Cryptocurrency: an emerging investment option, but has yet to gain trust as a payment tool

Cryptocurrency transaction volumes in the MENA region surpassed $60 billion in December 2024, highlighting the growing adoption of this decentralised financial technology over the past few years. The strong foundations for innovation, a rapidly growing tech-savvy population, and rising interest in alternative financial assets are some of the reasons why the crypto frenzy has gained momentum in this region, particularly in the UAE.

Although cryptocurrency is no longer an unknown or niche entity anymore, user journeys around cryptocurrency aren’t straightforward. From curiosity and lack of trust to a growing understanding of blockchain, user behaviours have evolved over the past decade.

We recently surveyed 500 people to understand these user behaviors, their crypto usage, and how they perceive crypto.

Here’s an overview:

A majority of participants indicated that they treat crypto primarily as an investment.
Interest in crypto is high, with more than 50% of respondents saying they are likely to use crypto for online purchases over the next year.
Price volatility, poor merchant acceptance, and the “crypto for investment” rather than payment mindset are hindering adoption.

Who did we survey?

Before we share the insights we gathered from our survey, it is crucial to know who our participants are. We surveyed 500 participants residing in the UAE, representing numerous nationalities, income groups, and professional backgrounds.

Demographics

44% of respondents belong to the 26-35 age group, the largest age group, followed by 36-45 years (34%)
While 18-25-year-olds account for 12%, 46-55-year-olds account for 8% of survey participants.

The survey pool accurately reflects the UAE’s multicultural nature. The largest nationality groups include Indian (25%), Pakistani (20%), and Egyptian (12%), followed by smaller shares of Filipino (6%), Syrian (5%), and Nigerian (4%). The remaining 18% were from other nationalities, highlighting the UAE’s diverse population.

Education and employment

About 60.2% hold a bachelor’s degree, and 22.2% hold a master’s degree, indicating that most participants are well educated.

Further, while 72.06% of respondents are actively employed in the private sector, 10.96% are in public sector roles. Students (6.2%), homemakers (4.9%), and unemployed individuals (4.66%) make up the rest of the survey participants.

Household and income

A majority of our survey participants belong to the small to medium-sized household category, with about 58.2% living in households of 2-4 people. Nearly 24.4% live in households of 5-7 members.

When we speak about the income distribution, here’s what we think you should know. The largest income group (18%) earns between $2,501 and $5,000 a month.

All in all, the participants are digitally active, educated, and come from an economically and culturally diverse population; a perfect demographic pool to evaluate user perception and engagement with cryptocurrency platforms and payments.

First cryptocurrency purchase

The adoption of cryptocurrency is gaining pace, and maturity levels continue to grow each year. To understand this better, we asked our participants about their first cryptocurrency purchase. Trends suggest that most people entered the cryptocurrency market during the recent crypto wave between 2021 and 2024.

Here’s what we uncovered:

Around 28.6% of participants purchased a cryptocurrency for the first time between 2021 and 2024, coinciding with the crypto wave that occurred during the period due to increased media coverage and seamless accessibility of trading platforms.
Nearly one-quarter (23.6%) of users purchased crypto before 2021, representing the early adopters who were familiar with cryptocurrency before the recent crypto wave.
While 17% made their first purchase in 2024, 14.8% bought a crypto in 2025 or later. Only 1.2% of respondents said they have never purchased cryptocurrency, indicating a high level of engagement with crypto.

How much are users willing to invest in crypto?

After gaining a fair understanding of the maturity of cryptocurrency in the UAE, we wanted to evaluate how much money our participants have invested in cryptocurrency.

Around 31.6% of survey participants responded that they have invested less than 2,000 AED, while 28.2% said they invested 2,001 to 5,000 AED.
Additionally, 21.4% have invested between 5001 and 15,000 AED, 12.2% between 15,001 and 40,000 AED, and 6.6% more than 40,000 AED.

What does this mean?

This data reflects that although interest in crypto is high, a majority of participants are still conservative and are making smaller investments instead of making crypto their primary investment channel. This trend is typically seen across most emerging asset classes, where market confidence grows gradually with increased exposure and familiarity.

Popular cryptocurrencies

Although the crypto ecosystem is young and at a nascent stage, some cryptocurrencies have garnered more popularity than others. When asked which cryptocurrencies they have purchased, the responses indicate a clear interest in established crypto assets and stablecoins.

With 61.8% of respondents reporting ownership, Bitcoin emerges as a clear winner and is the most widely purchased cryptocurrency. It is safe to say that it is the primary entry point for new crypto investors, mainly due to its widespread popularity.

Bitcoin is followed by USDT (44.4%), Ethereum (43.4%), Binance Coin (32.4%), and Dogecoin (26.8%), highlighting the growing interest in stablecoins and decentralised applications.

Other memecoins and altcoins in our users’ crypto portfolios include (numbers indicate % of survey participants who own these assets):

XRP (22.4%)
Litecoin (15%)
Shiba Inu (15%)
Cardano (11.8%)
USDC (10.6%)

Cryptocurrency engagement

Beyond ownership, we wanted to understand how our participants engage with cryptocurrency, and the responses indicate that most users view crypto primarily as an investment option, rather than a day-to-day financial tool to make payments.

Nearly 28% of users said that they intend to hold crypto for longer periods rather than trading it. Additionally, 24.2% said they are long-term investors and view crypto as a long-term financial opportunity.

That said, with 19.6% of survey participants actively engaged in crypto trading, it is safe to say that there is significant participation in trading.

While these numbers indicate strong crypto engagement, 24.6% reported that while they invested in crypto previously, they are no longer investing in it, reflecting evolving financial priorities and market volatility.

