The Middle East is emerging as a new highland for the global Web3 and crypto industries. The governments of Gulf countries, led by the UAE, are supportive and open to cryptocurrencies: Dubai promulgated the Virtual Asset Regulatory Law as early as 2022 and established a special Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) to provide clear compliance guidelines for the industry. Thanks to regulatory innovation, many well-known crypto companies, including Binance and Bybit, have moved their headquarters or regional centers to Dubai, forming a phenomenon of crypto companies gathering, demonstrating confidence in the local long-term crypto vision. At the same time, the local government actively promotes blockchain strategies and pilot projects, such as the UAE Blockchain Strategy and the central bank's digital currency plan "Project Aber", showing the official determination to incorporate blockchain technology into national innovation.
Dubai and the UAE are attracting global capital and talent, and the crypto investment boom in the Middle East is beginning to emerge. Data shows that the number of downloads of crypto applications in the UAE will surge 241% year-on-year in 2024, from 6.2 million in 2023 to 15 million , with more than one million new downloads per month, reflecting the enthusiasm of consumers under friendly policies. Currently, about one in four residents in the UAE holds digital assets, and the penetration rate ranks among the highest in the world.
Not only are retail investors eager to enter, but the rapidly maturing market is also attracting large institutional investments: for example, MGX, an investment company backed by the Abu Dhabi sovereign fund, invested $2 billion in Binance in 2025 and became one of its shareholders, highlighting the strong interest of "deep pocket" funds in the Middle East in the crypto field. It can be foreseen that the regulatory clarity, capital strength and user base in the Middle East are interweaving huge growth potential. For Web3 projects seeking global expansion, this is an emerging blue ocean market that cannot be missed.
Web3 User Profiles and Cultural Preferences in the Middle East
Crypto users in the Middle East are generally young and technology-friendly . The population structure of Gulf countries is young. For example, data from leantech.sg shows that about 63% of the population in Saudi Arabia is under 30 years old, and the digital native generation is highly receptive to new technologies. Consumers in this region generally have strong spending power and willingness to invest, and the high Internet penetration rate enables them to actively participate in the crypto market. Currently, there are about 500,000 active crypto traders in the Middle East every day. Although the number is not as high as that in Europe and the United States, it is growing rapidly. A considerable number of them are well-educated young professionals, as well as local high-net-worth people and a large number of expatriates who are concerned about wealth preservation and appreciation.
The diverse user composition means that marketing should focus on both local culture and international perspectives. In terms of interest preferences, Middle Eastern crypto users show strong interest and adventurous spirit in emerging blockchain applications. They are willing to participate in innovative projects such as decentralized finance (DeFi), metaverse, and blockchain games , and are good at using on-chain tools such as decentralized exchanges (DEX). The number of on-chain users in the Middle East has increased significantly in recent years. Institutional investors prefer mainstream crypto assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, focusing on long-term value; while retail investors have a wide range of interests, not only paying attention to mainstream coins, but also keen to participate in hot meme coin speculation and chasing market trends. This shows that the Middle East market has both stable and adventurous investment orientations, and it is necessary to customize differentiated promotional strategies for different audience segments.
In terms of cultural preferences , the culture of the Middle East and North Africa is relatively conservative, and religious beliefs have a profound impact on social life. Users generally attach importance to credibility and security , and are very concerned about whether the crypto platform or project is formal and compliant, and the security of assets. If there is a lack of trust, even curiosity may stop. A survey shows that among Middle Eastern consumers who do not yet hold cryptocurrencies, 63% said they need to see stronger protection measures before they are willing to enter the market. It can be seen that the trust deficit is the main factor hindering mainstream users.
Therefore, for Web3 project owners, highlighting security compliance, showing real cases and user benefits in marketing information, rather than exaggerating and hyping, is the key to impressing the Middle Eastern audience. In general, Middle Eastern crypto users have both the enthusiasm to embrace new things and the caution to seek profits and avoid risks. Understanding these two sides will help develop more effective communication strategies.
