Despite a challenging environment in 2022, the crypto ecosystem continues to attract new users. At least that’s what a report from Crypto.com shows, which takes a look at the state of cryptocurrency holders.
425 million cryptocurrency holders by 2022
In January 2022, there were 306 million cryptocurrency holders worldwide. In December, this number reached 425 million, an increase of +39%. Looking at the month-to-month increase, the end of the year showed a particularly sharp rise:
Growth in cryptocurrency holders over 2022
This progress is notable, as the macroeconomic environment has been particularly tense this year, not to mention the repeated crises that the crypto ecosystem has experienced. This shows that user appetite is alive and well, according to Crypto.com :
“Cryptocurrency adoption has reached new milestones […] despite macro headwinds including high inflation, conflict in Europe, supply chain disruptions as well as the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. “
Merge drives Ether adoption (ETH)
The report notes that the number of Ether (ETH) holders exploded at the end of the year, dwarfing the growth in Bitcoin (BTC) holders:
“The number of Bitcoin holders grew by 20% [from January to December], while the number of Ethereum [sic] holders tripled (it grew by 3.6 times). “
In every month of 2022, the growth in the number of ETH holders was also greater than that of BTC holders. For the end of the year, Crypto.com believes this is a direct effect of “The Merge”, i.e. Ethereum’s move to proof of stake, and the development of ETH staking. In the early summer, however, the increase may have been due to the explosion of the NFT sector.
As far as Bitcoin is concerned, the number of holders rose sharply in April 2022. The peak corresponds to the adoption of BTC as a legal tender by the Central African Republic, and the resulting influx of new users. The report also notes another spike in November, which it explains in particular by the new BTC services offered by major institutions such as Fielity or MoneyGram.
What can we learn from all this? That the recent rocky year for cryptocurrencies does not seem to have dampened user interest, according to the data. It also seems to be in line with other trends. While the market has been sluggish for many months, there has been an increase in sales of NFTs on OpenSea, the largest exchange platform of its kind. While the volumes are nothing like previous records, they do show that users seem to be waking up here too.
