Crypto

UAE cryptocurrency investors realised gains worth $204m in 2023

Published

2 years ago

March 16, 2024

UAE cryptocurrency investors realised gains worth 4m in 2023

Investors in the UAE realised capital gains worth $204 million from their cryptocurrency investments last year, according to a new report by blockchain data company Chainalysis.

The global cryptocurrency investor community achieved total gains worth $37.6 billion in 2023, it said.

While this is much smaller than the $159.7 billion in gains made during the 2021 bull market, it represents a significant recovery from 2022, which recorded estimated losses of $127.1 billion, the report found.

With the crypto community in Saudi Arabia cashing out gains of $351 million, the UAE placed second in the GCC in terms of absolute gains realised by investors, Chainalysis said.

None of the other GCC countries ranked among the companyâs list of top 50 countries globally.

Bitcoin was identified as the cryptocurrency of choice for UAE investors. This asset class accounted for 70 per cent of total gains made by UAE investors last year.

Ethereum was the second most popular cryptocurrency for UAE investors, delivering 24 per cent of the gains that the countryâs investors realised.

XRP, the native token of the Ripple network, which placed third accounted for only 3 per cent of the gains on UAE investorsâ deposits through 2023.

âThe outsize popularity of Bitcoin and Ethereum indicates a level of maturity among UAE investors,â said Kim Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis.

âThe community is clearly backing well-established digital assets with steady and proven performance, rather than backing more speculative cryptocurrencies. This isnât surprising given that we have also observed that institutional investments by and large account for the greatest proportion of crypto transactions in the UAE.â

Bitcoin, the worldâs largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, surged past $72,100 to reach a record high on March 11, driven by the UKâs financial services regulator opening the door to applications for crypto asset-backed exchange-traded notes (cETNs) to trade on the London Stock Exchange.

On March 5, Bitcoin hit $69,202, eclipsing its record of $68,991.85 set in November 2021.

The cryptocurrency was trading at $69,080.64 at 1.18pm UAE time on Saturday.

The recent cryptocurrency bull run has been fuelled by strong demand for US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs, which the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved in January.

The approval marked a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency sector, clearing the way for a regulated path for institutional and retail investor participation in the cryptocurrency asset class â and signalling the end of the sector’s âWild Westâ era.

The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs offered by major asset management companies including BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton and Cathie Woodâs ARC.

The expected Bitcoin halving next month, when the amount paid to miners is slashed in a programmed move every four years to reduce supply and maintain its scarcity value, is adding to the current rally.

âOver 90 per cent of Bitcoinâs total capped supply is already in circulation, and with the imminent halving, the daily addition of new Bitcoins will again halve,â said Matt Carstens, director of product experience at neo-broker amana.

âWith markets already front-running and institutional money flooding in, coupled with the uncertainty of global debt, this halving promises to redefine cryptoâs trajectory, albeit with potential sharp corrections along the way.â

Meanwhile, the Chainalysis report showed that cryptocurrency investors in India, the Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh collectively realised gains of $2.07 billion, placing sixth, 20th, 25th, and 49th respectively on the global top 50 list.

âWhile past performance shouldnât be taken as indication of potential future outcomes, the outlook is encouraging,â Ms Grauer said.

âSo far, the positive trends of 2023 have carried over into 2024, with notable crypto assets like Bitcoin achieving all-time highs in the wake of Bitcoin ETF approvals and increased institutional adoption.

âIf these trends continue, we may see gains more in line with those we saw in 2021.â

Updated: March 16, 2024, 9:44 AM

Related Topics:Bitcoin cryptocurrency Personal Finance

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Crypto

Financially Settled Cryptocurrency Futures Vendor Symbols | Cboe

Published

1 hour ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Financially Settled Cryptocurrency Futures Vendor Symbols | Cboe

Financially Settled Ether (“FET”) Futures

Vendor	Front Month	M25 Contract
Activ Financial / Options Technology	FET/*.CF	FET/25M.CF
BarChart	Y9*0	Y9M5
Bloomberg	FET = FTEA Curncy	FET = FTEA Curncy
CQG	FET?	FETM25
DevExperts	/FETM25:XCBF	/FETM25:XCBF
DTN IQ	@FET	@FETM25
DTN ProphetX	@FET	@FETM25
Factset	FET.1-USA	FETM25-USA, FETM25-CBF
Interactive Data / ICE	F2:FET1C	F2:FETM25
LiveVol	N/A	FETM25
Morningstar	FET0Y	FETM25
PICO	FET/M5 June 2025	FET/M5 June 2025
Silexx	N/A	FET/M25
Six-Group	FET	FET5M or FETM5
TradeStation	FETM25	FETM25
Trading Technologies	FET Jun25	FET Jun25