Promotion channels: social media, offline activities and media types
Social Media Platforms
The crypto community in the Middle East is highly active on social media, with Twitter (X) and YouTube being the main forums for local community discussions. A large number of Arabic/English bilingual KOLs and official project accounts gather on Twitter to discuss market dynamics in real time; there are also many Arabic crypto channels on YouTube that publish video content such as market analysis and project reviews. Arabic is the dominant language for community communication , and local users prefer to use Arabic to obtain information, but since there are a large number of international people living in countries such as the UAE, English content also has a certain audience . For publicity and promotion, it is an ideal combination strategy to produce Arabic content at the same time to get close to local users, and supplement it with English content to cover a wide range of people. In contrast, Telegram is not the most important crypto discussion platform in the Middle East. It is generally used for official project announcements and community group maintenance, but local users rely less on Telegram than Twitter and YouTube.
In addition, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are also very popular in the overall use of social media in the Middle East, especially influential to the younger generation. If the content format is appropriate (such as short videos, pictures and texts), these platforms can be used as auxiliary promotion channels to expand brand exposure.
Offline Activities
Thanks to government support and an open environment, Dubai has become one of the important venues for global blockchain conferences. Regular participation in local industry events is an excellent opportunity to enter the Middle East market. Every year, Dubai hosts a number of large-scale international blockchain summits and crypto exhibitions, such as Future Blockchain Summit , Dubai FinTech Summit , Crypto Expo Dubai , etc., and has a high reputation in the industry. In addition, Dubai also introduced the well-known TOKEN2049 conference in 2024-2025, which attracted more than 20,000 participants from the global crypto and financial fields.
These offline events provide project owners with valuable opportunities to meet local investors, expand their network and gain brand exposure . Setting up booths, sponsoring speeches or holding workshops at the conference can directly reach the target audience. Middle Eastern investors attach great importance to face-to-face trust building, and it is easier to win recognition through offline interactions. At the same time, it cannot be ignored that the Gulf countries also have many themed salons, hackathons and community meetups throughout the year, such as the seminars regularly organized by the Blockchain Center in Dubai. Small events help to penetrate the local community and obtain first-hand feedback and loyal users.
Media Type
The media environment in the Middle East is characterized by both internationalization and localization. When promoting your product, you can flexibly use the following types of media resources:
Professional blockchain media: Cooperate with well-known crypto media to publish press releases or in-depth articles in their Middle East channels to quickly reach the audience in the circle. For example, the international media cointelegraph.com has specially opened a Middle East and North Africa edition ( Cointelegraph MENA ) to report on the blockchain dynamics in the region in Arabic. Another example is the local industry portal Unlock Blockchain in the Middle East, which provides the latest local blockchain information and project reports. The readers of these vertical media are mostly industry insiders and senior investors, and through them, the popularity of the project in the professional circle can be improved.
Mainstream financial and technology media: The interest of mainstream society in the Middle East in crypto topics is increasing, and many mass media have opened crypto columns. For example, Khaleej Times, a widely circulated English newspaper in the UAE, has a Cryptocurrency column to report industry news; financial magazines such as Gulf Business and Arabian Business also frequently publish blockchain-related feature articles. Publishing interviews or special articles through these mainstream media can help shape the authoritative image of the project and influence potential institutional investors and traditional industry professionals.
Social media: There are many popular online media in the crypto space in the Middle East, and they often have a large number of fans on Twitter, Instagram or YouTube. Project owners can consider posting paid posts, review videos or joint live broadcasts to attract traffic with the help of KOL's fan base. The content on social platforms is more vivid and easy to be shared and spread by users, which is effective in increasing brand awareness. However, it is important to screen the influence and audience fit of KOLs to ensure that the promotional information can effectively reach the target population.
In general, the promotion of Web3 in the Middle East needs to be "both online and offline, and both international and local". It is necessary to deepen the word-of-mouth communication in online communities such as Twitter, and actively appear in offline occasions; it is necessary to use industry vertical media to directly reach the audience in the cryptocurrency circle, and also to use mass media to break the circle and reach a wider investment group. Only by linking multiple channels can we fully cover the rich and diverse investor groups in Dubai and the UAE.
