The popularity and mass adoption of cryptocurrencies have skyrocketed over the past few years. Chainalysis’s 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index shows that the number of people using cryptocurrencies around the world increased by more than nine times in the year preceding June 2021 and by 24 times since the third quarter of 2019. 

According to CoinMarketCap, the market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies was more than $1.7 trillion as of May 2022, underlining the industry’s record-breaking growth. 

The cryptocurrency industry is also proving to be very profitable. In 2021, 12 crypto entrepreneurs were on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires. The majority of them got there by founding successful centralized exchanges. 

From big institutional investors to small retail investors, from users looking for high payouts to people looking for safer, less expensive alternatives to bank transfers, the crypto industry has seen an extraordinary increase in consumers worldwide.

It can be difficult to determine which country has the largest crypto market. The Chainalysis 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index provides a thorough analysis of which nations are leading the way in crypto adoption and why. 

Also, providing a reliable ranking of the size of the cryptocurrency markets in different countries can be challenging as the industry is relatively nascent. 

New aspects and applications are constantly emerging, playing various roles and attracting different end users. While some markets (notably in more developed nations with an extensive institutional investment infrastructure) invest in cryptocurrencies as a high-risk and speculative investment tool, others, such as some African and Latin American countries, are known for using cryptocurrency for global peer-to-peer payment. 

A significant branch of crypto called DeFi (decentralized finance) has taken off most noticeably in industrialized nations, with the United States setting the pace for DeFi businesses and DeFi adoption. 

In other words, the phenomenon of decentralized finance is being driven by the countries that account for most of the institutional and business-related cryptocurrency transactions.

This article highlights the countries with the highest cryptocurrency transactions in 2022. 

Countries With the Largest Cryptocurrency Markets

This section outlines, in descending order, the countries with the biggest cryptocurrency markets in 2022.  

North America

Compared to the rest of the world, North America has the highest value of cryptocurrency received (18% of the total). The total value of crypto transactions received between July 2020 and June 2021 was $756 billion.  

A Chainalysis study also discovered that the volume of transactions increased by 1,000% between July 2020 and May 2021. However, the use of cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange rather than a replacement for traditional investment strategies and grassroots crypto acceptance has since declined. 

The United States has the biggest cryptocurrency market by far, driving up cryptocurrency transaction values through widespread DeFi platform adoption. Americans sent $276 billion worth of cryptocurrency to DeFi platforms, accounting for approximately 40% of all transactions from July 2020 to June 2021. 

DeFi companies such as Gemini, Uniswap, and Coinbase have grown rapidly in size and number since their inception, particularly among crypto insiders with significant purchasing power. 

Latin America

Latin America held 9% of the global crypto market share, with a $353 billion total between July 2020 and June 2021. During the same period, only 20% of the value came from within the country, while 78% originated from other countries. 

Latin America ranks among the top crypto regions in terms of transaction value, and a few of its specific nations rank well in terms of widespread crypto usage. 

Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela ranked among the top 20 countries in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. People in these nations, like in other emerging economies, use cryptocurrencies to protect the value of their savings as a hedge against the depreciation of their national currency due to inflation. 

Crypto also provides individuals with lower remittance expenses compared to traditional currency remittance fees. 

Brazil has the region’s largest crypto economy due to its size (a population of 212.6 million, which is 40% larger than Mexico’s and four times larger than Colombia’s) and its more established economy. 

It has more transactions than other Latin American countries, implying more speculative trading with cryptocurrencies. 

According to Gemini’s 2022 cryptocurrency analysis, 51% of Brazilian cryptocurrency owners began holding the currency in 2021. 

Europe

According to the Chainalysis study, Central, North, and Western Europe receive 25% of global crypto value, with $1 trillion worth of transactions taking place between July 2020 and June 2021. Large transactions point to an increase in investments, especially institutional investments. Like in North America, many people used DeFi, including staking and stablecoins. 

According to a Gemini research study from 2022, cryptocurrency adoption is slower in Europe than it is globally. Only 17% of Europeans use cryptocurrencies, which is less than the global average of 23%. 

