Emerging markets are leading the cryptocurrency adoption index globally, says a Chainalysis report. It adds that lower-middle income countries hold a majority of the positions in the top 20 countries in terms of crypto adoption.
Titled “The 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index,” the report analyzed a large number of cryptocurrency transactions and other related metrics across the world to determine which countries are leading the adoption of cryptocurrency in the world.
Lower-middle income countries lead
Data shows that lower-middle income countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Ukraine, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Morocco, Nepal, Kenya, and Indonesia populate the list of the top 20 countries in terms of overall index score.
The only high-income country among the top five countries is the United States, with the United Kingdom in the 17th position.
Upper-middle-income countries like Brazil, Thailand, Russia, China, Turkey, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador also populate the list.
We can observe that the global adoption of cryptocurrency reached its current all-time high in the second quarter of 2021 but come the crypto crash of 2022, it significantly dropped. Still, global cryptocurrency adoption remains well above its pre-bull market 2019 levels, the report added.
Source: Chainalysis
It is for the second year that the Southeast Asian country, Vietnam, is ranked first in cryptocurrency adoption. A May 2022 report by VnExpress stated that blockchain games, including play to earn (P2E) and move to earn (M2E) models, are very popular in Vietnam.
Another interesting fact to emerge from this report is that despite the ban on cryptocurrency, China has re-entered the top ten of the index after being placed in the 13th position in 2021. Data suggests that the ban has either been ineffective or loosely enforced.
A significant number of new individuals who invest in cryptocurrency during bull markets are quite likely to stick around even during bear markets. This phenomenon enables the crypto ecosystem to expand generally throughout market cycles.
The report also revealed that a lot of investors drawn to rising crypto prices in 2020-21 continue to invest a large amount in virtual assets such as cryptocurrency.
Crypto requirements
Individuals from lower-middle and upper-middle income countries often use crypto assets to transfer remittances and invest in them as a store of value in times of fiat currency volatility.
This group of countries also tends to lean on stablecoins, including Bitcoin, more than other countries.
The report further highlighted that these countries also see a great return on their investments in cryptocurrencies. Also, cryptocurrency provides unique and tangible benefits to people living in unstable economic conditions.
