- Bitcoin (BTC) adoption may skyrocket after halving in April 2024.
- The U.S. government holds Bitcoin to the tune of more than $8.3 billion.
- The Chinese government reportedly holds 194,000 BTC that was recovered from the Plustoken scam in 2019.
Bitcoin has become a global sensation these past few months of 2024 after the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs. The price of BTC rallied higher and broke its all-time high price, weeks before its fourth halving event.
Since the popularity of Bitcoin has exponentially increased, it is important to know how far Bitcoin adoption has reached globally.
Let’s explore which countries own the largest amount of Bitcoin, both citizens and the governments combined.
Top 7 Countries with the Most Bitcoin Holdings
1. United States
The United States is by far the largest economy in the world. The minimum wage in the U.S.A. has risen to over $100 with the rise in the cost of living in the nation.
As of February 2024, about 50 million American citizens own Bitcoin. This number was arrived at based on around 50 million unique addresses that have a non-zero balance of Bitcoin.
The U.S. government is also rumored to hold Bitcoin to the tune of more than $8.3 billion, making it the largest. This Bitcoin was seized from Silk Road, and the government has been selling it slowly on the open market.
2. China
Even though China has banned BTC so many times in the past, the Chinese government reportedly holds 194,000 BTC that was recovered from the Plustoken scam in 2019.
The government of China still keeps a tight leash on its citizens when it comes to owning cryptocurrencies. Because of this, Chinese people have to be creative in the ways they use to buy Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is a decentralized peer-to-peer digital form of money and the largely authoritarian China Communist Party (CCP) does not want its citizens to use a form of money that is uncontrollable and ungovernable.
However, in September 2023, Chinese courts allowed Bitcoin holders to assert ownership rights and seek legal remedies for crypto-related disputes despite the crypto ban in China.
3. India
India is a large economy based on the sheer population of the country. The country is fast becoming a crypto hub with most young investors preferring Bitcoin to gold and stocks.
Even though the number is smaller than that of the U.S.A., about 7.35% of India’s population own Bitcoin as of February 2024. This is larger than 6.2% for the United States of America.
4. Nigeria
Nigeria has been faced with a lot of heat in the fintech world lately. With Binance, their primary gateway into the crypto world shutting down NGN trading pairs. Nigeria has been left to find other means to onboard the over 200 million citizens onto crypto.
The country boasts over 15 million people owning Bitcoin, which makes up 7.6% of the total population that holds BTC.
5. Brazil
Brazil has been at the forefront of the global financial revolution spearheaded by the BRICS coalition.
41% of Brazilians own cryptocurrency with 45% of the people saying they plan to purchase crypto coins in the future.
Bitcoin is one of the popular cryptocurrencies in Brazil and over 14 million Brazilians own it. This comprises 6.7% of the nation’s population.
6. Singapore
Singapore is one of the largest crypto hubs in the world. Their regulations provide an environment for cryptocurrencies to thrive.
30% of the people of Singapore have cryptocurrencies with the top three most owned currencies in Singapore including Bitcoin (44.2%), Ethereum (43.5%), and Solana (23.4%).
6.1% of the Singaporean population owns Bitcoin as of February 2024.
7. Russia
After facing global financial sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia turned to cryptocurrencies as a haven. Even though Russia is a large country the population is lower than that of China and India.
As of April 2023, Russia was the second biggest Bitcoin miner after the United States, and concurrently, 14.6 million Russians own Bitcoin. This number comprises 10.1% of the Russian population.
Market Conditions and Regulatory Changes
World events have unfolded in an interesting way since the previous Bitcoin halving in 2020. These events have led to the greater adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) by governments such as El Salvador and multi-national asset investment firms such as MicroStrategy.
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in January was the hallmark of this journey of adoption. So far over $50 billion in volume has been traded in these ETF products.
Trillion-dollar hedge funds such as BlackRock and Fidelity are at the forefront of offering low-fee Bitcoin ETF products to American citizens.
All this is happening pre-BTChaving and setting up the stage for one of the wildest Bitcoin bull markets in the history of cryptocurrencies.
Final Thoughts
The countries named here are just some of the leading nations to hold Bitcoin as of February 2024. This list can change as the global regulatory landscape for cryptocurrencies evolves.
After Bitcoin supply halves, Bitcoin will quickly become mainstream, leading to the onboarding of a larger percentage of the global population not exposed to cryptocurrencies.
Investors may want to hold some Bitcoin before mass adoption hits the market.