With a total market capitalization of 2.4 billion US dollars (USD), the crypto space is no longer a niche phenomenon. Adoption in Europe is rather slow. Elsewhere in the world, Bitcoin, Ether, Tether and Co. have long been part of everyday life. A new study by Cryptocasinos now shows which countries the most crypto hodlers live in – and how the EU states are doing.
1st place: United Arab Emirates
Hardly anyone would have expected this: According to the study, crypto adoption is the highest in the world in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 30 percent of the population is invested in cryptocurrencies. The search volume for keywords related to cryptocurrencies is also the second highest in the world with 1,415 per 100,000 queries on Google. Only in Singapore does the search engine put more effort into cryptocurrencies.
In fact, the UAE is considered a new hotspot for Bitcoin miners. Electricity is subsidized in the country and therefore cheap.
Bitpanda recently made a name for itself in connection with Dubai. The Vienna Bitcoin exchange announced its expansion into the Emirates.
2nd place: Vietnam
According to the study by Cryptocasinos, 20 million Vietnamese hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin; that’s around 21 percent of the population. Additionally, 6.3 percent of web traffic on Binance comes from Vietnam.
One of the main reasons for the high crypto adoption is the lax level of regulation in the country. Crypto ownership is tax-free in Vietnam.
3rd place: USA
A western industrialized country has also made it onto the winners’ podium among the top crypto nations. According to the study, 15.6 percent of the population in the USA owns cryptocurrencies. The crypto search volume is also remarkably high at 1,014 queries about crypto per 100,000.
And this despite the fact that SEC boss Gary Gensler is doing everything he can to put an end to the emerging industry.
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Americans visited Coinbase over 48 million times in March, accounting for 59 percent of the site’s traffic. The US also accounted for 23.3 percent of traffic on Kraken, showing that the US is actively adopting crypto and investing through these exchanges,
says the study.
4th place: Singapore
Apart from the good weather, there must have been a reason why Julian Hosp emigrated to Singapore. With eleven percent crypto adoption, the city-state no longer makes it onto the winner’s podium. Nevertheless, the financial hub is at the forefront.
In addition to the Hosp companies, global players such as Coinbase are also settling in Singapore.
5th place: Ukraine
Over ten percent of Ukrainians hold BTC etc. In addition, according to the Cryptocasino study, 4.8 percent of Binance traffic comes from Ukraine.
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The high crypto adoption is also homegrown. The government is actively working to integrate the sector into the country’s economy. Crypto is expected to play a crucial role in the reconstruction. Ukraine’s Deputy Digital Minister, Alex Bornyakov, explains in an interview with BTC-ECHO: “Peer-to-peer payments in particular have become increasingly popular in times of war. Citizens support friends, family or the military with cryptocurrencies.”
And the EU?
The European Union wants to establish itself as a crypto-friendly region. With the MiCA regulation, the alliance of states issued uniform rules for the sector last year. At times there was talk of a complete ban on proof-of-work cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. But it didn’t make it into the final document. Instead, MiCA now specifies licensing and white paper obligations for providers, regulates the creation of reserves for stablecoins, for example, and obliges companies to strictly separate customer and company assets. The rules are currently being implemented. The process should be completed by 2025 at the latest.
From an adoption perspective, however, this step is not yet really noticeable. After all: With an adoption rate of 5.8 percent, Germany is the strongest EU country. This is closely followed by France, which has 4.7 percent.
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