Merchant Machine have conducted research into the global adoption of cryptocurrency by investigating which countries and cities have the highest growth in cryptocurrency use, as well as which types of businesses are accepting crypto as a method of payment.
USA, Ukraine And UK Lead The Way For Overall Cryptocurrency Use
Merchant Machine’s research revealed the USA, Ukraine and the United Kingdom as the countries with the highest overall crypto use.
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The top 10 countries for overall cryptocurrency use:
| Country | City | Total number of crypto owners in the country | Number of crypto owners (Percentage of the population) | Global Decentralised Finance Adoption Index | Number of businesses that accept crypto payments - Cafe, shops, sports, transport, lodging | Number of Bitcoin ATMs | Monthly search volume of cryptocurrency terms | Overall crypto Score (out of 10) |
| USA | Washington, D.C. | 27,491,810 | 8.31% | 9.63 | 6 | 33,212 | 35,468 | 7.75 |
| Ukraine | Kyiv | 5,565,881 | 12.73% | 9.26 | 26 | 42 | 2,894 | 5.96 |
| United Kingdom | London | 3,360,591 | 4.95% | 9.38 | 23 | 32 | 21,183 | 5.79 |
| India | New Delhi | 100,740,320 | 7.30% | 10.00 | 3 | 2 | 35,448 | 5.52 |
| Thailand | Bangkok | 3,629,713 | 5.20% | 9.51 | 39 | 5 | 1,875 | 5.30 |
| Russia | Moscow | 17,379,175 | 11.91% | 8.64 | 27 | 50 | 0 | 5.16 |
| France | Paris | 2,179,654 | 3.34% | 8.15 | 46 | 3 | 9,326 | 4.90 |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | 521,404 | 3.04% | 7.90 | 34 | 20 | 784 | 4.83 |
| Vietnam | Hanoi | 5,961,684 | 6.12% | 9.75 | 0 | 8 | 953 | 4.69 |
| Colombia | Bogotá | 3,122,449 | 6.14% | 7.66 | 86 | 41 | 2,262 | 4.65 |
The USA is one of the most powerful economies in the world, so it’s not surprising to see it top the list when it comes to cryptocurrency use.
Ukraine has a far less powerful economy in comparison to the USA. It is ranked as the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP per capita.
Ukraine’s emerging market may explain its high crypto use. Many emerging markets struggle with currency devaluation, which may push residents to invest in crypto as a way to preserve their savings.
Nigeria Predicted To Use The Most Crypto Over The Next Three Years
By investigating the percentage of people who either owned or used cryptocurrencies over the past three years in 50 different countries, Merchant Machine were able to predict the percentage who would be using crypto over the next three years.
Nigeria is at the top of the list, with an estimated 100% by 2030. This means that if crypto use continues to grow at its current rate, the entire population of Nigeria will be using cryptocurrencies!
Top 10 countries for predicted cryptocurrency use:
| Percentage of people who either owned or used cryptocurrencies (%) | Prediction Data (%) | |||||
| Country | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2023 | 2025 | 2030 |
| Nigeria | 28 | 32 | 42 | 55 | 69 | 100 |
| Philippines | 15 | 20 | 28 | 41 | 54 | 86 |
| Thailand | 23 | 18 | 31 | 36 | 44 | 64 |
| Malaysia | 6 | 12 | 16 | 26 | 36 | 61 |
| India | 7 | 9 | 15 | 22 | 30 | 50 |
| Pakistan | 6 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 29 | 49 |
| Vietnam | 22 | 21 | 27 | 31 | 36 | 48 |
| Turkey | 20 | 16 | 25 | 28 | 33 | 45 |
| United States | 6 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 26 | 43 |
| South Africa | 16 | 18 | 21 | 26 | 31 | 43 |
Bogotà, Colombia has the highest number of businesses accepting crypto payments
The capitals of Colombia, Venezuela and South Korea came out on top for the number of businesses accepting crypto payments.
In Bogotà, Colombia, an impressive total of 86 businesses accept crypto payments. Caracas, Venezuela came just behind at 58, and Seoul, South Korea totalled 47.
Top 10 countries for number of businesses accepting crypto payments:
| Types + number of businesses accepting crypto payments | |||||||
| Country | City | Lodging | Shopping | Sports | Transport | Cafes + food | Total number |
| Colombia | Bogotá | 1 | 52 | 6 | 1 | 26 | 86 |
| Venezuela | Caracas | 4 | 23 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 58 |
| South Korea | Seoul | 9 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 47 |
| France | Paris | 0 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 46 |
| Greece | Athens | 1 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 43 |
| Thailand | Bangkok | 2 | 10 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 39 |
| Germany | Berlin | 5 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 39 |
| Spain | Madrid | 2 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 35 |
| Austria | Vienna | 8 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 34 |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | 4 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 34 |
