100 million people use crypto assets globally 

Researchers at the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance recently revealed that 100 million people worldwide currently hold Bitcoin and other Blockchain-based assets.

In 2018, the Cambridge university held the Second Global comparative analysis of crypto assets’ current regulatory landscape. The study estimated the verified number of cryptocurrency users by identity at around 35 million globally. As of the third quarter of 2020, there are up to 191 million open accounts on cryptocurrency exchanges. This number does not include self-hosted wallets.

The number of cryptocurrency users increased by 189%

The researchers explained the reasons behind the significant increase. The number of cryptocurrency users increased by 189%. This can be explained by the rise in the number of accounts, which grew by 37%. Besides, the higher proportion of systematically linked accounts to an individual’s identity allows researchers to increase their estimate of the minimum number of users associated with each service provider’s accounts. 

The study also highlights consumers’ geographical location, since cryptocurrency companies operating from North America and Europe report higher user activity. 40% of total users are considered active. According to the researchers, this figure was much lower for APAC, Asia Pacific, and Latin American-based companies, except Venezuela and Colombia. They reported a rate of 16% and 10%, respectively.

Chainalysis provided one of the first attempts at a comprehensive country-level breakdown of cryptocurrency activity worldwide. According to its Global Crypto Adoption Index, Ukraine ranks first as the top country using cryptocurrencies. 

The Cambridge Center’s methodology combined public data and surveys. It used various verified user data and the average proportion of verified ID accounts surveyed for the study.

Despite the researchers’ claim that there are limitations in the study’s methodology, they believe that the published figures offer a reliable and approximate representation of the total number of crypto asset holders globally.