitcoin and dollar-pegged stablecoins to preserve purchasing power. According to the Bitcoin Policy Institute's report: "Rather than slowing regional adoption, the episode highlighted the growing divergence within MENA."
In countries facing sanctions, conflict or currency instability, the report says cryptocurrencies served to preserve wealth and move value outside traditional financial systems. Regulated Gulf markets, meanwhile, kept attracting institutional capital, strengthening their position as the region's leading digital-asset centers. The UAE and Bahrain have both built regulatory frameworks aimed at drawing crypto firms and institutional investors, and in May, Kraken parent company Payward received preliminary authorization from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority for broker-dealer and investment management activities.
Source: Decrypt
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