Global cryptocurrency owners count increases in Q1 and Q2 2024

Crypto.com revealed that cryptocurrency owners reached 617 million in the first half of 2024. The report indicated the current count is a 6.4% increase from the 580 million owners in December. According to crypto.com, the number of Ethereum owners increased by 9.7%, while the number of Bitcoin owners grew by 5.9%.

Crypto.com released a market sizing report indicating the number of crypto owners in the first half of 2024. The report revealed that Bitcoin owners grew from 580 million to 617 million between January and June. According to the report, the main drivers behind the increased adoption include the BTC halving and the rallies for Ethereum Layer 2 networks.

Bitcoin and Ethereum owners rise in the first half of 2024 

According to Crypto.com, the number of crypto owners increased between January and June 2024. This update came from the sizing report the crypto exchange company released, highlighting the changes in the market in 2024. 

Ethereum owners reportedly increased by 9.7% from 124 million in December 2023 to 136 million in June 2024. On the other hand, the report highlighted that the number of Bitcoin owners increased from 296 million in December 2023 to 314 million in June 2024.

The report also presented approximately 388,000 to over 1.5 million BTC investors via U.S. Spot ETFs. The report estimated the total number of cryptocurrency owners to be 617 million, a 6.4% increase within six months in 2024.

According to the Crypto.com report, the increased adoption of Ethereum was due to the reduction in gas fees (gwei), especially after the Dencun upgrade in March. Some Ethereum layer 2 protocols have reportedly reduced their transaction fees to up to 99% since the upgrade.

The exchange indicated that some key drivers of Bitcoin adoption included the fourth Bitcoin halving in April and the launch of the Runes Protocol. The halving reduced block rewards for miners, which investors reportedly expected to change market conditions. The report also highlighted the launch of the U.S. Spot Bitcoin Exchange-traded funds as a catalyst for increased BTC adoption. 

The U.S. SEC’s approval of the ETFs reportedly increased market sentiments over the legitimacy of digital assets. The approval also led to the increased institutional adoption of the crypto asset, leading to over $14 billion in inflows.

Half-year report indicates cryptocurrency market cap decline in Q2  

Despite the increased cryptocurrency adoption, Coinmarketcap reported that the cryptocurrency market cap was at $2.27 trillion at the end of the first half of 2024. The data also revealed a 14% decline in the second quarter, illustrated by minimal inflows to ETFs. 

Coinmarketcap also noted that stablecoins made a turnaround in the second quarter, recording a market capitalization of $161 billion as of June 30, 2024. 

The analysis noted this was a two-year high, 14.5% shy of the all-time high in April 2022. In its report, the cryptocurrency analytics firm suggested that the increased supply indicates increased capital in the crypto market, which could be an indicator that a bull market is imminent.