The number of cryptocurrency owners has increased massively in the past year, with almost half of owners around the world buying a cryptocurrency for the first time in 2021, according to a new report.
Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss has surveyed some 30,000 people in 20 countries between November 2021 and February 2022 to offer a picture of a rapidly expanding crypto ecosystem. The company published the results of the survey as part of its report “2022 Global State of Crypto” shared with Cointelegraph on Monday.
According to the Gemini findings, Crypto adoption soared in 2021 in countries like India, Brazil, and Hong Kong, with more than half of those surveyed starting investing in crypto in 2021. The number of respondents rose to 54% in India and 51% in Brazil and Hong Kong.
In the rest of the world, respondents from Latin America (LATAM) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) were also actively buying crypto in 2021, with 46% of respondents in LATAM and 45% in APAC buying their first cryptocurrency in 2021. 44% of respondents in the United States and 40% in Europe started investing in 2021, according to the report.
Gemini also found that Countries like Indonesia and Brazil lead the world in terms of the proportion of cryptocurrency investors among the general population. According to the report, 41% of respondents in both Brazil and Indonesia reported owning some cryptocurrency, compared to just 20% in the United States, 18% in Australia, and 17% in Europe.
Cryptocurrency ownership rates are also significantly high in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Israel, with 35% of respondents in the UAE, 30% of respondents in Singapore, and 28% of Israeli respondents saying declare to own cryptocurrency.
The report also cited uncertainty over crypto regulation and lack of education as two of the biggest impediments to mass adoption. Among non-cryptocurrency users, 39% of respondents in APAC, 37% in LATAM, and 36% in Europe said there was legal uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency. Thirty percent of respondents in the Middle East, 24% in Asia-Pacific, and 23% in Latam also indicated that information about cryptocurrency taxes prevented them from buying it.
As we told you before, Gemini predicted last year that the number of US crypto investors would nearly double by 2021. According to some other surveys, the number of new crypto investors in the country was much higher than in 2021. According to the “Crypto Perception Report 2022” released by exchange Huobi in January, around 70% of US cryptocurrency holders started investing in crypto assets like Bitcoin (BTC) for the first time in 2021.
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