Saxo Bank, the online trading and investing expert, is introducing a new cryptocurrency service that will allow MENA clients to trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin against EUR, USD, and JPY from a single margin account.

The new Crypto FX providing supplements Saxo Bank's current portfolio of over 40 various cryptocurrency monitors and ETNs, which have already seen trading volumes exceed the total turnover for 2020 - a year in which volumes increased by 130 %.

Clients in some markets can exchange Crypto FX pairs during normal FX trading hours, which run from Sunday evening through Friday evening. Customers will be able to exchange and hedge long and short positions in the three main cryptocurrencies that will be in the form of derivatives rather than genuine coins.

Due to the volatile nature of the instruments, regular clients can trade with a leverage of 2:1, while professional customers can deal with leverage of 3:1.

“Saxo Bank has built a unique concept that provides our customers access to the expanding crypto market in a flexible, safe, and hassle-free method from a single fully-licensed account without any need to utilize wallets or cold storage solutions,” says Kay Van-Petersen, Global Macro Strategist at Saxo Bank. The service stands at the crossroads of traditional banking and cryptocurrency, that's where we evaluate the market expanding as it attracts retail traders and financial institutions' interest.

“We decided to create a platform that combines the security and simplicity of use associated with more established asset categories with the volatility and dynamism of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin – permitting customers to trade both long and short in the growing crypto market.

“Crypto FX accomplishes this by leveraging its 30 years of expertise as a premier trading and investment organization, combining the conventional attributes of a currency pair with the intriguing potential of a cryptocurrency.”

To promote and regulate blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, governments in the MENA area, notably the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain, have implemented policies, built regulatory frameworks, and invested in crypto-related firms.

To further allow the adoption of the technology within the nation, the UAE government is working hard on its own UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021, and in 2019, the UAE and Saudi Arabia struck a deal to experiment with cryptocurrencies and blockchain for payments, which might modernize cross-border transactions between the two nations.