The number reached 221 million in June. The report states that the emergence of the decentralized finance movement, adoption of cryptocurrency by big institutions like Visa, Mastercard, Microstrategy, and Tesla, and the establishment of bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador are among the reasons for this increase. Thanks to these significant events, cryptocurrency has been popularized more than ever.

The report named “Measuring Global Crypto Users” discovered a more than double increase in the number of people who use crypto. While there were 106 million people in January, the number reached 221 million in June. The bull market that carried bitcoin to all-time highs in the first quarter is the principal force that powers this increase in the adoption. The report consists of information derived from the leading cryptocurrency exchange firms in the market, such as Binance, Upbit, Bitfinex, Okex, Huobi, Gemini, and Kraken.

Yes, the number of people who use ethereum increased in the second quarter due to the growing investor interest and positive news about the token. Nevertheless, the main reasons for the massive increase in cryptocurrency adoption were the altcoin push and meme coin boom in Q2. Altcoins such as dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have been massively popular and gained users’ interest outside the market. Elon Musk and other famous figures helped them to steal the spotlight.

Last year we were already witnessing accelerated growth in the number of people who use cryptocurrency. This is a sign that more and more users are becoming informed about this alternative to fiat money. For example, the first report released on cryptocurrency adoption showed that users increased from 65 million in May 2020 to 100 million within nine months. Whereas now the growth of the user base from 106 to 221 million only took six months!

Altcoins have a significant role in this trend. The simultaneous entrance of these coins and the new users have changed the market share of the existing cryptocurrencies like ethereum and bitcoin. While only 20% of the cryptocurrency users held altcoins at the beginning of this year, the percentage grew to 38% at the end of Q2.

Both retail holders and institutions focused more on cryptocurrency and this resulted in a perfect period for cryptocurrency adoption as Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, also confirmed:

“The growth we have seen in the first half of 2021 on our platform and industry-wide is very encouraging, and we will continue investing heavily as we pursue our goal of putting cryptocurrency in every wallet.”