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Recommended KOLs and media resources in the Middle East that can be cooperated with
The following are some KOLs (key opinion leaders) and media resources in the Middle East that are worth considering working with, as well as the corresponding platforms:
Andres Meneses – A well-known crypto influencer on Instagram and host of the Crypto OGs podcast, he has about 1.6 million followers. He often posts trading tips and market insights to both Spanish and English audiences and is active in the Dubai startup scene. @andreswifitv
Mohammed Alsaadi — Instagram crypto investment KOL and entrepreneur, mainly analyzing the market with Arabic content, with about 790,000 followers @xaex. His audience is concentrated in the UAE and the Gulf region, and he is an influential crypto opinion leader in the local area.
Cointelegraph MENA — Blockchain industry media website , Cointelegraph Middle East and North Africa edition, publishes regional news cointelegraph.com in Arabic and English. Covering blockchain readers across the Middle East, can be used to publish press releases, in-depth reports, etc.
Unlock Blockchain — A local blockchain news portal (website) in the Middle East , focusing on reporting blockchain project dynamics in the UAE and surrounding areas. It has a certain authority in the local industry and can cooperate with special articles or sponsor content.
Khaleej Times — Crypto Section — The crypto section of the leading English newspaper in the UAE . The readers are the general public and business people, and the project can be exposed in the mainstream society through PR articles.
(The above list is for reference only. When making actual selections, you should screen according to the project positioning and budget, and evaluate the audience matching and input-output of each KOL or media.)
Cooperation strategy suggestions
For marketing cooperation in the Middle East (especially Dubai and the UAE), project owners can consider the following strategies in specific implementation:
Time period for delivery: Choose the time for marketing content release and event holding reasonably, and try to avoid important local religious periods and holidays. For example, the weekly working days are slightly different because the Middle East weekend is usually Friday-Saturday (the UAE is closed on Saturday-Sunday), so pay attention to staggered releases. At the same time, avoid releasing important news during Friday noon prayer time to avoid missing the attention of Muslim users. During Ramadan, people adjust their daily routines during the day, and online activities and announcements are best arranged after sunset to get higher participation. In general, users in the Gulf region spend more time online in the evening and late at night , so you can consider pushing content around midnight Beijing time (corresponding to the evening to night in the Middle East) to match the local active time.
Language selection: In terms of language strategy, it is a safer approach to use English and Arabic in parallel. English is the common business language in Dubai, where there are a large number of expatriates. Using English for publicity can cover an international audience; but if you want to truly reach local Arab users and establish emotional connections, providing Arabic content is essential. It is recommended that Arabic versions of official websites and white papers be provided, and key messages be released in both languages on social media. At the same time, Arabic customer service or administrators should be equipped in community communication to facilitate local user consultation. It should be noted that the Arabic wording style should be formal and polite, and the translation should be accurate and authentic to show respect for local culture. If the project team lacks Arabic skills, consider hiring a local market manager in the Middle East or cooperating with professional translation and marketing agencies to ensure effective language communication.
Community building: Middle Eastern investors attach great importance to community belonging and interaction . Project owners should invest in operating local communities and cultivating loyal supporters. For example, you can create an official Arabic Twitter account and actively participate in discussions with Middle Eastern users; open a Telegram Arabic group or Discord channel, regularly hold Q&A events and airdrop benefits to enhance user stickiness. Offline, you can organize small meetups or sponsor local hackathons in places such as Dubai to meet developers and enthusiasts. In terms of operational content, share more project progress, education and popular science, and local related information, and use less blunt advertising.
