The value of cryptocurrency transactions received by the UAE reached nearly $35 billion between July 2022 and June this year, amid increasing regulatory clarity, a report by blockchain data platform Chainalysis has found.
While this represents a 17 per cent drop compared with the previous year, the UAE's crypto market fared much better than many other countries in the region, including Qatar, which reported a decline of 26 per cent, Oman (49 per cent), Jordan (55 per cent) and Lebanon (96 per cent), according to the Middle East and North Africa findings of Chainalysis’s fourth annual Geography of Cryptocurrency Report.
In Saudi Arabia, the crypto economy grew more over the past year than any other country, with a year-over-year transaction volume growth of 12 per cent, the report found.
“In fact, Saudi Arabia was one of just six countries to see any year-over-year transaction volume growth during the time period,” the Chainalysis report said.
The Mena region has the sixth-largest crypto economy in the world, with an estimated $389.8 billion in on-chain value received between last July and June. This represents nearly 7.2 per cent of global transaction volume during the period, the report added.
In March last year, Dubai adopted a law to regulate virtual assets to provide investors with a safe environment while embracing emerging technology as interest in cryptocurrencies grows.
The Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority was established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, under the Dubai Virtual Asset Regulation Law, the first law of its kind in the emirate.
The body aims to create an advanced legal framework to protect investors and provide international standards for virtual asset industry governance to enable responsible business growth.
In 2018, the Abu Dhabi Global Market established a regulatory framework for spot crypto asset activities.
It has been a tumultuous 12 months for the global cryptocurrency sector since the collapse of a number of large platforms including Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, which filed for bankruptcy in the US on November 11.
Bitcoin was trading at about $26,344 on Tuesday morning.
In May, Bitcoin climbed above the $30,000 mark for the first time since June 2022, but is still down more than 50 per cent from its record high of more than $68,000 in November 2021.
Meanwhile, the Chainalysis report found that 67 per cent of cryptocurrency transactions in the UAE between July 2022 and June this year were driven by institutional investments valued at more than $1 million.
This was followed by crypto transfers for professional investments ($10,000 to $1 million), while retail investments (up to $10,000) accounted for 4.6 per cent of all transfers in the Emirates, the report found.
“The fact that by far the larger portion of crypto investments in the UAE is for institutional and professional-sized transactions indicates an eagerness from organisations and high-net-worth individuals to add cryptocurrency to their investment portfolios,” said Kim Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis.
“This market confidence is validation of the efforts being made by the country’s leadership to offer regulatory clarity and establish the nation as a global crypto hub.”
Also, the UAE was one of the only countries across the Mena region to see a higher share of crypto activity taking place on decentralised exchanges (48 per cent), rather than on centralised exchanges (46 per cent), according to the research.
“The outsized popularity of DeFi in the UAE further validates the success the country has had in passing innovation-friendly regulatory frameworks that allow groundbreaking crypto platforms to develop with oversight that keeps consumers safe,” the Chainalysis report said.
India emerged as the top cryptocurrency market in the world and difficulties around tax laws in the country do not appear to have dampened the enormous demand for digital tokens, the company’s Global Crypto Adoption Index found.
The Philippines and Pakistan ranked sixth and eighth, respectively, on the index for grassroots crypto adoption globally.
“This bodes especially well for the UAE, where these nationalities represent a significant portion of the expat population. The surging popularity among people of these nations is likely to correlate with increased crypto adoption in the UAE as well,” Ms Grauer said.
While the hype around non-fungible tokens peaked in early 2022 and has since sharply declined, the number of web traffic visits to NFT sites in the UAE exceeded four million from July 2022 to June this year, Chainalysis found.
“This retained interest in NFTs in the UAE offers businesses the opportunity to grow past the hype and start to introduce practical use cases based on this technology,” Ms Grauer said.
“NFTs have the potential to enhance consumer experiences in the UAE through their application in a diverse range of purposes, including title deeds, music festival ticket sales, charity donations and analysing gaming trends.”
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
Company%20profile
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Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
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Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
