The huge figure of crypto adoption indicates that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are really attracting increased attention in various industries today. Today, according to Coinmarketrate.com, there are over 14,300 crypto assets. This brings us to the next interesting point: what parts of the world do you think crypto investors and Bitcoin owners come from? Which segment owns the largest number of BTC? More importantly, what possible factors have contributed to the growth of cryptocurrency adoption? Let’s dive into the demographics of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency owners.
First, let’s see how widespread cryptocurrencies are today. According to the cryptocurrency and blockchain company TripleA, the average level of ownership of cryptocurrencies in the world is 3.9%, which is equivalent to more than 300 million users of cryptocurrencies. Let’s take a short pause and try to imagine this huge number.
According to historical narratives, the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, could accommodate more than 50,000 spectators or people at maximum capacity. This means that you will need about 6,000 Colosseums to accommodate more than 300 million cryptocurrency users. And if you didn’t know, that number is also very close to the current population of the entire United States – crazy, isn’t it?
More than 300+ million cryptocurrency users worldwide.
A report by the Blockchain Capital blog showed that the number of American adults who have heard about Bitcoin has increased. From 77% in October 2017, this number has grown to 89% in April 2021. Awareness of Bitcoin is also high among all age groups. People aged 18 to 34 have the highest level of awareness – 90%, and people over 65 have the lowest – 88%.
According to the Cryptoasset Consumer Research 2021 study published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in the UK alone, 78% of adults out of 52 million people included in the study this year said they had heard about cryptocurrency.
The current state of cryptocurrency adoption in the world
We have already mentioned earlier that the global adoption rate of cryptocurrencies has reached more than 880% growth over the past year. According to a recent Chainalysis report, out of 154 countries ranked by certain indicators (the volume of trading on peer-to-peer exchanges, total crypto activity and trading activity of non-professional users), 20 countries where cryptocurrency activity was the highest:
Top 20 countries with the highest cryptocurrency activity. Source: chainalysis.com
Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index for 2021
The report also says that many emerging markets, including Kenya, Vietnam and Venezuela, are leading in terms of huge volumes of transactions on peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms.
Interestingly, the data also showed that small retail transactions – often less than $10,000 worth of cryptocurrencies – are more significant on P2P exchanges. This is due to the fact that many holders of cryptocurrencies use their coins on P2P platforms to pay for goods and services, make money transfers and other quick and small transactions.
The share of cryptocurrency platforms in transfers by size
Who owns the most of Bitcoin
Now that we understand how widespread Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are, let’s dig a little deeper and find out which of the world’s crypto investors is most engaged in activities related to cryptocurrencies.
To better understand the numbers underlying the level of adoption of cryptocurrencies, let’s look at the data for 2021 of various crypto platforms. On the platforms, users aged 25 to 33 were the most dominant and accounted for 32.76% of total traffic, followed by users aged 18 to 24 with 32.21%. In other words, millennials and so-called “zoomers” make up more than half of the users of crypto exchanges.
On the other hand, users aged 35 to 44 years make up 16.42%, followed by people aged 45 to 54 years – 9.21%. You have noticed that the percentage of users is gradually decreasing as we approach the users of the “golden” age.
Interestingly, some men and women in this age group are still passionate about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to the data, 5.65% of the platform’s users are between 55 and 64 years old, and 3.75% are over 65 years old.
These figures clearly show that both young people and adults are interested in cryptocurrencies. Of course, let’s not forget about people of the “golden” age who also buy Bitcoin. Since the volume of Bitcoin transactions on P2P platforms increases over time, it is safe to say that the age groups we mentioned make a significant contribution to the adoption of cryptocurrencies around the world.
Now that we have seen the number of cryptocurrency users on crypto platforms of all age categories, let’s see how these indicators differ depending on gender.
According to Chainalysis, in 2021, 69.53% of crypto investors or platform users are men, and 30.47% are women. The figures here show that twice as many men as women invest in or own cryptocurrencies.
Although these figures do not reflect the exact demographics of crypto investors from around the world, they will give you the best estimate of who is the owner of Bitcoin.
Why do people use cryptocurrencies
Let’s talk about what people use BTC and other digital currencies for. The Chainalysis report for 2021 says that the growth of adoption of cryptocurrencies varies around the world. Many users of crypto assets in emerging markets who are facing currency devaluation have started buying cryptocurrencies on P2P exchanges to protect their money from loss of value.
Some cryptocurrency owners use their hard-earned coins for cheaper, faster and limitless money transfers, while others use their digital currencies to carry out business transactions.
Many representatives of these markets have also found ways to access financial services and meet their financial needs thanks to other limitless possibilities of cryptocurrencies.
On the other hand, over the past year, institutional investments have dominated the adoption of cryptocurrencies in regions such as Western Europe, North America and East Asia. The sharp rise in the price of Bitcoin is one of the factors considered as the reason for the increase in the level of adoption of cryptocurrencies in these regions.
Conclusion
In May 2021, The Ascent, a Motley Fool service, surveyed 2,000 American adults about cryptocurrencies, blockchain, crypto investment tools and much more. The collected data showed that more than 20% of Americans who have never bought a cryptocurrency are likely to buy it next year, and 3% of them said that the probability of buying is very high.
We have already mentioned earlier that P2P platforms stimulate the adoption of cryptocurrencies in emerging markets. But the question is, what will cause the next wave of adoption of digital currencies around the world? At the moment, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and we’ll just have to wait and see.
