Binance launches Qafila 2026 with $1m USDC pool across MENA and Pakistan
Binance has launched Qafila 2026, a regional campaign offering a total reward pool of $1 million in USDC to eligible users across the Middle East and North Africa and Pakistan, the exchange said. Participants can take part through trading, Simple Earn and community referral activities, with tasks, eligibility and rewards varying by market.
The exchange said its own user data shows that users aged 18 to 29 account for 50 per cent of its user base across MENA and Pakistan, rising to 54 per cent in Pakistan. It also reported that 52.9 per cent of verified users in the region have used two or more Binance products, with the UAE at 69.3 per cent, Bahrain at 57.2 per cent and Pakistan at 52.6 per cent.
Binance cited previous research of its own showing MENA is its fastest-growing region for stablecoin savings, with the region's share of global stablecoin balances held through the platform rising from 5.53 per cent to 9.21 per cent. Its share of global stablecoin trading volume on Binance rose from 7 per cent in 2023 to 11 per cent in 2026, the exchange said. It did not give a breakdown of stablecoin activity for Pakistan.
Tarik Erk, Head of MENAT and Senior Executive Officer at Binance, said MENA and Pakistan are priority markets for the exchange. "Our focus is to evolve alongside our community, bringing greater choice, practical utility and education into one ecosystem through our vision of All Finance on Binance," he said in a statement. The campaign is named after the concept of a caravan, an image familiar in Arabic- and Urdu-speaking communities.
Binance also said 77 per cent of its users are now based in emerging markets, up from 49 per cent in 2020, and that Gen Z accounts for 44 per cent of users of its Direct Stocks and bStocks products. The figures were provided by the company and were not independently verified.
