Global cryptocurrency Users exceed 320 million

[TL; DR]

The United States is the country with the highest number of crypto users in the world.

In Africa, Nigeria has the highest number of cryptocurrency owners.

Vietnam is the country which has the highest cryptocurrency adoption rate.

There is a greater adoption of cryptocurrencies in the world than before.

Introduction

There was high adoption of cryptocurrencies within the last three years. The year 2021 was historic as many people and institutions started using cryptocurrencies. Generally, the 2021 bitcoin bullrun had a great effect on the adoption rate of bitcoin and altcoins. When the price of BTC reached an all time high of $69 000 many investors, including institutional ones, joined the crypto market.

According to Tripple-A, the Singapore based digital asset payment company, there are over 320 million cryptocurrency holders in the world. What this means is that 4.2% of the global population owns these digital tokens and coins. This article will analyse the distribution of cryptocurrency holders by regions and countries.

Overview of distribution of cryptocurrencies

In terms of countries, the United States has the largest number of crypto users. Basically, 46 million people use cryptocurrency in the country. The second position is India with about 27 million users. Pakistan, Nigeria and Vietnam complete the top five countries with the highest numbers of cryptocurrency users.

Source: Triple-A

However, although Vietnam is the fifth ranked country in terms of crypto adoption, it is the country with the highest percentage of the population that owns cryptocurrencies. This is because 20% of Vietnamese own cryptocurrencies while 13.74% of United States citizens use them.

Source: TripleA

The other prominent statistics is the distribution of cryptocurrencies in different regions, especially continents. Asia, with 120 million crypto owners, is the continent with the largest number of people who invest in cryptocurrencies. Africa comes second since it has over 53 million crypto users. North America has 51 million, Europe 43 million, South America 27 million and Oceania has about 1 million crypto users.

Source: TripleA

United States

As mentioned already, the United States has over 46 million crypto users, about 13.74% of its population. Triple- A reports that 44% of the cryptocurrency users in the United States have an annual income of at least $100 000. As such, it means that people who are wealthy own most cryptocurrencies in the country.

In terms of demography, people between 18 and 44 years own 82% of the cryptocurrencies. Interestingly only 7% of cryptocurrencies are in the hands of people who are 55 years and above. As such, it implies that the younger generation in the United States own most of the cryptocurrencies.

The other interesting observation is that most of the crypto investors in the United States have a high level of education. For example, 66% of crypto users in the country have at least a bachelor’s degree. Most of these cryptocurrency owners invest in bitcoin. Specifically, 73% of the cryptocurrency owners have bitcoin. The following graph shows the major cryptocurrencies which Americans own and prefer.

Source: TripleA

Cryptocurrency adoption in India

Over 27 million people in India, about 2 % of the entire population, own cryptocurrencies. Despite the uncertainty over the crypto regulatory situation in the country the cryptocurrency adoption rate continues to increase. In the recent past, India has shown interest in introducing its digital currency in the form of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

In terms of demographic holders of cryptocurrency, about 59% of crypto users are male. Nevertheless, the proportion of females who are venturing into digital assets have been increasing over the years. For instance, from 2020 to 2021 the number of female crypto users increased by close to 300%. Also, WazirX, the largest crypto exchange in India, said that in 2021 the number of females who joined the platform increased by 1 000%.

Crypto adoption in Pakistan

Pakistan has over 26 million crypto users, about 11.5% of the entire population. The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said that Pakistan had the highest increase in the number of cryptocurrency users during 2020 and 2021. However, the government has no regulatory framework on digital currencies leaving people unsure of its future stance.

Nigeria tops Africa in Cryptocurrency Adoption

Although Africa has about 53 million crypto users, Nigeria has the greatest number of users. In other words, it is the leading cryptocurrency investment country in Africa. South Africa and Kenya are the other African countries with large numbers of crypto users. More than 22 million in Nigeria own at least one cryptocurrency in whatever amount. This means that 10.34% of the population use cryptocurrencies from time to time.

On the other hand, South Afica has over 7 million cryptocurrency users. This translates to about 12.45% of the population. Kenya, the other leading African country in the use of cryptocurrencies, has more than 6 million crypto users, close to 11.60% of its population