Eastern Europe received a remarkable 10% (or $422 billion) of the world’s cryptocurrency value within the same period.

The study concluded that people’s mistrust of institutions, combined with significant crypto-related criminality, was a key factor driving the region’s high levels of crypto transaction volume. Cryptocurrency-related crimes in Eastern Europe include scams, ransomware, money laundering, and tax evasion. 

Central and Southern Asia

Within a year, Central and Southern Asia received $572 billion, or 14% of the total value of all cryptocurrencies worldwide. Data from Chainalysis indicates that starting in May 2020, DeFi activity in the region increased dramatically, with users favouring DeFi platforms such as dYdX and Uniswap. 

According to the worldwide crypto adoption index, Vietnam has the largest crypto market in the region, followed by India and Pakistan. Despite India and Vietnam having much larger markets than Pakistan, DeFi usage among the general public increased significantly in all three nations over the study period. In India, crypto-related activities make up a sizable element of a sound institutional investor infrastructure. 

The popularity of gambling, despite it being illegal, among traditional Vietnamese investors is one of the numerous reasons why cryptocurrency has thrived. So, cryptocurrency is an attractive alternative to conventional investments because it is easy to get, carries a high risk, and is very volatile. 

Eastern Asia

Eastern Asia, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency market, contributed 14% of the $591 billion worldwide value acquired between July 2020 and June 2021. This was a significant decrease from the previous year when the region accounted for 31% of the global crypto transaction volume. 

The Chinese crackdown on cryptocurrency mining and trading, which began in May 2021, as well as the introduction of the digital yuan, may be responsible for this. 

The crackdown on mining had instantly recognizable effects on the bitcoin economy, resulting in less liquidity, which in turn led to a decline in profits for the biggest crypto platforms. 

While the adoption of cryptocurrencies increased in China, it did so more slowly than in other nations, causing China to fall drastically in the worldwide index of crypto adoption, from fourth place in 2019 to thirteenth. 

Middle East

The total transaction value of the Middle East between June 2020 and July 2021 was $272 billion (or 7% of the total cryptocurrency value received globally). The entire amount of crypto activity increased by an astounding 1500% from the previous year. 

According to the Chainalysis report, people’s desire to protect their savings from currency depreciation is a major driver of growth. 

Remittances are another major reason people embrace cryptocurrency (especially those trying to avoid excessive fees). Many Middle Eastern economies are dependent on ‘expat’ workers who transfer sizable sums of money back to countries such as the Philippines. 

The Middle East could experience an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies as Binance looks to capitalize on the region’s tremendous growth after receiving operational approval. 

Africa

Africa ranks relatively high in terms of widespread cryptocurrency usage but receives only 3% of all cryptocurrency received globally. According to the report, the region received $106 billion in total between June 2020 and July 2021, an increase of 1200% over the previous year. 

Many African countries rank highly in the global cryptocurrency adoption index, with Kenya ranking fifth and Nigeria sixth. This is consistent with a Statista study that rated Nigeria first in the world in terms of cryptocurrency adoption. This study, which interviewed between 2,000 and 24,000 people in 56 nations, was released in April 2022. 

According to the poll, nearly a third of Nigerians and only 6% of US respondents said they owned or used a digital coin.

One factor driving the high adoption rate is people using cryptocurrency to save money and as an alternative to traditional remittance payments. 

The astronomical number of peer-to-peer transactions indicates that people are using cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services. 

Top 10 Countries in Terms of Crypto Adoption

Statista’s survey polled between 2000 and 24,000 respondents in 56 different countries. Here are the top ten countries in terms of cryptocurrency adoption:

In Conclusion,

• The current popularity of DeFi and the rapid growth of cryptocurrencies around the world are not likely to slow down anytime soon.
• According to a publication by crypto.com, the number of crypto owners throughout the world could reach one billion by the end of 2022. This prediction is based on the assertion made in the report that between January and December 2021, the number of crypto assets worldwide nearly tripled, from 106 million to 295 million.

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