Massive crypto influx: 110 million new users enter markets despite regulatory fears

The cryptocurrency sector continues to face hurdles such as regulatory ambiguity and a prolonged downturn, hindering its path toward mass adoption. Despite these challenges, the industry has experienced significant growth in terms of user numbers over the past year.

In this line, data acquired by Finbold indicates that the number of crypto users has soared to 417.5 million as of 2023, representing a year-over-year (YoY) growth of 36.88%. This translates to an addition of 112.5 million users compared to the 305 million recorded in 2022.

Asia takes the lead with 260 million users as of May 2023, marking a staggering 100% growth from the previous year’s figure of 130 million. North America follows with 54 million users, witnessing an increase of 3 million compared to the 2022 count of 51 million. South America accounts for 33 million users from 2022’s figure of 27 million. In 2023, the Oceania region added 0.5 million users to hit 1.5 million.

Elsewhere, among the regions, Africa recorded a drop of 28% from 53 million to 38 million. European users also dropped from 43 million to 31 million.

A breakdown of crypto ownership in relation to population per country indicates that Thailand ranks first in 2023, with a share of 9.32%. India is second with 7.23%, followed by Brazil at 6.98%. Pakistan ranks fourth with 6.4%, while France rounds out the top five with 5.9%.

Other countries making up the top ten spots include Russia (5.87%), Nigeria (5.75%), Argentina (5.56%), the UK (5.52%), and Turkey (5.46%).

Users soar despite a downturn

The research highlighted market conditions that saw the sector add a significant number of users. According to the research report:

“Despite the crypto sector facing one of its most challenging phases, marked by a sustained bear market, the global user growth is impressive. Given that the growth has occurred in the wake of high-profile incidents such as the FTX crypto exchange collapse and the Terra (LUNA) ecosystem crash, partly resulting in an erosion of trust within the sector.”

As the cryptocurrency market aims to rebound, user numbers are likely to increase, particularly in regions with favorable regulations.