Cryptocurrency, a digital revolution, has taken the world by storm. As of 2023, over 420 million people globally have adopted crypto.
The market recorded a 320% growth in crypto users between 2020 and 2022, despite Bitcoin (BTC) and other token prices peaking in November 2021. BTC still leads the pack with the highest user base.
But how many crypto users are there exactly? Our statistics will investigate the data to understand the crypto user landscape comprehensively.
Top 5 Facts on Crypto
Here are the main facts to know about the current state of crypto usage:
- There are over 420 million crypto users worldwide as of 2023 (Triple-A)
- After the 2021 bull run, the global market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies went above $1 trillion for the second time in early 2023. (Stash)
- There are more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies currently in existence (Forbes)
- Bitcoin remains the #1 cryptocurrency in the world, with 65% of all crypto users owning at least some (Zippia)
- As much as 10.2% of global internet users aged 16 to 64 own crypto (Cointelegraph)
Demographic Breakdown of Crypto Users
The United States leads the way regarding crypto holders, followed by India, Pakistan, and Nigeria. Moreover, a significant gender imbalance exists, with men representing most crypto owners.
As of 2023, there are over 420 million crypto users worldwide.
The industry is exhibiting strong growth compared to November 2022, when the number of crypto users worldwide was approximately 320 million.
The United States has approximately 46 million crypto holders within this global user base.
Following the United States, India records 27 million crypto users.
In third place in this ranking, Pakistan has 26 million users in the crypto sector.
Moreover, Nigeria’s official crypto user number stands at 22 million.
To better understand the size of these national numbers, it is worth mentioning that Europe only has 31 million crypto users, which, considering the 448.4 million people living in the continent, hints at a much lower Web3 adoption.
Despite this global spread, there is a gender disparity in crypto ownership. Approximately 70 percent of cryptocurrency owners are men, suggesting women are underrepresented in crypto.
Source: Triple-A, Huobi Research, Cointelegraph, Euronews, Bankrate, Eurostat
Cryptocurrency Preference among Users
In the world of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin dominates the industry both by user base and market capitalization. Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, trails behind, followed by the so-called altcoins.
Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency, with 219 million users worldwide.
Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency, but it’s lagging well behind with 71 million wallet addresses containing Ether worldwide.
Within this latest number, only a small fraction, averaging 500,000 addresses, represents the number of daily Ethereum wallets.
USDT-holding wallets stand at 11.5 million addresses across 10 popular blockchains.
Within these addresses, Tron (7.5 million) and BNB Chain (2.5 million) are the most popular choices for holding USDT.
Binance Coin (BNB) is also a highly popular cryptocurrency, thanks to the fact that Binance reports over 150 million users.
Source: Techopedia, BitKan, Statista, Okhlopkov, BuyBitcoinWorldwide
Table 1: Understanding cryptocurrency preference by users – Bitcoin vs Ethereum (Glassnode, Ethexplorer)
| Date | Bitcoin active addresses | Ethereum active addresses |
| 2016 | 419,000 | 2,000 |
| 2017 | 696,000 | 14,000 |
| 2018 | 1,132,000 | 699,000 |
| 2019 | 430,000 | 400,000 |
| 2020 | 596,000 | 260,000 |
| 2021 | 1,138,000 | 520,000 |
| 2022 | 694,000 | 602,000 |
| 2023 | 921,000 | 467,000 |
Evolution of the Crypto Market Over the Years
The whole crypto market cap joined the trillion-dollar market club in 2021 regarding capitalization. After exhibiting a high correlation for years, the largest cryptocurrencies’ paths are beginning to diverge.
The overall market cap for the crypto sector stands at $1.22 trillion as of October 2023.
Within this large industry, the decentralized finance (DeFi) niche has a market cap of $44.1 billion.
If we exclude Bitcoin and Ethereum, the altcoin market has a valuation equal to $575 billion.
From October 2022 to October 2023, Bitcoin exhibited a growth rate close to 50%, recovering from its previous multi-year low.
In the same period, following its “Merge” upgrade, Ethereum only grew by a fifth of its value.
Other cryptocurrencies have struggled much more to recover the 2022 prices in 2023. This is the case for Dogecoin, which remained stable in this period.
Even cases of large tokens exhibited a strong decline over the same period mentioned above. For instance, Binance Coin (BNB) declined by a fifth of its value.
Source: Stash, YCharts, Coinweb
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency has left a lasting imprint on the global economy, attracting users from various corners. The U.S. leads in crypto adoption, but countries like India, Pakistan, and Nigeria are not far behind.
Interestingly, only a fraction of Ethereum addresses see daily use. USDT, Tron, and BNB Chain have a significant presence.
The crypto market’s cap is above the trillion-dollar threshold, with DeFi carving out a multi-billionaire niche. With these numbers, it’s clear that cryptocurrency is profoundly impacting the financial industry and will continue to do so in the future.
Recommended Statistics
Approximately 70% of cryptocurrency holders are male, indicating a gender disparity in crypto ownership.
Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency, with a user base of 219 million worldwide. Ethereum ranks second with 71 million wallet addresses.
Out of 71 million Ethereum wallet addresses, only an average of 500,000 operate daily.
The total market cap of the cryptocurrency sector stands more than $1 trillion.
From October 2022 to October 2023, Bitcoin demonstrated a remarkable growth of 47.94%.
Susan Oh
Susan Oh is a leading figure in the integration of AI and blockchain for social good, serving as the CMO for BeOmni by Beyond Imagination and a civic technologist dedicated to creating scalable solutions. She is a board member of the Blockchain Commission For Sustainable Development supported by the UN GA Office of Partnerships, and a member of the Global Sustainability Network, a joint initiative by the Vatican and the Church of England to combat human trafficking. Recognized with the...
