Data from app analytics platform AppsFlyer shows that cryptocurrency applications saw a sharp increase in adoption in the United Arab Emirates in 2024.
According to AppsFlyer, downloads of the top 49 crypto apps in the UAE reached 6.2 million in 2023. That jumped to 15 million in 2024, a 41% increase.
Most of these downloads occurred in the second half of 2024, with crypto app installs exceeding 1 million per month in the final quarter. December saw the biggest surge, with 2.8 million downloads, AppsFlyer said.
AppsFlyer attributed the increase in adoption to several key developments in the cryptocurrency space.
UAE crypto app installs from 2023 versus 2024. Source: AppsFlyer
UAE crypto app installs spiked to 2.8 million in December
On Nov. 6, 2024, Donald Trump won the United States presidential election. His victory was broadly perceived as a win for the crypto space, as Trump had promised to end the war on crypto and make the US the crypto capital of the world if elected.
Shani Rosenfelder, the director of market insights at AppsFlyer, said that Trump emphasizing his pro-crypto stance played a role in the adoption of crypto apps:
“There has been a strong correlation between these market factors and the UAE’s crypto market momentum. Moreover, the outlook continues to be favorable, presenting an opportunity for crypto companies to rapidly grow their user bases during this period of market uptick.”
Trump also surprised the world by launching his own memecoin in January, attracting many first-time investors to crypto, according to a US survey conducted by NFT Evening.
This also boosted crypto applications in the US, with apps like Crypto.com, Moonshot and Coinbase dominating the US Apple App Store’s finance category in the aftermath of the launch.
Still, while Trump’s memecoin may have brought a new tranche of investors to crypto, a Chainalysis report showed that 813,000 crypto wallets lost up to $2 billion after buying the token.
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Crypto app installs reached 3.5 million in January
Rosenfelder added that aggressive marketing efforts drove 60% of the crypto app traffic in 2024. This resulted in challenges to retaining users. The AppsFlyer team said after examining engagement trends on Android devices, that one in five apps was uninstalled within 30 days.
While retention may be challenging, the AppsFlyer team suggested that crypto app marketers have a good reason to remain committed to their aggressive marketing efforts. The team shared that crypto app installs in the UAE reached nearly 3.5 million in January.
“Put in perspective, that’s over half of all installs seen in the country through all of 2023. Clearly, there’s still tremendous potential to be had, and with 2025 on track to be a record-setting year, prudent crypto app marketers must use every tool in their arsenal to gain and retain market share,” Rosenfelder added.
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