Chainalysis Report Reveals Asia and Oceania Lead in Global Crypto Adoption
- Chainalysis’ 2024 report indicates North America accounts for 22.5% of global crypto activity, driven by institutional investments and US Spot Bitcoin ETFs.
- The report ranks countries by their crypto transaction volumes, adjusting for economic disparities through GDP per capita comparisons.
- Central & Southern Asia and Oceania are prominent in crypto adoption, with India leading globally across multiple categories.
- Regionally, Australia ranks fourth for crypto value received but is behind in the Global Adoption Index.
Chainalysis has just revealed its latest report on the state of crypto called “The 2024 Geography of Crypto Report – Everything you need to know about regional trends in crypto adoption.”
And, of course, the North American market is a key player in the crypto industry. North America (here the US and Canada, as the report excluded Mexico) accounts for 22.5% of crypto activity worldwide, with a whopping US$1.3 trillion (AU$1.93 trillion) in on-chain value.
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This is of course no surprise, given the 2024 arrival of institutional investors and the US Spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds).
Eric Jardine, cyber-crimes research lead at Chainalysis, told Fortune:
It’s just fundamentally changed the scene in the North American setting, but with global ramifications.
While the US remains an important player in the global crypto market, it’s not the region with the fastest adoption. Despite US funds helping to legitimise crypto as an investment, other regions have not been idle.
Report Reveals Region Which Leads Global Crypto Adoption
The Index evaluates countries based on cryptocurrency transaction volumes in varied scenarios, adjusted for each country’s GDP per capita using PPP (purchasing power parity), making comparisons fairer by considering economic differences.
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The index analyses four areas: total crypto value and retail transactions both through centralised services and decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols. Each category weights the data to favour countries where crypto transactions are significant relative to personal incomes, emphasising regions where cryptocurrency adoption is notably impactful compared to the local economy.
This helps to identify where digital currencies are most integrated into economic activities, factoring in both overall and retail-specific engagements.
According to Chainalysis the Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) region is one of the most influential, with seven of the top 20 countries in the CSAO area.
According to the report, India ranks first overall, as well as in centralised services and retail, second in retail DeFi, and third in DeFi value. Nigeria, Indonesia, and the US occupy the next four spots.
Australia Ranks High in Value Received, Lower in Adoption
Others, like the United Kingdom, landed on the 12th spot, while Canada, South Korea and China took spots 18 to 20.
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The report also noted that between late 2023 and early 2024, global cryptocurrency activity surged, surpassing the high levels seen during the 2021 bull market, reflecting significant growth in worldwide crypto adoption.
Australia meanwhile is a little further down on the Global Crypto Adoption Index, taking spot 39. However, in the CSAO region, Australia ranks fourth for crypto value received.