SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
As global finance shifts on-chain, the UAE is stepping forward as one of the world’s most intentional builders of the digital economy.
At Bitcoin MENA 2025, Yoni Assia, CEO of eToro, told Aletihad that the UAE is one of the company’s fastest-growing and most strategically important markets, as global interest in Bitcoin, tokenisation, and digital finance continues to rise.
He noted “tremendous growth and success” in Abu Dhabi across both crypto and traditional stock trading, supported in part by the platform’s CopyTrader technology.
That momentum, he explained, is reflected in eToro’s regular presence at major regional events, with Bitcoin MENA standing out in particular.
“Bitcoin MENA is, of course, the largest conference of Bitcoin globally,” Assia said, marking the company’s second consecutive year at the event.
What sets the conference apart, he added, is its legacy. For eToro, the UAE, and Abu Dhabi specifically, is central to its regional strategy. “We see the UAE not only as a market in itself, but as a gateway to the entire region.”
He highlighted Abu Dhabi’s long-term vision as a defining strength.“The goal is to make Abu Dhabi the capital of capital, to attract talent from all over the world, and to expand its influence across the region.”
Turning to Bitcoin’s role in the UAE, Assia said the digital asset sector has entered a more mature phase. “Today, everybody understands that Bitcoin is becoming digital gold,” he said.
While Bitcoin MENA remains focused on the Bitcoin standard and store-of-value narrative, regulatory progress has opened new opportunities. “Without regulation, it was very hard to connect traditional assets to the blockchain,” he said.
He pointed to the growing global conversation around tokenisation, driven by regulators. “Everybody is now talking about tokenising everything,” he said, from stock markets and lending protocols to private markets and real estate.
What matters most, he added, is regulatory coordination. “Having regulators who can connect the virtual world to the real world is critical,” he said, describing Abu Dhabi as “one of the fastest, if not the most advanced places in the world” in this area.
On investor behaviour, Assia pointed to changing generational expectations. “Younger investors are used to trading 24/7 and moving assets freely,” he said. “When they realise that stocks do not trade around the clock, it feels like old money to them.”
With around 400 million people now active in digital assets globally, he said this shift is opening traditional capital markets to new audiences. “We are big fans of traditional capital markets alongside crypto assets,” he noted.
Further, Assia identified private markets and real estate as the next major areas for tokenisation. “These are massive markets that are ready for disruption,” he said.
He also highlighted eToro’s launch of its non-custodial Good Wallet, which connects users’ crypto assets directly to decentralised finance services.
“It gives users access to smart contracts, prediction markets, and DeFi protocols,” he said.
Assia said AI and crypto together are reshaping both who invests and how.
He explained that older investors prioritise regulation and security, while younger users focus on speed and flexibility.
Over time, he added, this shift will transform finance. “There is around $100 trillion transferring from older generations to Gen Y and Gen Z,” he said, alongside another $100 trillion moving from legacy systems to blockchain-based platforms. AI, he said, will connect those transitions.
eToro began investing in AI in 2017, launching AI-driven smart portfolios and later introducing long-short AI strategies with capital protection, as well as Torii, its in-app AI analyst.
“Torii can analyse your portfolio, explain market movements, and answer questions about companies,” Assia said, stressing that safeguards are in place to ensure “professional-grade financial AI that doesn’t hallucinate.”
Alongside him, Sam North, market analyst at eToro, said AI is already changing how retail investors in the UAE engage with markets, making investing more accessible and personalised.
He said Tori is an AI chatbot that lets users talk through their portfolio and market questions as if they were chatting with a helpful “AI friend.”
North said the convergence of AI and crypto is accelerating. “AI has been the biggest buzzword over the last couple of years,” he said. “At the same time, crypto has been the most transformative technology of this century. The two really go hand in hand.”
Tokenisation, he added, is the next major step. “It is going to speed things up, increase liquidity, and it is a massive positive,” he said, adding that the UAE is well positioned to lead this shift.
“The UAE wants to be at the forefront of technology and AI, and they really are.”
That leadership is reflected in user behaviour. “Seventy-three percent of eToro users in the UAE use AI for their investments,” North said.
Expanded access has also been key, particularly following the launch of eToro’s 24.5 trading. “Now people can invest whenever they want, and that is a massive advantage.”
Further, he said investor sentiment remains positive. “Many investors believe technology will be one of the best-performing sectors next year,” he said, noting expectations of interest rate cuts. “A lower-rate environment generally benefits markets globally, and the UAE is no exception.”
On Bitcoin, North believes conditions are improving. “We are moving into a lower interest rate environment, where people are happier to take on a bit more risk,” he said. “That generally supports assets like Bitcoin.”