It is also critical to enable community participation - invite Middle Eastern users to serve as project ambassadors, organize online/offline community activities, and let them deeply participate in the growth of the project. This kind of co-creation community management helps build trust. According to the experience of Binance CMO, users in the Middle East want to actively participate in shaping the future of the Internet, so the more the project party can make community members feel like owners, the more long-term support they can get. In addition, it is possible to use AMA live broadcasts, Twitter Space and other forms to jointly conduct online exchanges with Middle Eastern KOLs and expand the community's voice in an interactive way.
Content positioning: In terms of marketing content, the Middle Eastern cultural background should be taken into account, and credibility and professionalism should be highlighted . Promotional materials should avoid exaggeration and over-promises, so as not to cause resentment or even violate local advertising regulations. On the contrary, the technical strength, application and endorsement institutions of the project can be displayed more, and data and facts can be used to speak and build trust. In addition, Middle Eastern users also attach great importance to visual images. Appropriate local elements (such as Middle Eastern style patterns) can be incorporated into the design to enhance intimacy, but symbols that may cause religious sensitivity should be avoided. In short, the content tone should be professional, humble and culturally respectful in order to be recognized by local audiences.
Summarize
Whether in terms of market size, policy environment or financial strength, the Middle East (especially Dubai and the UAE) has become an emerging fertile ground for Web3 projects to focus on. On the one hand, the government's open and inclusive attitude and clear regulatory framework have created a friendly development environment for the industry; on the other hand, the large youth population, high proportion of Internet users and abundant disposable capital make it a huge potential for the growth of crypto users. Countries in the Middle East generally regard digital assets as a new engine to promote economic diversification rather than a temporary speculative trend. This top-level consensus means that policies will continue to benefit industry innovation in the next few years.
For Web3 projects seeking globalization, the value of the Middle East market lies not only in short-term financing or user acquisition, but also in its long-term strategic position - landing in Dubai is equivalent to standing on the encryption hub connecting Europe, Asia and Africa, gaining the opportunity to radiate to a wider range of emerging markets.
Of course, to truly take root in the Middle East and succeed, the project party still needs to patiently deepen localization. From the initial entry into the market to the steady expansion of influence, it is recommended to adopt a step-by-step strategy: the first step can be to start with research and testing to understand the preferences of the target audience and make local industry contacts; the second step is to establish a basic local online community and bilingual content output mechanism to establish brand presence; the third step is to gradually increase investment, cooperate with well-known KOLs and media to build momentum, and consider setting up an office in Dubai or cooperating with local teams to enhance credibility and service capabilities; finally , consolidate the reputation in the Middle East circle by holding events or achieving milestone cases. Only by taking one step at a time can we truly leverage the crypto investor group in Dubai and the UAE.
The story of the Middle East has just begun. For Web3 entrepreneurs, this land is full of opportunities and surprises - only by going deep into it can you share the dividends of its booming growth.
FAQ
Q1: What is the budget range required to promote crypto projects in the Middle East market?
A: The marketing expenses in the Middle East market should be determined according to the specific strategy, but in general, sufficient budget should be reserved to match the higher local promotion costs. The KOL quotation in the first-tier Gulf countries such as the UAE is relatively high, because Internet celebrities with millions of fans are rare, and they have higher bargaining power in cooperation. Offline event sponsorship ranges from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, and the monthly budget is recommended to start from five figures.
Q2: What are the advantages of promoting KOLs and media through ChainPeak?
A: As an institution, we have the power to negotiate in bulk, and the price is much lower than that of individual project parties. Long-term cooperation can also enjoy customized packages and annual discounts, saving more than 30% of costs.
Q3: Is it necessary to use Arabic for promotion? It is not necessary but it is strongly recommended to use both Arabic and English. Bilingual content can more effectively reach local users and international communities.
Q4: How do you evaluate the ROI of marketing in the Middle East? In the short term, we focus on user growth, conversion rate, and social interaction data; in the long term, we focus on improving brand awareness, acquiring strategic resources, and establishing partnerships.
Q5: What should I pay attention to when cooperating with KOLs in the Middle East? Choose KOLs that are compliant and reputable, clarify the details of cooperation, respect local cultural beliefs, and focus on long-term cooperative relationships.
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