What does this data tell us?

These figures indicate that crypto engagement is primarily investment-driven, with a strong majority holding crypto with a long-term mindset.

Crypto to make payments: reality or distant dream?

Although cryptocurrency is tipped to be a payment option in the future, we wanted to know whether our survey participants are already using it to make payments.

As expected, the responses indicate that crypto payments are still emerging despite strong interest and growing awareness.

Around 43% of participants said that they have never used crypto to make payments but may consider it in the future, highlighting the strong curiosity and potential user adoption. Further, 33.6% of people said that they have used crypto for payments a few times, suggesting that a considerable number of users have experimented with real-world crypto transactions.

Our survey uncovered that 11.4% of participants use crypto regularly to make payments, representing active crypto payment users. The remaining 12% of participants have never used crypto to pay and expressed that they are not interested either.

What are people buying with crypto?

The previous section sheds light on crypto usage for payments, but what are users buying with crypto?

Around 65.33% of respondents used crypto to buy goods and services online, including digital products, software subscriptions, and services that offer crypto payment options.

Crypto is used to purchase gift cards by 42.67% of respondents, clearly highlighting how gift cards act like a bridge between crypto assets and daily spending.

Some other popular use cases include:

Digital assets & NFTs (30.22%)
Travel or hotel bookings (20.44%)
Real estate (12.80%)

What does this tell us?

As things stand, crypto payments are primarily used in digital environments, particularly when transaction and integration barriers are low. Although crypto payments for larger purchases and physical retail exist, it could take more time to evolve into a matured or everyday payment option.

Participants share their crypto experiences

Now that we know what our participants are purchasing with crypto, it is a good time to know more about their overall experience. We asked our participants to share and rate their overall experience, and the results indicate a largely positive sentiment, although some users remain neutral amidst the evolving crypto ecosystem.

While 34.22% of participants rated their overall experience as ‘somewhat positive’, 31.11% picked ‘very positive’. This means that more than 65% of users had a positive experience using crypto to make payments.

Around 30.22% of participants are unsure or carry a neutral stance, indicating that although awareness and interest are strong, there is ample room for improvement.

What’s holding crypto back from becoming a go-to payment method for daily payments?

Previous sections have revealed that people are exploring new payment options, including crypto, and already using it if and whenever possible. That said, there are several barriers cited by our participants that are limiting the frequency of crypto usage for everyday transactions.

As mentioned earlier, a strong majority views crypto as an investment option rather than spending money. Further, price volatility, including rapid price fluctuations and limited merchant acceptance, is among the top reasons why it could take a considerable amount of time for crypto to establish itself as a mainstream payment asset.

Some other reasons and practical barriers hindering crypto usage include:

High transaction fees
Complicated payment process
Strong preference for traditional payment methods
Security concerns
Vague or unclear refund policies
Slow transaction speeds

Confidence in crypto: as an investment and for everyday payments

How confident are our survey participants with crypto as an investment and an everyday tool for making payments? Let’s break this into two parts.

Crypto as an investment

As things stand, crypto is largely viewed as an investment option by a majority of our survey participants. But, how confident are they in the security of crypto investments?

36.6% of respondents said that they are ‘somewhat confident’ in the security of crypto investment, with another 15.2% indicating that they are ‘extremely confident’. This suggests that more than 50% of survey participants hold a positive view of crypto’s investment security.
With 34% of respondents picking ‘neutral’, it is clear that a significant amount of people are still unsure and forming opinions as the crypto landscape continues to evolve.

Crypto for everyday payments

Our survey insights clearly indicate that crypto is an emerging and exciting investment option that users are exploring or are willing to explore. Is the narrative the same when it comes to using crypto for everyday payments?

Well, around 30.22% of survey participants are neutral and yet to decide how they feel about the security of crypto payments. Nearly 34.22% of respondents said they are ‘somewhat confident’ and 31.11% reported that they are extremely confident about the security of crypto payments.

All in all, confidence in crypto for payments is slightly lower than that for crypto as an investment, highlighting the perception challenge among users.

Factors likely to encourage participants to use crypto for everyday purchases

We have a fair idea about the various factors that are impeding the adoption of crypto payments in the UAE. However, we wanted to understand what it would take to rewrite the script and encourage more people to use cryptocurrency for everyday purchases.

Here’s what we found.

With around 47% selecting stable prices, it is safe to say that stable prices are the top factor that is likely to encourage participants to use crypto for everyday purchases. Another major driver picked by about 40% of respondents is lower transaction fees, followed by rewards and cashbacks (41.4%), indicating how financial incentives could encourage daily crypto spending.

Some of the other factors expected to fuel the adoption of crypto include:

Growing acceptance from retailers
Tight government oversight and regulation

Wrapping it up

Our survey reveals a clear pattern about how users across the UAE perceive and use cryptocurrency. Data clearly indicates that while the adoption of crypto as an investment is quite established, transitioning into everyday payment methods is work in progress.

Further, most of the participants entered the crypto space in recent years and invest modest amounts, indicating a conservative and cautious approach despite strong interest in the digital asset.

While we agree that crypto has strong potential for growth, its future hinges on merchant acceptance, simplifying the payment process, controlling price volatility, and transparent refund policies.

Yes, crypto payments are not mainstream yet, but the foundations are in place, which is likely to accelerate adoption as the technology and ecosystem mature and user confidence increases.

The modern financial landscape is evolving rapidly, and the Middle East, particularly the UAE, is at the center of this change. UserQ helps key decision makers, product teams, and relevant stakeholders understand the pulse of the market and consumers with a user-friendly on-demand research platform.

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Cryptocurrency: an emerging investment option, but has yet to gain trust as a payment tool