The Middle East and North African region’s (MENA) crypto love is quite notable, as countries like the UAE are actively bridging the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). And when you look at Turkey, it tells an equally fascinating story; out of its total population, 25.6% own crypto in 2026, according to Chainalysis.
The Turkish crypto adoption surge is hard to ignore
Turkey, as Chainalysis reported, is seeing strong growth in crypto adoption. Its global crypto ranking is also cruising to new heights, with 52% of adults in the 18-60 age group owning cryptocurrency.
The country’s $200 billion volume in annual transactions also makes it dominant in the region, which is four times greater than the UAE. The UAE is positioned as the second largest market with $53 billion, according to the report.
Turkey’s crypto leap accelerates amid inflationary pressure
The year 2021 brought more optimistic events to the crypto industry, with market cap briefly surpassing $3 trillion, increased institutional adoption, and decentralized finance maturity. Since this period, Turkey has been going through uneven expansion in gross crypto inflows, reaching nearly $878 billion by mid-2025.
This surge happened amid the economic headwinds hitting the region, including the persistent currency devaluation and other financial pressures. Diving in more, the region’s crypto growth has slowed down when looking at different transfer sizes like large institutional traders, mid-sized traders, and small retail transactions. All these categories showed lesser growth year-over-year.
Specifically, retail users, including professional traders, have showcased decreased transaction activities.
Turkey’s precautions to prevent crypto illegalities
In mid 2025, Turkey’s finance ministry added new rules to the existing Capital Markets Board (CMB) to tighten crypto rules and protect the country’s financial stability. The amendments are key to stopping money laundering and other illicit activities in the sector.
Most of the pro-crypto nations that have been sailing through the crypto ocean have come up with crypto regulations to ensure peaceful crypto activities. Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) is a key player in the region and one of the most comprehensive digital asset frameworks in the world.
Ripple’s expansion to Turkey could be a key growth driver
As Reece Merrick, Ripple’s Managing Director for MENA, said, the blockchain firm has already launched several crypto-related initiatives in Turkey, mainly to expand institutional infrastructure rather than retail services.
Last month, Turkish Banking giant Garanti BBVA Kripto integrated with Ripple to expand the blockchain firm’s institutional-grade custody services.
“Ripple already works with a number of financial institutions there, and we’re extremely bullish on the continued growth along with our position in the market across all of our products,” said the Ripple executive.
