Between 560 million and 741 million people worldwide own cryptocurrency, according to the most widely cited estimates — a figure equal to roughly 7% to 9% of the global population. The exact count depends on who is doing the counting: surveys, exchange records and blockchain data each measure something different, which is why analysts generally describe ownership as a range rather than a single number.

This overview draws on data from Triple-A, Crypto.com, Chainalysis, Security.org, Paybis and Oobit to map how many people own crypto, where they live, who they are and which assets they hold. The range matters because ownership estimates describe the size of the potential user base, while activity, wallet and transaction measures show how people use crypto; those measures should not be treated as interchangeable.

Among the headline findings: ownership climbed from roughly 420 million people in 2023 to 741 million in 2025; the United Arab Emirates posts the highest national ownership rate at 25.3%; India leads the Chainalysis activity index; 61% of owners are men, with the 25-34 age bracket the largest; and 30% of US adults own crypto, according to Security.org.

Competing Global Estimates

Four estimates anchor the debate. Triple-A counted 562 million owners in 2024, or 6.9% of the world's population. Crypto.com put the tally at 659 million for 2024 and 741 million for 2025, approximately 9% of the world. A 2026 report from Paybis arrived at 559 million, close to Triple-A's figure, while Oobit likewise cites 562 million owners for 2024, a 6.8% global ownership rate.

Wallet counts compound the uncertainty. One individual frequently maintains several wallets across different chains and exchanges, while single exchange address can represent millions of customers whose coins never move on-chain.

The divergence between sources is largely methodological. Triple-A relies on national surveys and banking data, whereas Crypto.com blends blockchain data with exchange and survey inputs — an approach that pushes its count roughly 100 million higher.

Most reviews of the available data settle on a range of 560 million to 741 million owners, with the true figure likely falling between 600 million and 700 million. On any of these measures, more than 85% of the world's population still owns no crypto.

Paybis alternatively measures ownership against internet users rather than the total population. On that basis, 9.9% of internet users hold crypto — roughly one in ten. This explains how the same underlying trend can appear as 7%, 9% or 10% across different reports.

How Ownership Has Grown

Crypto ownership has roughly doubled in three years. Triple-A estimated 420 million owners in 2023, about 5.3% of the world, and recorded 562 million in 2024 — a jump of 33%. Crypto.com's data shows a steadier pace, with its count rising 12.4%, from 659 million in 2024 to 741 million in 2025. The two trackers differ on levels but agree on direction.

Longer-term expansion has been far quicker. Triple-A reports a 99% compound annual growth rate for digital currency ownership between 2018 and 2023, versus roughly 8% per year for traditional payment methods over the same period.

Growth has not been evenly distributed. Oobit reports that South America grew 116.5% in a single year, from 25.5 million users to 55.2 million, while North America expanded 38.6% to 72.2 million users in 2024. Paybis reports 19.4% growth in Africa in 2025 and links recent gains to clearer rules and new products, including spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the United States and the MiCA framework in the European Union.

Ownership by Country

Two yardsticks yield two different country rankings: one counts the share of people who own crypto, the other measures how intensively it is used.

By ownership rate, Triple-A places the UAE first at 25.3% of its population, followed by Singapore at 24.4%, Turkey at 19.3% and Argentina at 18.9%, with Thailand, Brazil and Vietnam completing the top seven. The list blends two kinds of economy: the UAE and Singapore are wealthy trading hubs with crypto-friendly rules, while Turkey and Argentina have battled high inflation that pushes residents to seek ways to protect their savings.

By activity, the Chainalysis 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index ranks India first and the United States second. The index weighs the value people receive, retail usage and DeFi activity. Paybis notes that seven of the index's top ten countries were in Asia, and SolCard, citing Chainalysis, reports that Asia-Pacific transaction volume grew from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion in 2025.

Raw owner counts tell a third story: Triple-A's 2023 country data shows India with the most owners, followed by China and the United States, which anchor the ten largest owner bases.

