The rise of crypto: UAE named fifth most crypto-friendly country

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UAE scores 70.76 out of 100 and 1,415.2 searches are made per 100,000
Argentina is the world’s most crypto-friendly country, with an overall score of 74.49 and due to low energy costs, high profits can be made

Cryptocurrencies have been rising in popularity in recent years, with crypto ownership growing from 432 million to 580 million in 2023 alone, according to Crypto.com. While many countries have tried to regulate and suppress the technological advances, others have accepted and supported the growth of these new industries. Argentina topped the list as the world’s most crypto-friendly country, with a large percentage of the population holding crypto and offering some of the best conditions for miners and traders alike.

Research by crypto experts at CryptoCasinos analysed 10 metrics to determine which countries across the globe have adopted crypto more so than any others, making them the most crypto-friendly nations.

The metrics chosen are the percentage of the population holding cryptocurrency, the cost and profit of mining one bitcoin, and search volume per 100,000 population for crypto-related keywords. The data also includes the percentage share of each country's traffic to each of the major crypto exchanges Binance, Coinbase, BitFinex, Kraken, Kucoin and OKX.

Countries with the highest rates of crypto adoption

Rank	Score/100	Country	Percentage of population holding crypto	Cost to mine one bitcoin ($)	Profit mining one bitcoin	Search volume per 100k
1	74.49	Argentina	9.7%	14,647	51,261	667.4
2	73.52	United States	15.6%	87,885	-21,977	1,014.2
3	72.89	Colombia	5.0%	68,355	-2,447	424.0
4	72.77	Ukraine	10.6%	19,530	46,378	491.8
5	70.76	United Arab Emirates	30.4%	39,060	26,848	1,415.2
6	70.07	Vietnam	21.2%	39,060	26,848	353.6
7	69.10	Turkey	5.6%	39,060	26,848	695.8
8	68.48	Canada	7.0%	53,707	12,201	1,204.3
9	67.47	Singapore	11.1%	107,415	-41,507	1,750.2
10	66.49	Pakistan	6.6%	19,530	46,378	187.3

Argentina is the most crypto-friendly country. One in ten (9.7%) of the country’s population holds cryptocurrency, over triple the global average of 3%. The low energy costs make it a perfect place to mine Bitcoin, costing an estimated $14,647 to mine 1 Bitcoin, meaning a profit of $51,261 (based on a BTC price of $65,908). Argentina also has one of the highest amounts of traffic (6.3%) to Binance (the world’s largest crypto exchange).

America has a high percentage of the population holding a cryptocurrency, with 15.6%. However, higher average energy costs mean it costs more to mine Bitcoin in certain parts of the States ($87,885). Americans visited Coinbase over 48 million times in March, making up 59% of the website traffic. The US also made up 23.3% of the traffic to Kraken, showing the US is actively embracing crypto and investing through these exchanges.

Colombia ranks third for crypto adoption; the rise in blockchain activity is partly due to the depreciation of the Colombian Peso over the past few years (as reported by Bloomberg in 2022); crypto offers wealth protection from depreciating currencies. 5% of the population holds crypto, and Colombians make up 5.8% of the global web traffic for the largest exchanges, which is on par with many of the other countries in this list.

Ukraine is the fourth most crypto-friendly state. Over 10% of the population holds cryptocurrency, and mining costs are particularly cheap, averaging around $19,530 per bitcoin. Based on the price previously stated, this would mean the profit would be $46,378. Ukraine also makes up 4.8% of the web traffic to Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.

The United Arab Emirates ranks fifth for crypto adoption worldwide, with the largest percentage of the population holding crypto at 30.4% (The average across all countries is 3%), only Vietnam comes close with 21%. Search volume for crypto-related terms is one of the highest with 1,415 searches per 100,000 of the population. The UAE has been fostering a robust and flexible ecosystem to attract business and drive forward technological innovation, making the nation a frontrunner in digital adoption, as reported by Forbes in 2023.

Vietnam, ranking sixth, has continued to witness its economy becoming more digitised in the last decade, becoming one of the world's most crypto-adopted nations and is currently one of Asia's most crypto-friendly countries. 20 million (21.2%) of the population hold cryptocurrencies. Vietnam drives 4.9% of the web traffic to crypto exchange OKX and 6.3% to Binance.

Turkey ranks seventh for crypto adoption, which could be since the Turkish lira has, at times, proven to be more volatile than bitcoin. Turkey’s inflation rate surpassed 83% in 2022 and is around 67% currently. Due to this, over 4.8 million (5.6%) of the population choose to hold crypto. Turkey makes up 6.6% of the web traffic to Binance, and mining operations may be slightly cheaper, with an average cost of $39,060 per Bitcoin.

Canada is eighth in this ranking for crypto adoption. 7% of the nation currently hold crypto, and there are 1,204 searches for crypto-related keywords every month per 100,000 of the population. Canada is also responsible for 8.4% of website traffic to Kraken.

Singapore ranks ninth for crypto adoption. Having earned a reputation as one of the key financial centres in the world, it is unsurprising that Singapore has begun to establish itself as a global cryptocurrency hotspot. 11.1% of the population owns cryptocurrency, and there are 1,750 searchers per 100,000.

Pakistan is the tenth most crypto-adopted nation, with 15.8 million crypto holders (6.6% of the population). Mining costs are also low, averaging around $19,530 per Bitcoin, which would be a profit of $46,378.

A spokesperson from CryptoCasinos commented: “Global crypto adoption represents a seismic shift in how we perceive and interact with many industries, especially finance. It's not just about currencies; it's about reshaping economies, empowering individuals, and democratizing access to financial services on a scale never seen before.

