Press Release

Bitcoin and Ethereum most traded cryptocurrencies among Saxo Bank’s regional client base

  • Trading volumes approach 400 million USD in MENA region since launch of Crypto FX , with global trading volumes exceeding 3.4 billion USD
  • Saxo’s fully compliant product offers investor protections in highly volatile space

Saxo Bank, the multi-asset trading and investment specialist, has shared that Bitcoin and Ethereum are the most popular currencies in crypto trading among clients in the MENA region, in line with global volumes, as it celebrates a milestone year of regulated trading on the Crypto FX platform.

57% of trading of the Crypto FX offering from the MENA region was seen on Bitcoin, and Ethereum at 40%. Globally, Bitcoin-USD made up 45% of crypto forex trading volumes on the platform, just ahead of 44% volumes of Ethereum-USD, with more minor fiat currencies making up a minority of trades.

Trading volumes on the Crypto FX offering approached 400 million USD in the MENA region in the year since its launch, with global trading volumes exceeding 3.4 billion USD.

The Crypto FX offering enables clients to trade between crypto and the fiat currencies of USD, EUR and JPY, and the introduction of the platform last May saw a significant uptick of demand and trading in crypto among the MENA client base, with records showing January 2022 as the busiest month for both client figures and volumes within a consistent increase in crypto assets held month by month.

The findings come amid volatile times for crypto markets globally, with Bitcoin and Ether down 50% from last year’s peak.

Stanislav Kostyukhin, Commercial Owner, Trader, Saxo Bank, said: “These figures show the high interest in this nascent asset class within the region while also highlighting the confidence that investors have in our framework as the market continues to evolve.  Our crypto offering ensures clients have a fully compliant product, with best execution and best practice – an important framework in a space that is otherwise extremely volatile and unregulated.”

The UAE is a major player in this Crypto-Virtual asset space, driving interest among MENA region and international clients. Damian Hitchen, CEO of Saxo Bank MENA, highlighted some of the major developments regionally which are helping to increase demand.  He said: “There is no doubt that the UAE is a leading global player in this space. We are seeing high levels of interest and trading from our own clients in this nascent asset class, and we understand the need to balance this increased demand for access with the regulatory and investor protections that are commonplace in more mature asset classes.

“On a wider picture the UAE has seen significant developments in both its regulatory landscape and new entrants/service providers in the last 2 years. In the last six months the Dubai/Abu Dhabi regulators have approved more than 30 licenses for crypto-service providers, including two globally significant players in Binance and Kraken who are setting up home in the UAE.

“On the regulatory side, in Dubai there is a new ‘virtual asset’ regulator in “VARA” who is not only covering more mainstream crypto services but also looking beyond into NFT’s and the Metaverse, all of which suggests that the UAE will continue to grow in the digital / crypto landscape at a pace”

About Saxo Bank Middle East

Founded in 1992, Saxo Bank was one of the first financial institutions to develop an online trading platform that provided private investors with the same tools and market access as professional traders, large institutions, and fund managers. It was also the first Scandinavian bank to establish a presence in the GCC when it launched a regional office in the Dubai International Financial Centre in May 2009. It opened an office in Abu Dhabi in 2014 and quickly saw its MENA region revenues triple.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, Saxo combines an agile fintech mindset with close to 30 years of experience and a track record in global capital markets to deliver a state-of-the-art experience to clients. The Saxo Bank Group holds four banking licenses and is well regulated globally, including by the Central Bank of the UAE. Saxo’s client assets worldwide total more than €75 billion and the company employs more than 2,000 financial and technology professionals in financial centres around the world including London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Paris, Zurich, Tokyo, as well as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

For more information, please visit: http://www.home.saxo/ME.


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