The UAE has the potential to become "the Wall Street of cryptocurrencies" owing to its sector-friendly initiatives, but the country should boost crypto inflows to achieve that status, industry executives said.
The Emirates has become a hub for the sector despite crypto's volatile reputation, they said at the Bitcoin Mena 2025 conference in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The presence of major crypto entities and personalities acts as a "massive tailwind for the UAE ... [showing] authentic interest in supporting the industry and bringing more companies here", Brandon Green, chief executive of BTC Inc, told The National at the event.
BTC Inc is the parent company of The Bitcoin Conference and Bitcoin Magazine.
"And as that happens, you'll bring top talent and Bitcoin whales, and you'll create a very liquid market for the UAE," he said.
Bitcoin or crypto whales are people or entities that hold a significant amount of cryptocurrencies and may have an influence on price movements. A holder of 1,000 Bitcoin, for example, is considered a whale.
That would also lead to the potential of the UAE becoming the "Wall Street of cryptocurrencies", given its business-friendly regulations and environment, Mr Green said. "It's 100 per cent possible ... this market is all online and digital, with liquidity, interest and growth happening," he said.
That status, however, would be "up to the people who come here", Marwan Al Zarouni, chief executive of the Dubai Blockchain Centre, said at a panel discussion, referring to market participants. "The biggest risk is not taking a risk and I think with cryptocurrency it's very true in the UAE ... we started embracing crypto and really jumping headfirst into regulation and licensing."
However, countries that adopt a large Bitcoin strategic reserve will have up to trillions of dollars of capital inflow – and that would make it the global crypto leader, said Matt Cole, chief executive of US financial services firm Strive, which specialises in digital finance.
"I'm trying to push America to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve longer term and do things like allow for Bitcoin to be spent without capital gains taxes," he told The National. "Any nation or region that adopts that will win. And so the UAE could be a leader, the US could be a leader – but companies, countries and regions that don't adopt a friendly stance, I think, will have capital outflows versus inflows."
Bitcoin, the first and biggest cryptocurrency, is a high-risk, high-reward asset due to its highly volatile nature, influencing the wider multitrillion-dollar crypto market. It received a boost when US President Donald Trump returned to office more than a year ago and when his son, Eric, vowed at Bitcoin Mena 2024 that it would hit $1 million.
The UAE has introduced regulations to boost the adoption of digital finance and has opened its doors to crypto platforms to build the ecosystem. "I do believe that Abu Dhabi will become the main hub [for crypto assets]," Yoni Assia, chief executive of crypto platform eToro, told The National.
Mr Green, meanwhile, said concentrating on Bitcoin would be the best move for any region seeking to become the world's crypto leader.
"There's a lot of hype and distraction that exists in the broader crypto markets," Mr Green said. "What I would love to see is for Abu Dhabi and the UAE to really focus on Bitcoin, because Bitcoin is 90 per cent of the value of the whole market anyway and its end state is the reserve currency of the world ... what will make the biggest impact for the nation."