However, as crypto continues to become adopted worldwide, challenges and complexities around regulatory uncertainties, security concerns, and volatility have created hurdles that must be navigated as the world embraces cryptocurrencies.

Yet, despite these challenges, our research clearly shows that momentum is building across key nations in Europe and Asia as well as North and South America. Crypto is being embraced by people, businesses and governments alike, as the potential of these technologies is being discovered.”

-Ends-

For the full data set please email to request

Rank	Score/100	Country	Population holding crypto (%)	Cost to mine one bitcoin ($)	Profit mining one bitcoin	Search volume per 100k
1	74.49	Argentina	9.7%	14,647	51,261	667.4
2	73.52	United States	15.6%	87,885	-21,977	1,014.2
3	72.89	Colombia	5.0%	68,355	-2,447	424.0
4	72.77	Ukraine	10.6%	19,530	46,378	491.8
5	70.76	United Arab Emirates	30.4%	39,060	26,848	1,415.2
6	70.07	Vietnam	21.2%	39,060	26,848	353.6
7	69.10	Turkey	5.6%	39,060	26,848	695.8
8	68.48	Canada	7.0%	53,707	12,201	1,204.3
9	67.47	Singapore	11.1%	107,415	-41,507	1,750.2
10	66.49	Pakistan	6.6%	19,530	46,378	187.3
11	66.25	India	6.5%	34,177	31,731	89.8
12	66.21	Saudi Arabia	11.4%	24,412	41,496	205.7
13	66.09	Brazil	12.0%	97,650	-31,742	289.8
14	66.03	Venezuela	10.3%	83,002	-17,094	550.1
15	66.01	France	4.7%	102,532	-36,624	891.2
16	65.67	Nigeria	5.9%	24,412	41,496	132.9
17	64.69	South Africa	10.0%	73,237	-7,329	186.0
18	64.61	United Kingdom	5.7%	229,477	-163,569	1,263.9
19	64.49	Malaysia	2.9%	24,412	41,496	398.2
20	64.12	Thailand	9.6%	53,707	12,201	229.8
21	64.02	South Korea	4.1%	43,942	21,966	211.1
22	64.01	Philippines	13.4%	87,885	-21,977	257.2
23	62.91	Mexico	6.5%	48,825	17,083	166.4
24	62.54	Germany	5.8%	253,890	-187,982	636.6
25	62.53	Australia	2.7%	107,415	-41,507	1,271.0
26	62.49	Poland	2.9%	87,885	-21,977	720.9
27	61.34	Indonesia	4.4%	48,825	17,083	133.5
28	61.33	Egypt	3.0%	14,647	51,261	75.2
29	61.07	Netherlands	2.8%	166,005	-100,097	1,478.0
30	60.56	Taiwan	2.4%	43,942	21,966	362.3
31	60.36	Spain	3.1%	180,652	-114,744	774.4
32	60.07	Georgia	2.4%	39,060	26,848	2,452.8
33	59.25	Switzerland	2.0%	112,297	-46,389	1,177.9
34	59.22	Portugal	2.7%	131,827	-65,919	1,161.0
35	59.20	Cambodia	3.4%	73,237	-7,329	242.4
36	59.20	Japan	4.1%	122,062	-56,154	153.9
37	59.11	Algeria	2.2%	19,530	46,378	165.1
38	58.65	Iraq	1.9%	4,882	61,026	77.4
39	58.29	Russia	6.1%	29,295	36,613	na
40	58.06	Sri Lanka	1.9%	19,530	46,378	641.2
41	57.30	Chile	2.1%	83,002	-17,094	484.8
42	57.01	Ecuador	3.8%	48,825	17,083	266.4
43	56.71	Bangladesh	2.5%	24,412	41,496	125.6
44	56.43	Kyrgyzstan	1.7%	4,882	61,026	122.9
45	56.31	Ghana	2.2%	14,647	51,261	142.3
46	56.08	Kenya	5.1%	83,002	-17,094	153.7
47	56.02	Italy	2.5%	224,595	-158,687	553.6
48	55.85	Nepal	4.6%	19,530	46,378	100.3
49	55.69	Serbia	1.8%	43,942	21,966	538.5
50	55.47	Romania	1.7%	83,002	-17,094	590.2

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Methodology Index

A total of 10 factors were used to compile the index. The raw data for each factor was cleaned, checked and standardised on the same scale from 0 to 10, where 0 and 10 represent the worst and best values present in the data, to allow for accurate comparison between factors. Factors for which a high score would be negative were subtracted from 10 to invert their scoring.

A weighting was then assigned to each factor reflecting its importance within the analysis. Once the weightings were assigned, the total score for the factors was calculated, producing an overall index score out of 100 for each entry, upon which the final ranking is based. The factors, their source and their percentage weightings are as follows:

Percentage of population holding bitcoin	20.8%
Cost to mine one bitcoin ($)	18.8%
Profit mining one bitcoin	18.8%
Search volume per 100K population	16.7%
Share of traffic - binance	4.2%
Share of traffic - bitfinex	4.2%
Share of traffic - coinbase	4.2%
Share of traffic - kraken	4.2%
Share of traffic - kucoin	4.2%
Share of traffic - okx	4.2%

Sources

1) Crypto Holders	https://triple-a.io/cryptocurrencies-ownership-data/
2) Search Volume	Google Keyword Planner
3) Bitcoin Energy Consumption	https://digiconomist.net/bitcoin-energy-consumption
4) Bitcoin Price	https://www.coingecko.com/
5) Electricity Cost by Country	https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-electricity-by-country

Methodology Search Volume

Search volume data was gathered for each keyword below for every country over the past 12 months. This was then compared to the population to determine the ‘searches per 100,000’ figure.

Search terms: