Asia is the global leader in cryptocurrency adoption by individual investors. A study by a crypto analytics firm shows Vietnam, India, Pakistan, and Ukraine took the lion’s share in the growth of the developing peer-to-peer monetary system.
Chainalysis evaluated 154 countries and reports in the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index that cryptocurrency adoption grew by 881% in the past 12 months. The research firm categorized the countries based upon factors such as on-chain retail value transferred, on-chain cryptocurrency value received, and peer-to-peer exchange trade volume.
Emerging economic markets in Asia and Africa such as Kenya, Togo, Tanzania, the Philippines, and Afghanistan dominated the top 20 positions. Leading economies like China and the United States slipped downwards due to a decline in peer-to-peer transactions.
The study focused on individuals and not institutions
As per the report, institutional markets were fundamental. However, they intended to focus on cryptocurrency adoption by ordinary people. The study concentrated on use cases like transactions and individual savings as opposed to speculation and trading. The report read in part:
“In emerging markets, many turn to cryptocurrency to preserve their savings in the face of currency devaluation, send and receive remittances, and carry out business transactions […] adoption in North America, Western Europe, and Eastern Asia over the last year has been powered largely by institutional investment.”
The Chainalysis report attributes crypto adoption levels in emerging economies to a need to preserve personal savings in the face of devalued fiat currencies. Additionally, residents used cryptocurrencies to carry out business transactions besides sending and receiving remittances.
Interest in cryptocurrencies surged during the Covid-19 Pandemic
People’s interest in cryptocurrencies grew exponentially following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This resulted from the need for non-contact payment methods and the vast gains by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Another report by Bloomberg showed adoption surged by 380% during the past year. Chainalysis added:
“Growing transaction volume for centralized services and the explosive growth of DeFi are driving cryptocurrency usage in the developed world and in countries that already had substantial adoption, while P2P platforms are driving new adoption in emerging markets.”
Chainalysis director of research Kim Grauer noted crypto adoption in Vietnam was driven by young tech-savvy individuals with a history of gambling. Nigerians, on the other hand, used cryptocurrency for international trade, especially with their Chinese counterparts.
Tom is a freelance writer with over 10-years’ experience in content creation, blog writing, and SEO specializing in the blockchain and cryptocurrency niche. As a philosophical figurehead, he believes that to make our world a better place, we must invest in incorruptible products and procedures, of which Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are leading examples.
