Over 400 million people hold crypto. Bitcoin is loved in Asia and the Emirates

You can also listen to the article in audio version.

Male, age up to 34, with a bachelor’s degree and an annual income of less than 580 thousand crowns. This is what the average person who owns one of the cryptocurrencies looks like, according to the company Triple A, which deals with mediation of cryptocurrency transactions. We would most likely find it in Asia – of the more than 420 million crypto holders, over half are in this continent.

In terms of states, India dominates. More than 93 million people have some of the cryptocurrencies there. Of the Western countries, only the United States made it into the top ten with less than 53 million owners.

In per capita terms, however, crypto is ruled by another country – in the United Arab Emirates, according to statistics, almost every third resident owns a cryptocurrency. This is ten percentage points more than in the second Vietnam, a total of 12 countries got above 10%.

Beware of scams that exploit cryptocurrencies

According to the British company Henley & Partners, the Emirates’ lead in cryptocurrency is due to the fact that they were the first to set the rules and regulations for buying and selling cryptocurrencies. “The emirates are generally very open to new technologies and have proposed zero taxes for cryptocurrency owners and businesses,” the company writes in the Crypto Wealth Report 2023.

In Vietnam, the reason for the popularity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is different – according to the Cryptocurrency Innovation Council, the country has a large proportion of people without access to banks and other financial services. Cryptocurrencies can provide an alternative means of accessing these services without people having to rely on traditional banks. At the same time, cryptocurrency holdings are also tax-free here, which makes them an attractive asset.

In the Asia-Pacific region, countries are also more open to cryptocurrencies. For example, Singapore recently completed a regulatory framework for a stablecoin. A digital token that maintains a constant value.

However, this does not mean that, for example, the topic would not be addressed in Europe. In the Czech Republic, the government approved a new law on digital finance in April. It regulates the cryptocurrency market and entrusts its supervision to the Czech National Bank. Some of the cryptocurrencies are owned by less than two percent of the population.

“People often invest a lot of money in crypto-assets, and yet there has been no special legislation for these products. The bill will make it possible to set up consumer protection in this area as well, and at the same time increase the stability of the financial environment and ensure a fair background for providers of cryptoassets,” said Minister of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) at the launch.