APAC is leading in crypto use and adoption, according to a new report from U.S. blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis released on Wednesday, with China returning to the report’s top 10 countries for crypto adoption after it fell out of the list last year.
APAC accounted for six of the top 10 countries in the index. Vietnam topped crypto adoption for the second consecutive year, likely driven by cryptocurrency-based gaming and with over 20% of Vietnamese consumers using or owning crypto assets.
Crypto activities rebounded significantly in mainland China and boosted the country to the 10th spot on the list, up from 13th last year. Crypto adoption in China strengthened even as its government continued to crack down on digital assets.
China had the fourth highest crypto adoption rate in 2020, according to Chainalysis, but the government’s 2021 ban on cryptocurrencies had crimped activity. However, China was “especially strong” in its usage of centralized cryptocurrency exchanges this year. Chainalysis attributed this shift to the “ineffective and loose” enforcement of the Chinese government’s ban on all cryptocurrency trading that was announced in September 2021.
Using a ‘crypto adoption index,’ Chainalysis highlighted the countries where non-professional citizens most embrace cryptocurrency in their everyday lives. The index is weighted based on a country’s GDP per capita to measure who puts the most significant share of their money into digital assets rather than just overall market values.
The Philippines saw the most significant gains in adoption, coming in second on the list, up twelve spots from last year. Other APAC countries in the top 10 were India, Pakistan, and Thailand.
Most APAC countries ranking in the index were considered “low medium income countries,” with the exception of China and Thailand. The financial hub of Hong Kong failed to make the top 20.