Turkey illustrates how inflation shapes ownership. SolCard says Turkish holders rely on dollar-pegged stablecoins to shield purchasing power from lira inflation; at 19.3%, the country holds the third-highest ownership rate in the Triple-A survey. Other trackers use different bases: Oobit reports 25.6% of Turkey's internet population owns crypto, while China sits at 3.7% of its internet users. Paybis puts the Philippines at 22% to 23%, helped by remittance usage.

Adoption by Region

Asia-Pacific leads the world. Paybis puts the region's adoption rate at 23%, with about 350 million active wallet users, and says the region accounts for roughly 37.6% of the global market. Oobit counts 326.8 million crypto users in Asia in 2024 — more than all other continents combined — crediting high smartphone penetration and large populations in countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Africa has posted the fastest recent growth. Paybis says mobile wallet usage there is the highest of any region, with people using crypto for savings, remittances and protection against weakening local currencies.

Latin America's 15% rate reflects currency instability that has made crypto a practical tool for tens of millions of people, according to Paybis. In El Salvador, where Bitcoin is legal tender, Paybis says 85% of small businesses accept it.

Europe counts more than 100 million crypto users and 140 million wallet users, up 12% in a year. Between 8.9% and 12% of European adults own crypto, with Germany, Spain and Switzerland reporting the highest rates. The MiCA rules, in force since December 2024, establish a single framework across all 27 EU states; the UK sits outside MiCA. A Deutsche Bank Research survey cited by Paybis found ownership among UK adults aged 18 to 34 rose from 14% to 26% in 2025, while Oobit reports overall UK ownership climbing from 18% to 24%.

Who Owns Crypto: Age and Gender

Owners skew young and male. Triple-A says 61% of owners are men and 39% are women, and Oobit estimates roughly 343 million male holders worldwide. The 25-34 bracket is the largest, accounting for about 34% of all owners; within it, 16.2% of men and 8.7% of women own crypto.

Men are nearly twice as likely as women to own crypto in every age group, with male ownership falling from 16.2% among ages 25 to 34 to 3.2% for ages 65 and older. Paybis adds that women's ownership grew faster than men's in 2024 and 2025 across most major markets.

Location matters as well: Paybis says rural adoption tends to trail urban adoption by two to three years, though the gap is narrowing as mobile-first platforms spread.

The gender divide also appears in US purchase intentions. Security.org found women are half as likely as men to plan a crypto purchase in the next 12 months, and that 19% of women see no benefit in crypto versus 10% of men. In the US, Paybis reports 28% of adults aged 18 to 29 have invested in crypto, compared with 8% of those aged 65 and older.

Which Coins Do People Own?

Bitcoin remains the most widely held asset. Crypto.com counted 365 million Bitcoin owners in 2025 — 49.3% of all owners — alongside 175 million Ethereum owners, or 23.6%. Ethereum grew faster than Bitcoin, with its owner count up 22.6% in a year against 8.3% for Bitcoin; stablecoins and other assets formed the fastest-growing category.

US data from Security.org shows the same top two. In its 2026 survey, 74% of US owners held Bitcoin and 53% held Ethereum. Dogecoin ranked third at 25%, followed by Solana at 20% and USDC at 18%. Solana posted the largest gain, its ownership share rising from 11% in 2024 to 20% in 2026 — a move Security.org links to faster transactions and lower fees than Ethereum.

Motivations differ across groups. Security.org found 38% of US adults view price gains as crypto's greatest benefit, rising to 51% among owners, while only 10% cite avoiding bank fees and 20% value anonymity. Dogecoin ownership spiked to 31% in 2025 before falling back to 25%, and political tokens such as Melania Coin and the Official Trump coin each held by about 1% of owners. Among people planning to buy, 59% name Bitcoin, 49% Ethereum and 18% Solana.

Ownership in the United States

Security.org found 30% of US adults own crypto in 2026 — about 70.4 million people. The survey covered 992 adults and relies on self-reported answers.

Ownership has traded in a range since peaking at 33% in 2022: it fell to 27% in 2024, rose to 28% in 2025 and returned to 30% in 2026. Security.org links the recovery to spot Bitcoin ETFs and a friendlier federal stance on crypto. Other trackers show lower US rates because they measure the whole population; Triple-A's 2023 data put US ownership at 13.7% of all residents, or 46.9 million people, with differing methods likely explaining the gap.

