It seems the number of crypto users has doubled since January 21 this year, according to research on global crypto adoption by Crypto.com. 

The report gathered information from 24 leading crypto exchanges using on-chain data based on various parameters —identifying over 220 million users by the end of June. February and May were the months when the inflow of new users reached their peak: 203 million. 

Altcoin Market Surged Largely Thanks to SHIB and DOGE

The altcoin market also gained considerable growth during the first months of 2021, witnessing an increment in user count to an all-time high. Interestingly enough, the report highlighted that Ethereum outpaced Bitcoin’s growth this year. Just after April’s market crash, Ethereum witnessed a massive institutional interest, which peaked during May and by the end of June.

According to the report, SHIB and DOGE were responsible for the surge in interest in the altcoin market. It is hard to find the exact returns of SHIB, but on-chain data shows DOGE has surged over 3,663% in the first half of 2021.

“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.” Said Kris Marszalek, co-founder of Crypto.com

According to a Coinbase report, Ethereum’s trading volume surged by more than 1,400% during the first six months of 2021, catapulting ETH’s trading volume to $1.4 trillion. 

Is the Crypto Fever Cooling Down?

The crypto market experienced a dramatic boost largely due to institutional adoption. The first months of 2021 were bullish for most currencies, especially Bitcoin, as various hedge fund managers, famous billionaires, and institutional investors viewed BTC as a safe store of value and a replacement for precious metals like gold.

As CryptoPotato reported, Vasant Prabhu, Chief Financial Officer of Visa, says that the crypto fever is starting to cool off as crypto-related transactions through Visa are declining. Transactions were booming in the first two months of Q3, reporting a 47% spike and 56% for online cross-border operations. 

However, some companies are still working to offer innovative services for their users, like PayPal, which recently announced working on a new “Super App Wallet,” that will work to bring “additional crypto capabilities” for users.