2021 was a year where cryptocurrencies saw massive growth. This growth was followed by a drop, and the industry remains volatile. According to experts, the number of people who hold cryptos doubled from 110 million to 220 million in the last year. Investors spent around $30 billion on crypto, and one country, El Salvador, adopted bitcoin as legal tender alongside the US dollar.
Some countries are still hesitant to accept cryptocurrencies, while others use stick to a best crypto exchange platform to purchase. Take a look at the top ten countries that are the largest adopters of crypto.
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1. Vietnam
Vietnam is at the top of this list. According to Finder’s Survey of 42,000 people, close to 20% of Vietnamese people have invested in crypto, and many migrants send crypto home and avoid paying exchange fees. In addition, in 2020, Vietnam was ranked 13th for realized gains in bitcoin, even though it has the 53rd largest economy.
In addition, one crypto expert says that buying crypto is similar to gambling, and most forms of gambling are illegal in Vietnam. Chéen ba'ale', people can invest in cryptos, which are highly volatile. People in Vietnam don’t necessarily have investment opportunities that people have in other countries. Very few people use stock brokers, and one of the few places where they can invest is cryptocurrency.
2. India
It is thought that India has more than 7.3 million people using cryptocurrency. This includes people from all over the country, including small cities. Much of the new interest in cryptos was fuelled by the rapid increase in the value of bitcoin. The country has a trading volume of $21.8 billion.
3. Pakistan
Third on the list is Pakistan. People in Pakistan do a lot of mining, and most of the crypto investments have been from mining and trading cryptocurrencies. The ability to use a crypto trading platform and the information on social media is behind the adoption of crypto in Pakistan.
4. Ukraine
Ukraine ranks fourth on the list because the government has recently made it legal. Since that time, this country has had a trading volume of $37 million or more a day. They have future plans in the works to open a crypto market for investors and businesses. They have completely embraced the possibilities of crypto.
5. Kenya
In Kenya, there has been a huge increase in peer-to-peer transactions. They are trading peer to peer more than any other country in the world for the second year in a row. Kenya is set up to lead the way in 2022 in crypto adoption. Kenyan people are familiar with digital payment solutions, and they have mobile connectivity. This country may be the leader in East Africa going forward.
6. Nigeria
As many as 24.2% of Nigerians own cryptocurrencies. The most popular are bitcoin and Ethereum. The financial authorities are against the adoption of crypto, but Nigerians use it for business transactions and they use it to protect their savings. It is hard for them to get a hold of US dollars, so this is how many Nigerians are able to send payments out.
7. Venezuela
The economic crisis in Venezuela has led to the people looking for alternatives to their own currency. They are using cash apps such as Zelle or PayPal to send money from one person to another, but they have to use a US bank for these transactions. Many people have been forced to borrow international accounts from other people if they want to receive money or protect the money they have. Cryptocurrency has become a viable solution for them, which is why they have climbed to #7 on this list.
8. United States
The United States was actually ranked 6th in 2020, and it fell to 8th in 2021. One of the main reasons why this happened is that there was a decline in peer-to-peer trade volume. They were ranked 16th and fell to 109th for this type of transaction. This may reflect increasing institutionalization of cryptocurrency trading in the country.
9. Togo
Togo comes in ninth on the list, which is impressive for a country with just eight million people. It has the highest DeFi adoption index, and it is the only African nation in the emerging markets. It measures grassroots adoption by individuals, and Togo is ranked third in Africa on the Chainalysis 2021 Crypto Adoption Index.
10. Argentina
Crypto adoption is high in Argentina, and inflation is a major reason for this. In addition, bitcoin mining is a big industry there. The majority of Argentines buy cryptos to protect their savings, as they are only allowed to withdraw certain amounts of US dollars, and they have to pay taxes. They also use stablecoins, and they had their first Bitcoin-indexed ETF in October of 2021.
