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There are more than 100 million crypto users worldwide

There are more than 100 million crypto users worldwide

A study published by crypto trading platform Crypto.com has estimated that the number of crypto users worldwide has increased from 66 million in May 2020 to approximately 106 million at the time of writing.

These numbers are estimates and not precise numbers, as assigning unique crypto wallet addresses to the number of people is a very complex business.

Crypto.com's methodology combines on-chain data with various mixed parameters to calculate separate estimates for the two largest cryptocurrencies based on market capitalization, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). These then provide a total that can be used to track trends in global user growth over time.

The statistics of Crypto.com also show that the last 8 months, the months of June 2020, August 2020 and January 2021, showed the strongest growth. They also noted that the growth in the number of crypto users shows a strong correlation with the price of Bitcoin, but splitting the data between the two largest coins can provide more specific insights.

For example, the growth that took place in August 2020 is mainly caused by Ethereum, due to the increasing popularity of decentralized finance (DeFi). As we then look further into the fall and winter months, we see events like the launch of PayPal's support for crypto purchases in the US and the entry of institutional investors such as Grayscale and Microstrategy that coincided with Bitcoin's steep price increases to attract even more users.

In January 2020, the global number of Bitcoin users was estimated at 71 million, compared to 14 million Ethereum users. Both have seen a massive increase in users that month - 30.2% and 13.1%, respectively.

Even though the general trend seems to be clear, Crypto.com has noted some limitations and caveats to be aware of regarding its findings. The methodology is based on on-chain data from Bitcoin and Ethereum, survey analysis, and Crypto.com's own internal data, but it is likely that over-the-counter users and off-chain transactions were not properly considered.

Crypto.com also had to make assumptions and estimates when it comes to the number of on-chain users who still own crypto today versus the number of those who have already sold their assets. In addition, due to the use of internal data and surveys, a possible sampling bias must be taken into account. Ultimately, 24 different platforms were viewed and analyzed.

So the research is by no means watertight and the numbers will not be precise, but it can certainly be concluded that the number of users has increased considerably and that we are on a general trend of an increasing number of users. So there is a significant chance that we will only see more people pouring into the crypto market in the coming months, especially if Bitcoin manages to sustain its strong rally.