Summary: The Fourth Industrial Revolution impacts on every country in the Arab world but policymaking in response to new fintech like blockchain and cryptocurrencies varies widely.
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Slightly less “old timers” such as myself see this as a game changer but only so long as free access to the web remains intact. That may not be the case in the not-so-distant future as authoritarian regime controls begin to mimic the China model in Arab world with regards to the internet. This could lead to local crypto taking hold but when it comes to international dealings, the dollar seems to hold steady. Crypto volatility and an uncertain regulatory environment within and between countries—and the resulting debates on whether it even serves as a decent store of value or a security—in addition to the lack of infrastructure, security, etc, means that we won’t see widespread adoption any time soon. If it ever gets to the point where crypto threatens dollar dominance, it is quite possible that the US (and other supporting countries) could simply pull the plug and declare it illegal.
Old-timers like me, more interested in the politics of it and floundering in all this novelty as we did before with email and the web (and our forefathers did with the alphabet and printing), will be asking: does this at last mean the dethroning of the mighty dollar?