Dubai: UAE’s cryptocurrency investors realised capital gains totalling $204 million from their crypto investments, according to Chainalysis – the blockchain data company.
The crypto community in Saudi Arabia cashed out gains of $351 million. The UAE was placed second in the GCC regarding absolute gains realised by crypto investors—none of the other GCC countries were placed among Chainalysis’s list of top 50 countries globally.
“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,” said the company. In its analysis of on-chain activity, Chainalysis, the blockchain data company, estimated that the global crypto investor community achieved total gains of $37.6 billion in 2023.
“While this total is much smaller than the US$159.7 billion in gains made during the 2021 bull market, it represents a significant recovery from 2022, which saw estimated losses of US$127.1 billion,” it added.
Chainalysis identified Bitcoin (BTC) as the cryptocurrency of choice for UAE investors. “This asset class delivered strong results for UAE investors, accounting for 70 per cent of the total gains they made last year,” the company said.
Ethereum (ETH) proved to be the second most popular cryptocurrency for UAE investors, delivering 24 per cent of the gains that the country’s investors realised. Interestingly, XRP, the native token of the Ripple network, which placed third, accounted for only 3 per cent of the gains on UAE investors’ deposits through 2023.
Kim Grauer, Director of Research at Chainalysis, said, “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.” Grauer said, “This isn’t surprising given that we have also observed that Institutional investments account for the greatest proportion of crypto transactions in the UAE.”
Crypto investors in India, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Bangladesh collectively realised gains of $2.07, placing 6th, 20th, 25th, and 49th respectively on the global top 50 list.
“The fact that these countries — the citizens of which together account for over 60 per cent of the UAE’s population demographic — have placed among our top 50 ranking bodes especially well for the further development of the UAE’s crypto community. The strong appetite for digital assets in these nations, which will likely be strengthened by positive market performance, means greater potential for crypto-facilitated cross-border transactions — something the UAE government has demonstrated its eagerness to pioneer,” said Grauer.
