Number of Crypto Users Nearly Doubled in 2018, Study Says

Cryptocurrency gained 17 million “verified users” this year, according to a study published by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Dec. 12.

According to the study, data show that in the first three quarters of 2018 the number of ID-verified cryptocurrency users nearly doubled, climbing from 18 million to 35 million.

Total crypto users, number of account and verified individuals. Source: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance

According to a Bloomberg analysis of the study, the growth of the user base this year while crypto markets decline “could signal that an eventual recovery could be coming.” The analysis further notes that “most users are likely still speculators and long-term investors.”

In terms of breaking down who is investing in crypto, the Cambridge research team also claims that the data “indicates that the majority of users — both established as well as new entrants — are individuals and not business clients.” Those individuals, the document explains, could be “hobbyist retail investors, consumers, or users seeking a better investment or payment alternative.”

As Cointelegraph reported last week, despite dismal market conditions bringing down the dollar-value of its assets under management, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust has seen a record number of Bitcoin (BTC) deposits this year, bringing its BTC holdings to over 1 percent of the coin’s entire circulating supply.

A November analysis of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) market in Q3 of this year has defined the funding method’s performance an “overall disappointment.”