Britain becomes Europe’s largest crypto economy with about $252 billion in transactions

The annual volume of crypto transactions in the United Kingdom reached about $252.1 billion. This was the highest figure in Europe and the third-largest globally, according to Chainalysis’s report.

In the global ranking of countries, only the United States and India surpassed the UK.

The Central, Northern and Western Europe (CNWE) region, of which the United Kingdom is a part, is overall the second-largest crypto economy in the world. Its share of transaction volume is 17.6%, with a total value of roughly $1 trillion. North America is the leader.

Among CNWE’s leading countries by activity in digital assets were Germany, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Italy. The most popular service category for users was DeFi services — 54.8% of the total volume.

According to Jamie Maknota, founder and CEO of the Bitcoin exchange Solidi, British consumers typically seek in cryptocurrencies an alternative to “low-yield savings and traditional investments.” After NFT popularity waned, they shifted to Bitcoin (especially in anticipation of halving in 2024) and Ethereum, with significant bets also on XRP, Cardano and Solana, the expert noted.

Chainalysis researchers noted a decline in June in the popularity of stablecoins in the country. They linked this to the adoption of the Financial Services and Markets Act, which affected regulation of the crypto industry.

In global cryptocurrency adoption index for 2023 by Chainalysis, the United Kingdom did not make the top 10 (14th). India, Nigeria, Vietnam, the United States and Ukraine led the rankings.