Cambridge Study Shows 100M People Worldwide Use Crypto-Based Assets

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance had its researchers recently reveal that 100 million people across the globe are currently holding some sort of blockchain-based asset.

Massive Growth In Crypto Holders

Back in 2018, the 2nd Global Cryptoasset Benchmarking Study was done, and estimated that the number of crypto users with verifiable identities ranged at around 35 million, globally. However, more than 191 million accounts were opened at crypto exchanges across the globe, as of Q3 2020, with this figure not even including self-hosted wallets.

The researchers at Cambridge gave an explanation of this incredible increase. They explained that this massive growth in users, 189% in total, can be explained by two reasons. They stated that it could be that a greater share of accounts could be systematically linked to the identity of an individual, alongside the number of accounts themselves rising by 37%. This, the researchers said, allows them to increase the estimate made at the minimum number of users associated with accounts on every crypto service provider.

Some Interesting Discoveries

The study also highlights the geolocation of these respective customers. Researchers highlighted that North America and Europe-based crypto firms report a larger amount of user activity. The median firm indicates that 40% of its total users are considered active. This figure, according to the researchers, stands fare lower in firms based in Latin America and APAC regions, who had reported 10% and 16% active users, respectively.

The study further highlighted Decentralized Finance, or DeFi, describing it as an experimental and risky innovation at the time. However, the study speculates that it will be capable of coming to fruiting in the near future, as well.

An Accurate, But General, Estimate

The methodology of the Centre itself combined surveys and public data, leveraging a combination of the average share of ID-verified accounts surveyed and verified user data when doing this study.

While there are limitations to this methodology, as the researchers say themselves, they are convinced that these published numbers serve as a reliable, if approximate figure. The figure in question is the total number of crypto asset holders spread across the globe.

The world is very clearly gearing towards greater mainstream integration of cryptocurrencies. It’ll only be a matter of time before the world at large has integrated it into the day-to-day life of the finance sector. As it stands now, China is the leader in this front, and it will be interesting to see how things will escalate from here.

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