The federal government has also taken a larger role. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve was established in March 2025, and Congress passed the GENIUS Act on stablecoins in July 2025. Security.org found 52% of Americans expect crypto values to rise under the Trump administration, while 24% say the reserve strengthened the economy.

Most owners report gains: of people who have ever owned crypto, 53% say they have a net gain, 23% broke even and 21% report a net loss. The share reporting gains stood at 69% in 2025.

Price swings remain the top worry. Unstable value was the chief concern for 37% of respondents, about 59% of Americans lack confidence in crypto security, and 16% of owners have had trouble accessing their holdings.

Purchase plans diverge sharply: 61% of current owners intend to buy more in 2026, but only 6% of non-owners plan to enter the market, while another 47% of non-owners say they might consider it later.

How Many People Own Bitcoin?

Bitcoin owner counts vary more than any other figure, with estimates running from 25 million to more than 460 million. The reason is structural: the blockchain records addresses, not people.

Self-custody wallet data points to 25 million to 30 million individual holders. Bitbo and Chainalysis data indicate about 106 million, or 1.29% of the world. Gate.io estimates 422 million to 455 million, and a Crypto.com survey counts 467 million people with Bitcoin exposure.

Address data shows why the numbers diverge. Of 460 million Bitcoin addresses that have ever held a balance, 288 million are now empty. Of the remaining 172 million, 147 million belong to exchanges, services, merchants or other market players, leaving only about 25 million believed to be active wallets owned by individuals. The count also bends the other way: one exchange address can hold coins for millions of customers, which is why one person can own many wallets while one wallet can stand in for many people.

Holdings are highly concentrated. The top 1% of holders own 87% of all Bitcoin, 74% of supply has been held for more than a year, and Binance's cold storage holds the largest single wallet at 248,598 BTC. Because the source labels some of these tiers in ways that can overlap, the breakdown should be treated as a rough guide.

Whole-coin ownership is rare. Around 988,627 wallets hold at least one BTC, and many belong to exchanges and funds; Oobit says the true number of individuals holding a full coin is likely well under one million.

Bitcoin millionaires are growing in number. Oobit reports 85,400 in 2024, up 111% from 40,500 in 2023, while Paybis counts 192,205 in 2026. Public companies hold coins as well: 64 or more held about 688,000 BTC as of May 2025.

Forecasts

Projections depend on the growth rate assumed. SolCard applied Crypto.com's 12.4% growth rate to its 741 million base, yielding roughly 830 million owners by the end of 2026 — though this is SolCard's own extrapolation, not a published forecast. Confluent AM models a faster path, with more than 1.01 billion owners in 2026, or about 12% of the world. Both scenarios leave most of the global population outside crypto.

Oobit also expects the retail share of Bitcoin to fall from 85% in 2024 to 60% by 2030 as institutions buy through regulated channels. Forecasts of this kind are estimates and can shift with prices and regulation.

Spending is a separate question. Triple-A says 65% of owners would prefer to pay with crypto, but sources disagree on merchant acceptance: Paybis reports 46% of merchants globally, while SolCard says most merchants do not accept crypto directly. Paybis and SolCard suggest the next wave may come from stablecoins, mobile wallets and payments, with Paybis counting 56 million cross-border remittance users. Price swings and security worries remain the main barriers, as the US data shows.

In short, crypto ownership keeps expanding, but the precise count remains uncertain. Most credible estimates place it between 560 million and 741 million people, and the trend is upward in every source reviewed.

Sources

• Triple-A, Digital Currency Ownership Data (2024 report)
• SolCard Team, How Many People Own Crypto? 560-741 Million Worldwide (2026), July 6, 2026
• Oobit, How Many People in the World Own Bitcoin?, May 18, 2026
• Paybis, Crypto Adoption Statistics 2026: Europe and Global Data, May 31, 2026
• Security.org, 2026 Cryptocurrency Adoption and Sentiment Report
• Chainalysis, 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index
• Crypto.com, 2026 crypto ownership report (as cited by SolCard and Oobit)
• CoinCentral, How Many People Own Crypto? Global Ownership Statistics for 2026