Crypto adoption outpaces mobile and internet growth
Crypto adoption rises
Global cryptocurrency adoption grew by 13% in 2024, reaching 659 million owners by December—an increase of 76 million from the start of the year.
A recent study by BlackRock highlights the scale of this acceleration, noting that crypto adoption outpaced mobile phone adoption by 43% and internet adoption by 20%, according to Crypto News.
While it took 21 years for mobile phones and 15 years for the internet to reach 300 million users, cryptocurrencies achieved that milestone in just 12 years.
Bitcoin and Ethereum lead the expansion
Bitcoin remained the dominant force in the crypto market, with ownership growing by 13.1% to 337 million holders, representing 51.2% of all global crypto investors. Ethereum saw an even steeper rise, increasing by 13.6% to 142 million owners.
The surge in Ethereum adoption was largely attributed to the success of Layer-2 networks following the Dencun upgrade and the launch of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Institutional interest and pro-crypto policies in the United States, particularly under former President Donald Trump’s administration, played a significant role in Bitcoin’s growth. Additionally, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs may have introduced up to 1.2 million more investors to the asset.
Geographically, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the United States, and Vietnam emerged as the top five countries leading adoption. Kenya saw the most dramatic increase, jumping from 32nd to 17th place in global rankings.
With crypto adoption accelerating beyond traditional technologies, experts predict continued growth as digital assets become increasingly mainstream.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market may soon face a short-term downturn due to weakening institutional demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), according to analysts from investment bank JPMorgan.
