In a recent article on CityWire, Global Head of Marex Financial Products, a Nasdaq listed financial services platform providing liquidity, market access and infrastructure services to clients, Joost Burgerhout noted that crypto linked structured products are starting to become a favorite among Gulf (GCC) investors.
He notes that the demand for yield and portfolio diversification is a driving force for this. According to Burgerhout, an increasing share of his business line’s revenues now come from digital assets. HNWIs (High-net-worth-individuals) and family offices are those investing in digital asset with instruments tied to cryptocurrencies.
“The product types are twofold, either capital preservation with upside participation, or yield extraction,” Burgerhout explained. “Given that bitcoin is a non-yielding asset, these structures are very popular among investors seeking income.”
With the growing number of HNWIs relocating to the UAE, Marex Head of Financial products believes that the country is becoming a natural client based for structured solutions.
Even the Vice President of financial products sales, at Marex Mehdi Rayane adds that the Middle East is not lagging when it comes to adoption of digital asset linked structures. He notes in the CityWire article, ” ‘Most wealthy individuals and even some institutions here already have access to crypto through ETFs. But now we’re seeing strong demand for structured products that offer capital protection on one hand and double-digit yields on the other, often with maturities as short as six to eight months.’
He added that Marex is working closely with local banks and fintechs to meet this demand. ‘We are collaborating with all types of professional investors in the region,’ Rayane said. ‘Particularly on the crypto side, we’re bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi), helping banks whose clients want exposure to digital assets but can’t access them directly.’
Recently as well, Nasdaq listed DeFi Technologies entered the UAE and Middle East market though its subsidiary Valour. The DeFi Technologies team and its subsidiary Valour, aim to support the increased institutional interest in digital assets in the GCC region and specifically in the UAE. This expansion into the Middle East is a key element of the strategy to increase product offerings and global footprint.
DeFi Technologies will be hosting the Abu Dhabi edition of the DeFi Technologies Insights Global Symposium on December 8, 2025, at Emirates Palace.
All this comes as a recent Avaloq survey notes that 39% of UAE investors hold crypto surpassing the global average of 30% with usage of crypto exchanges also higher than the world average, yet for those not yet invested in crypto, they would rather work with their traditional providers, banks and wealth managers rather than crypto exchanges.
The survey noted that 93% of UAE crypto investors engage in crypto exchange platforms compared to 86% globally. For those who haven’t invested in crypto yet, 51% said they would consider investing if offered by their traditional provider. As per the report, this is an opportunity for UAE wealth managers.