Financially Settled Bitcoin (“FBT”) Futures

Vendor	Front Month	M25 Contract
Activ Financial / Options Technology	FBT/*.CF	FBT/25M.CF
BarChart	Y7*0	Y7M5
Bloomberg	FBT = FXBA Curncy	FBT = FXBA Curncy
CQG	FBT?	FBTM25
DevExperts	/FBTM25:XCBF	/FBTM25:XCBF
DTN IQ	@FBT	@FBTM25
DTN ProphetX	@FBT	@FBTM25
Factset	FBTC.1-USA	FBTCM25-USA, FBTCM25-CBF
Interactive Data / ICE	F2:FBT1C	F2:FBTM25
LiveVol	N/A	FBTM25
Morningstar	FBT0Y	FBTM25
PICO	FBT/M5 June 2025	FBT/M5 June 2025
Silexx	N/A	FBT/M25
Six-Group	FBT	FBT5M or FBT5M
TradeStation	FBTM25	FBTM25
Trading Technologies	FBT Jun25	FBT Jun25

Crypto

XRP Stalls Despite Bullish Developments and Ripple’s Institutional Momentum

Published

13 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

XRP Stalls Despite Bullish Developments and Ripple’s Institutional Momentum

XRP is consolidating near a key level as Ripple expands its regulated global finance footprint, signaling patience in price action while adoption, institutional integration, and regulatory clarity quietly strengthen the crypto asset’s long-term foundation.

Crypto

This Popular Cryptocurrency Could Soar by 177% in 2026, According to Wall Street Analyst Tom Lee

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

This Popular Cryptocurrency Could Soar by 177% in 2026, According to Wall Street Analyst Tom Lee

Key Points

Ethereum is the leading platform for developers who want to build decentralized software applications, which are popular in areas like gaming and finance.
Ether, which is Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, set a new record high during 2025, but it ended the year in the red.
Wall Street analyst Tom Lee thinks Ether could soar in the early stages of 2026, and he chairs a company that owns over $13 billion worth of coins.

Cryptocurrencies had a tough year in 2025, with most popular coins and tokens suffering losses. Not even the industry leaders like Bitcoin and Ethereum(CRYPTO: ETH) were spared, ending the year down 5% and 11%, respectively.

But 2026 is here, and Wall Street analyst Tom Lee recently came out with a set of very bullish forecasts. He thinks Ether, which is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum network, could soar to $9,000 per coin early in the year, implying a potential upside of 177% from where it’s trading as I write this.

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Lee founded Fundstrat Global Advisors, but he’s also the chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies(NYSEMKT: BMNR), which owns approximately $13.4 billion worth of Ethereum, so he certainly has some skin in the game. How realistic is his latest forecast?

Image source: Getty Images.

What is Ethereum?

Ethereum is a platform where people develop decentralized software applications, which are increasingly popular in industries like gaming and financial services. These apps are governed by smart contracts, which are pieces of computer code that live on the Ethereum blockchain. They typically can’t be changed, so no person or company can manipulate the app’s core set of rules, ensuring it stays decentralized.

The Ethereum network itself is also completely decentralized. Instead of using one large data center, it’s hosted on thousands of nodes (computers) all over the world that store an updated copy of its blockchain. Therefore, the network won’t be compromised even if some nodes go down, and that’s how Ethereum has boasted 100% uptime over the last decade.

Ether is like the fuel that makes the Ethereum network function. Every time a person activates a smart contract by using an app, or even transfers a crypto token built on Ethereum, they incur a fee that is payable in Ether. Therefore, the larger the network grows, the more demand there is for Ether, and the more valuable the coin becomes (in theory).

Thousands of decentralized apps have been built on Ethereum so far. Uniswap, for instance, is a popular exchange where people can trade their cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies. Pricing and execution is handled entirely by smart contracts with no intermediaries, creating a lightning-fast and cost-effective experience. Users don’t even need to create an account, because they can connect their crypto wallets directly to Uniswap and immediately start transacting.

How realistic is Lee’s target?

Tom Lee thinks decentralized apps will take over the financial industry, and as the largest platform of its kind, he’s betting Ethereum will lead the transition. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, is already exploring plans to tokenize some of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by moving them onto the blockchain, where they can trade more efficiently compared to using traditional stock exchanges.

That is just one example suggesting Lee could eventually be right. But the growing adoption of stablecoins — many of which are built on Ethereum — is another sign. These cryptocurrencies are designed to maintain a stable value (hence their name), and they can be sent anywhere in the world practically instantly. Therefore, they are far more efficient than traditional payment rails that often take several days to move money across borders.

According to Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management, over $15 trillion in payment volume was processed using stablecoins in 2024, which was more volume than both Visa and Mastercard processed.

But could all of this send Ether soaring by 177% to $9,000 per coin in the early stages of 2026? I’m not so sure. Ether climbed to a record price of $4,946 per coin in 2025, which was a win for investors, but it was the first new high in four years. Plus, the coin has already lost 32% of its peak value, so I’m not sure if it can muster enough momentum to almost triple in value in the next few months like Lee predicts.

With that said, $9,000 per coin would give Ether a market capitalization of around $1.08 trillion, so it would still be much smaller than Bitcoin, which has a market cap of $1.85 trillion. Therefore, I wouldn’t rule out Lee’s target, especially if the decentralized revolution continues to gather momentum, but I would certainly be cautious about the timing. Plus, it’s important to remember Lee chairs the BitMine Immersion Technologies company, which owns 4.1 million Ether coins, so he has a vested interest in putting forward highly bullish targets.

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Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, Mastercard, and Visa. The Motley Fool recommends BlackRock. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.