While the
spotlight often falls on Asia and North America when discussing cryptocurrency
adoption, Western Europe has been making significant strides in embracing
digital assets.
In a recent
report, Bitget Research has shed light on European countries’ crucial role in the global cryptocurrency market. The region, known for its developed
economies and open-minded populace, has emerged as a key player in the crypto
industry, with daily trading participants ranging from 1.2 million to 1.5
million.
Among the
eight Western European countries studied, Germany and France stand out as the
most active hubs for cryptocurrency activities. According to the report, these
two nations have seen significant growth in the number of users engaging with
digital assets. Western Europe as a whole is the world’s second-largest region in terms of crypto adoption.
“Observations
of traffic to domains of more than 150 centralized cryptocurrency exchanges
show that, over the past six months, the total visit volume from Germany and
France was 48.17 million and 35.11 million, respectively, with the Netherlands
ranking third with 30 million visits,” the Bitget’s report stated.
The number
of active daily users on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges in Germany was
311,000 in December 2023, marking an improvement of 69% compared to December 2022. In
France, there were 145,000 active users, which is an increase of 18% from the
previous year. At 70%, the strongest growth was recorded in Austria, where the
activity index reached nearly 60,000 investors daily over the year.
The growing
interest in cryptocurrencies is also evident from the data of the report’s
author, Bitget Exchange. Its user base has increased to 25 million as of the
end of February 2024, having grown by 5 million in just under three months.
Regulatory Alignment and
Cultural Acceptance
The report
highlighted that the crypto policies in Western European countries generally
align with the European Union’s stance and the MiCA regulations, maintaining an
open attitude towards cryptocurrency regulation while providing a stable and
transparent regulatory environment.
The report added that on top of Germany, France, and the Netherlands, “Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein have relatively open policies on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, offering a stable and transparent regulatory environment.”
From a
cultural perspective, Western Europeans have remarkably accepted…
