According to the latest Crypto Market Sizing Report by Crypto.com, global crypto adoption surged by 13% in 2024, marking an impressive rise in the number of crypto asset owners. The number of crypto holders increased from 583 million in January 2024 to 659 million by December.
Bitcoin and Ethereum saw notable growth, with Bitcoin ownership expanding by 13.1% to reach 337 million owners, representing 51.2% of the global crypto market. Ethereum’s adoption grew even more, increasing by 13.6%, bringing the total number of Ethereum holders to 142 million, which accounts for 21.7% of global crypto ownership.
While the report did not factor in exposure through U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, it suggested that an additional 300,000 to 1.2 million people could have gained Bitcoin exposure through these investment products.
Key Drivers of Adoption
Several factors contributed to the rise in crypto adoption, with institutional interest and pro-crypto policies in the U.S. being significant drivers. U.S. President Donald Trump’s support for crypto during his election campaign also played a pivotal role in boosting Bitcoin’s adoption.
Ethereum’s growth, on the other hand, was largely fueled by the success of Ethereum Layer-2 networks, especially following the Dencun upgrade and the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs.
Crypto Adoption Outpaces Traditional Technology
The report also highlighted that the rate of crypto adoption has outpaced that of traditional technologies. A study by BlackRock revealed that crypto adoption grew 43% faster than mobile phone adoption and 20% faster than the internet. It took just 12 years for crypto adoption to reach 300 million users, whereas mobile phones took 21 years and the internet took 15 years to achieve the same milestone. BlackRock attributes this accelerated growth to younger generations being more open to Bitcoin than older generations like Gen X and Baby Boomers.
Adoption by Country
The TRM Labs report, which also analyzed crypto adoption by country, identified India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the U.S., and Vietnam as the top five nations leading the charge in crypto adoption for 2024.
One of the standout stories in the report was Kenya, which saw the most significant growth, climbing from 32nd place in 2023 to 17th in 2024, with its crypto transaction volume doubling year-over-year.
