Portugal has risen in the annual cryptocurrency adoption rankings of consultancy Chainalysis. The country has moved up eight positions and is now in 50th place, according to data accessed by Negócios. This is a turnaround compared to the previous year, in which the country sank 20 positions, after also falling to 38th place in 2022, 20 levels below the 18th level reached in 2021. The last time Portugal rose was in that same year, having shot up from 57th place in 2020.
This upward movement comes at a time when the market is experiencing a very positive moment, riding on the back of the “bull market” that began last year. AndIn 2023, bitcoin has more than doubled its value, having gained around 36% since the beginning of this year. Currently, the cryptocurrency is trading at around $57,000, after reaching an all-time high of $73,157.29 in mid-March.
The rally boosted the rest of the market, with the capitalization of a total of more than two million cryptocurrencies now around two trillion dollars.
“Between the fourth quarter of last year and the first quarter of 2024, the total amount of global crypto activity increased substantially, reaching a higher level than in 2021, during the bull market,” the report said.
Over the past year, growth in crypto adoption has been driven primarily by lower-middle-income countries. By 2024, “crypto activity has increased in all countries,” regardless of income, although a decline has been noted in high-income countries.
This harmonization can be explained by the adoption of two distinct financial instruments that managed to drive adoption of crypto, both in developed countries and in developing countries.
“The launch of the (first exchange traded funds) ETFs in the US triggered a surge in the total amount of bitcoin activity across all regions, with particularly strong year-on-year growth in institutional transactions and in regions with higher income countries such as North America and Western Europe,” Chainalysis notes.
On the other hand, the annual growth of ‘stablecoins’ – cryptocurrencies whose price is indexed to the price of another asset – was higher in retail transactions and “is supporting real-world use cases in low- and lower-middle-income countries, in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America”, adds the consultancy.
India once again takes first place in this annual ranking, followed by Nigeria and Indonesia. The top 20 is rounded out by Canada, South Korea and China.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
