Crypto adoption in Middle East.

Most middle eastern countries continue to limit bitcoin trading and mining the region's digital change has been accelerating from dubai's first bitcoin fund to the bank of israel's testing of a digital shekel enthusiasm among

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authorities and citizens is growing even as some governments remain openly hostile to bitcoin btc and other digital assets despite the fact that the majority of blockchain startups have chosen to locate in crypto-friendly

jurisdictions such as the united arab emirates uae the next wave of crypto adoption is likely to come from citizens of unstable autocracies as well as those living in countries experiencing crippling inflation iran and lebanon

to name just two bitcoin master plan turkey serves as a model for further adoption in these countries with approximately one in every five residents apparently owning or having held cryptocurrencies sakia aircon gull

deputy minister of treasury and finance will present a new legal framework for digital assets in october with the goal of protecting retail investors and combating money laundering the turkish government's stance on cryptocurrency

has not always been favorable in may a regulation prohibiting the use of digital assets as a means of payment took effect despite such heavy-handed initiatives crypto usage in the country has surged 11 fold over the last year

owing to the turkish learner's depreciation versus the dollar the country currently has the fastest inflation rate in all of europe than the 13th highest rate on the planet it's unsurprising that turks are seeking

refuge in stable coins and deflationary assets such as bitcoin which enable them to preserve their purchasing power and deal on the worldwide market iran's economic prognosis is similarly dire with inflation exceeding 40 percent

as the cost of basic commodities rice meat and oil continues to rise pushing citizens into severe poverty u.s sanctions have exacerbated the problem by hammering the government's coffers in this harsh environment

an unfathomably large crypto mining sector has arisen as a result of low electricity rates and government backing iran acknowledged bitcoin mining two years ago and instituted a licensing system that required miners

to pay a higher electricity bill additionally miners were required to sell their mined bitcoins to the central bank surprisingly the country now accounts for approximately five percent of all bitcoin mining worldwide

following repeated blackouts earlier this year president hassan rouhani ordered an immediate halt to all such operations until september 22nd meanwhile chinese crackdowns have prompted large miners to consider

alternatives with iran likely to be top on the list despite the present embargo while mining is a highly specialized activity iranians on the ground increasingly view cryptocurrencies as a hedge against the riel's devaluation

and a means of circumventing crippling foreign embargoes repressive laws while many crypto services remain unavailable to ordinary iranians due to geo-blocking the usage of virtual private networks provides access to a slew of financial

tools that are not regulated by the government particularly those connected to lending and borrowing along with assisting citizens in escaping crushing inflation and devastating sanctions

cryptocurrency enables citizens to send and receive money more quickly and cheaply than ever before this is particularly pertinent in lebanon.