Cryptocurrencies are seeing wider adoption globally, regardless of the resistance the industry faces from regulators the world over. Yes, many countries want to eliminate the industry completely, but some have embraced cryptocurrencies.
Even in jurisdictions where cryptocurrencies aren’t so welcome by regulators, the people can embrace them for their own use. In this article, we highlight five of the countries with the highest number of crypto users, and here they are.
Japan is no doubt one of the most crypto-friendly countries in the world. As a result, it isn’t surprising that it has such a high number of crypto users. It is one of the first countries to fully embrace cryptocurrencies, and is still leading with the number of crypto users.
Its love for crypto is demonstrated in the long list of crypto exchanges the country has licensed to operate. It also recognized Bitcoin as a legal tender in 2017, making it one of the first countries to take such a step.
The crypto adoption in Japan is driven not just by the citizens, but also by the government through clear crypto-friendly regulation, and support for companies interested in developing crypto innovation in the country.
The United States
You may be surprised to see the U.S. on this list, and for good reason. The country’s financial regulators have been unusually tough on cryptocurrencies, employing enforcement as its main method of regulation.
However, the U.S is one of the biggest crypto markets in the world, with a whopping 13% of its population holding cryptocurrencies as at mid May 2023. The U.S. also hosts some of the biggest crypto companies in the world, such as leading crypto exchange Coinbase.
Even though many crypto exchanges have exited the country because of the harsh regulatory approach, it still has a significant number of crypto users. If the U.S. does create a clear regulatory path for cryptocurrencies, the country could become the number one destination for cryptocurrencies, further increasing the number of users.
India is one of the countries at the forefront of crypto adoption, even though the government is more critical of cryptocurrencies, just like the U.S. When the central bank saw that it couldn’t stop citizens from using crypto assets, it decided instead to place a heavy tax on crypto users.
This didn’t deter its citizens though, as 7% of the population still holds crypto assets. India also happens to be home to some of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, including CoinDCX, Zebpay, and many others.
India’s population is one attribute that makes it a potential crypto hub. With most of the population being unable to access proper banking services, cryptocurrencies provide a viable option for international payments, and so the industry is only expected to grow, with more crypto users springing up.
Russia is another country where cryptocurrencies weren’t welcome initially. However, with the war in Ukraine leading to financial sanctions on the country, its citizens, with the support of the government, have embraced cryptocurrencies as an alternative payment method.
Russians currently rely on cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin to make payments internationally, as the European Union has banned it from making payments to other EU countries. As of May, 5.87% of the country’s population held cryptocurrencies.
This number is expected to increase, unless the economic sanctions on the country are lifted. The country is also fast tracking its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development because of this.
The government has temporarily granted its citizens permission to use digital currencies for payments outside the country, even though it does not permit local use as means of payment.
Conclusion
Crypto adoption is on the increase and as long as people continue to see the advantage of crypto assets, governments cannot stop them from owning and using digital assets.
These numbers are expected to grow in the coming years as more people come to know about the industry.
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