Around three million Saudis have invested in cryptocurrencies as of May 2022, a new study revealed, representing 14 percent of the country’s adult population.
Majority of these investors, however, have less than one year of experience in crypto investment – 49 percent of which have only started trading in the past six months, according to a recent report by global crypto exchange platform KuCoin.
The report comes as cryptocurrency gains traction in the Middle East, despite a current downward trend in the industry.
According to the report, around 31 percent of crypto owners in Saudi Arabia said they would keep their balance as is instead of investing more.
Crypto coins, in recent weeks, have struggled to keep momentum, led by losses of the world’s biggest digital currency in value Bitcoin. The market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies has plummeted from nearly $3 trillion to $875 billion, with analysts and investors bracing for a “crypto winter.”
Despite this, the KuCoin report said around 17 percent of Saudi adults are “crypto-curious,” who are likely to invest in cryptocurrencies over the next six months.
Crypto investor demographics in Saudi Arabia
The report further revealed that 63 percent of crypto investors in Saudi are men – with the gender ratio remaining stable over the past months.
In terms of age, young crypto investors, or those below the age of 30, accounted for at a least third of the total by the second quarter of 2022, the KuCoin report showed.
More than half of crypto Saudi investors said they believe digital currencies are the future of finance, while 44 percent said they believe their crypto investments can bring them higher returns that other types of financial investments.
Where do Saudis get their information about cryptocurrencies?
Social media is the most popular source of crypto-related information for Saudis, the report said, particularly noting YouTube and Twitter. Other platforms Saudis use include Telegram (35 percent), Facebook (30 percent) and Instagram (28 percent.)
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