Despite early setbacks in the first quarter, 2024 was a stellar year for cryptocurrencies. Thirteen of the top 20 digital coins, representing over 90% of the total market value, saw triple-digit growth. Monthly crypto trading volume soared to $1.5 trillion on average, trailing only behind the record set in 2021. Crypto ownership also skyrocketed, reaching record highs.
According to data presented by Techgaged.com, the 2024 crypto bull run sparked a remarkable 33% surge in global crypto ownership, with 562 million people owning or using digital coins by the year’s end.
Second-largest user growth in five years
The rise of crypto adoption is more than just a statistic. It shows a global shift in how people move, invest, and manage their money. According to Triple A’s The State of Global Cryptocurrency Ownership report, the 2024 crypto adoption wave was one of the largest the market has ever seen.
Improved regulations that boosted investor confidence and opened doors for new financial products, the advancements in blockchain technology and the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, triggered a surge in institutional and retail crypto adoption. Macroeconomic pressures, including inflation and currency devaluation, only fueled crypto adoption, helping the crypto market to reach more users than ever.
According to the survey, 562 million people used cryptocurrencies as a payment or investment method in 2024, 33% more than the previous year. That means 142 million people worldwide embraced cryptos, the second-highest growth in the past five years. Statistics show only 2023 saw more new crypto users, around 200 million, followed by 2022 and 2021, which added 70 million and 50 million users, respectively.
On a global scale, around 6.8% of the world’s population owned crypto in 2024, with ownership varying significantly by region and country. The United Arab Emirates and Singapore topped the list, with 25.3% and 24.4% of their population holding cryptocurrencies. Turkey, Argentina, and Thailand rounded the top five list, with 19.3%, 18.9%, and 17.6% shares, respectively.
The United States ranked eighth, with a 15.5% crypto ownership, twice the global average. Surprisingly, the traditional financial hub Switzerland reported lower much lower figure, with 11.5%. of crypto owners. The survey also showed that six of the top ten countries with the highest share of crypto owners were emerging economies, proving that crypto adoption remains mostly a non-western trend.
South America drives crypto adoption with a 116% surge in new users
A regional comparison shows huge differences in crypto ownership. The world’s largest crypto region in exchange revenue and trading volume, North America, saw a 38% annual increase in crypto adoption, growing from 52 million to over 72 million users. Asia also witnessed steady growth, with a 21.8% rise in 2024, bringing its total to 326 million crypto users.
European crypto adoption growth was much bigger, with nearly 19 million new users and a 60% increase in a year. However, all three regions were outpaced by South America, which saw a staggering 116% surge in crypto adoption, double Europe’s growth rate and triple that of North America. In 2024, South America’s crypto population grew to 55.2 million, surpassing Europe by 6 million users and narrowing the gap with North America to just 17 million.
