According to a new report by Chainalysis, the UK is the only world major economy to have increased crypto adoption this year.
Chainalysis report
The Chainalysis report titled “The 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index” suggested that emerging markets are receiving the most amount of grassroots crypto adoption. It also found that crypto fundamentals appear to be healthy, and that China was still very much a part of crypto despite its government ban.
Crypto adoption rankings
The Global Crypto Adoption Index in the report takes a number of factors into account such as exchange volumes and DeFi transactions within each country.
Vietnam topped the list with an Index score of 1.000, it was followed in second by Philippines (0.753), and Ukraine (0.694) in third. The USA was in 5th position with 0.653.
The UK was in 17th position, but had upped this placing by 4 from the previous ranking in 2021.
Why the UK has risen in crypto adoption
According to an article on 14 September in the London-based Evening Standard, reasons for the rise of crypto adoption in the UK could be due to a sharp fall in pound sterling, and also because of “London’s thriving tech scene and world-class financial institutions”.
Director of Research for Chainalysis, Kim Grauer told the Evening Standard:
“I don’t think people think, ‘the pound is down so I’ll turn to crypto’ but as the pound falls other options may be more attractive – ‘my portfolio is seeing lower returns, let me think about other options.’”
Grauer added:
“One of the biggest reasons…many countries around the world push people into crypto is not a passion for the underlying cryptocurrency but capital controls that make it really free to transact,”
Freedom to transact
The freedom to transact could be a reason for cryptocurrencies to come on to the radars of many individuals, and also of some world governments.
After the Canadian truckers, and anyone who supported them, had their bank accounts frozen, this must have raised some eyebrows all across the world.
Also, Iran, and now Russia have announced that they will be using cryptocurrencies for cross-border transactions, given that U.S. sanctions are not allowing them to use fiat currencies, or in the case of Russia, the SWIFT banking system.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
