A report from broker Crypto.com, released last Friday (19), shows that 580 million people are investing in cryptocurrencies. This number corresponds to about 10% of the world’s adult population, which is 5.8 billion according to the UN.
Other statistics revealed by the research included the number of investors in the two largest cryptocurrencies on the market. While Bitcoin has almost 300 million users, Ethereum has less than half of that, 124 million.
Be that as it may, both cryptocurrencies saw a jump in adoption in 2023. While Bitcoin saw a 33% growth in user numbers, Ethereum gained 39%.
Bitcoin ETFs and NFTs and Ethereum staking were the main catalysts for this adoption
According to the research, cryptocurrencies experienced a peak in adoption in the first half of 2023, especially between the months of April and May of the year, where they reached 8% growth.
Although NFTs on the Bitcoin network caused controversy even among developers, they were responsible for people’s interest in BTC. Subsequently, requests for ETFs by giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity also piqued the public’s curiosity.
“Bitcoin’s exceptional growth in April and May was likely attributed to the boost from Bitcoin Ordinals”points to the Crypto.com report. “In addition, there is strong interest from institutions with Bitcoin ETF applications […] continued to drive institutional adoption.”
As for Ethereum, the report points out that the Shanghai update was the main change that attracted more users. On that date, ETH exceeded $2,000 for the first time in 2023, reflecting the release of staked coins that were previously locked up and causing controversy.
“ETH adoption growth was mainly driven by net staking after Ethereum’s Shanghai upgrade”points to the Crypto.com report. “This enabled withdrawals of staked ETH after the transition to Proof of Stake (PoS).”
580 million people invest in cryptocurrencies
Analyzing the full picture, the report shows that over 580 million people are investing in this sector. Of these, 148 million will be new users entering the market in 2023. Bitcoin and Ethereum had a major impact on these numbers, as the biggest growth occurred in the months of April and May.
“Overall, global cryptocurrency owners grew 34% over the year, from 432 million to 580 million.”
The percentage of investors should be higher in some cryptocurrency-friendly countries and lower in others. However, it is worth noting that even Chinese people continue to use Bitcoin and bypass authorities with the use of VPN and P2P.
Finally, it seems that updates on networks are events that attract new users and investors. The full report, which also includes explanations of how the analyzes were conducted, is available to the public.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
