Study: The UAE is a global power in financial technology and electronic trading
Abu Dhabi, December 9 / WAM / A recent analytical study confirmed that the UAE has emerged in recent years as a global power for financial technology and electronic trading.
The results of this study were revealed during an event on this occasion during Abu Dhabi Financial Week, in which His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, participated.
The comprehensive analytical study prepared by the global trading platform “Capital.com” in partnership with the strategic consulting company “APCO” is titled: “New Horizons… The Role of Innovation, Ambition and Ease of Access in Supporting the Prosperity of Electronic Trading in the Middle East and North Africa Region.”
The study was based on official trading data documented by Capital.com over a period of two years for approximately 62,850 active traders in the region who executed 85.5 million transactions, confirming that the record growth in electronic trading of financial derivatives in the Middle East region, including the UAE, was driven by an ambitious, digital generation.
The study indicated that since Capital.com obtained a license from the Securities and Commodities Authority in the UAE in April 2024, the Middle East and North Africa region – led by the UAE – has become the fastest growing market for the company, and now constitutes more than half of its trading volumes around the world.
Capital.com’s trading volumes in the first half of 2025 amounted to about $1.5 trillion, an increase of 42.5% compared to the second half of 2024, driven by trading in the region reaching $804.1 billion, an increase of 53.3% during the comparison period, of which $576.5 billion went to the UAE alone, which strengthens the country’s position as a global capital for financial technology and digital trading.
His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Foreign Trade, stressed that the strong performance of the financial technology and electronic trading sector highlighted by this study reflects the UAE’s commitment to continuing to build a competitive digital economy that looks forward to the future, by combining world-class infrastructure, advanced and stimulating legislation, and a growing increase in financial awareness, with the aim of enabling more individual traders to participate confidently and responsibly in the opportunities offered by the global economy and new financial derivatives.
In turn, Victor Prokopenia, founder of Capital.com, said that the Middle East region is experiencing a turning point in its financial development, especially the UAE, as digital finance opens unprecedented doors to global markets and changes the way of trading, investing and building wealth.
The data on which the analytical study was based reveals that 86% of traders in the region are between the ages of 18 and 44 years, and the millennial generation represents 55% of active users. The percentage of people with university education in the region is higher than Europe at 64% compared to 39%, in addition to higher income levels. The number of people earning more than $200,000 annually is four times greater than their European counterparts, and the region has a ten times greater share of customers whose deposits exceeded $1 million in two years.
The study pointed out that learning by doing is a prominent feature. 45% of the region’s traders start their activity in the world of digital trading with demo accounts, compared to 32% in Europe, which reflects a growing interest in financial education.
For his part, Mamoun Sobeih, President of APCO in the Middle East and North Africa region, said that the record boom in electronic trading in the Middle East – especially the UAE – confirms the importance of a transparent regulatory environment and the increase in individuals’ financial culture in the demand for digital trading of financial derivatives, which requires knowledge and familiarity with their risks and the mechanisms for managing these risks.
In turn, Tariq Shabib, CEO of Capital.com in the Middle East and North Africa, said that uncontrolled boldness may turn into overconfidence, and risk management is the biggest gap we see, and education and increasing financial awareness is the solution.
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