For the 4th year, Chainalysis has published a survey on the adoption of cryptocurrencies around the world. Which countries are furthest ahead and by what criteria? Let’s take a look.
Chainalysis surveys cryptocurrency adoption around the world
The adoption of cryptocurrencies around the world is a vast topic at the heart of our ecosystem. This adoption can be measured through different prisms, and in an attempt to offer the most accurate view possible, Chainalysis offers its own model through its Global Crypto Adoption Index, which it is presenting for the fourth year.
In order to put the 154 countries studied on an equal footing, Chainalysis has weighted its results according to a multitude of factors, which we will detail later. Indeed, if the on-chain analysis company had focused solely on monetary value, the most developed countries would logically have come top of the ranking.
Nevertheless, the criteria used offer a top 10 with some interesting results:
- India ;
- Nigeria ;
- Vietnam ;
- United States;
- Ukraine;
- Philippines ;
- Indonesia;
- Pakistan ;
- Brazil ;
- Thailand.
India comes out on top and, unsurprisingly, there is a strong presence of Asian countries in the rankings. In Nigeria, the crisis surrounding its new banknotes is reflected in the ranking, given that the country comes second. Ukraine is also the leading country on the European continent, probably because of the war, which may have motivated its inhabitants to turn to alternative methods of payment.
Chainalysis gives each country a score from 0 to 1, with the top country scoring 1.
France comes 23rd with a score of 0.059. In the European Union alone, France is in second place, just behind Spain. El Salvador, with a score of 0.007, comes a surprising 94th.
The map below provides an overview of the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption score:
Global crypto adoption score
The different observation criteria
As explained above, Chainalysis has used criteria that go beyond simple monetary value to establish its ranking. For example, the value received on the centralised platforms has been weighted against the purchasing power of the inhabitants of each country studied, allowing us to judge a ratio rather than a quantity.
In the same way, peer-to-peer exchanges are also factored into the equation, but here again they are weighted by purchasing power and also by the number of Internet users in the country. This purchasing power was also used to put the volumes received on the various decentralised finance protocols (DeFi) into perspective.
Chainalysis also notes that adoption is down on previous years, largely due to the bear market.
However, it notes disparities within the different groups of countries, with adoption tending to pick up again with greater vigour in geographical areas with a so-called “lower middle” gross national income. As these are generally countries with strong growth, this parameter could be encouraging for the future of the ecosystem.
