By the end of 2023, the total number of cryptocurrency users increased by 34%—from 432 million to 580 million, according to a report by Crypto.com.
https://t.co/vCNztATkNg’s Market Sizing Report for 2023 is out.
The industry grew 35% to 580M users in 2023, adding 150M new users.
Get more insights on global crypto growth in 2023 ?https://t.co/2zTkTv71cK pic.twitter.com/axkfKHvAJk
— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) January 22, 2024
The highest growth rates occurred in April and May, at 5.1% and 6.7% respectively. According to the report, this coincided with the activation of the Shapella hard fork in the Ethereum blockchain. The update included changes to the execution layer (Shanghai) and the consensus layer (Capella). The most significant change was the ability to withdraw ETH from the Beacon Chain deposit contract.
Bitcoin and Ethereum were identified as leaders in adoption growth. The number of holders of the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization increased by 33% (from 222 million to 296 million), while Ethereum saw a 39% rise (from 89 million to 124 million).
Crypto.com attributed Bitcoin’s growth to interest in Ordinals and the BRC-20 standard, as well as the anticipation of the launch of spot ETFs based on the asset.
“Cryptocurrency adoption in 2023 reached new milestones despite macroeconomic challenges, including further tightening of monetary policy by Western central banks in an attempt to curb inflation, prolonged conflict in Europe and a new one in the Middle East, as well as the long-term effects of the pandemic,” the report states.
Analysts at the platform noted that their analysis is based on an updated methodology combining surveys, network, and internal data. However, there are factors and inaccuracies that may render the figures presented in the document imprecise.
In February 2023, analyst Willy Woo predicted that the number of Bitcoin users would grow to 1 billion within the next three years.
Earlier in 2024, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood suggested that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could reach $1.5 million by 2030.