eBusiness Weekly
There are 425 million crypto users around the world, and of these 88 200 are reckoned to be crypto millionaires, according to a report by Henley & Partners, the global investment migration practice.
That’s about 5 percent of the world’s population of around eight billion, but the adoption rates vary by country.
Various studies have attempted to estimate what percentage of the world’s population owns cryptos, with ownership rates varying from 10 percent in SA to 20,5 percent in Vietnam and 17,5 percent in Saudi Arabia, according to this study by Investing in the Web.
South Africa is reckoned to have more than six million crypto owners, which is probably a reasonable estimate, given that the Luno exchange alone has more than five million SA customers.
The Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth Report suggests there are 182 crypto centi-millionaires worth more than US$100 million and 22 crypto billionaires.
Of the 88 200 crypto millionaires, slightly less than half amassed their fortunes in bitcoin.
Regulators worldwide are scrambling to draft new regulations to adapt to cryptocurrency shifts. Some countries embrace them, while others are openly hostile, seemingly fearing the potential for widespread crypto adoption to undermine their monetary control.
Crypto millionaires are looking for ways to protect themselves “against any potential future bans on the trading or use of cryptocurrencies in their countries, and to allay the risks of aggressive fiscal policies that tax digital assets at source,” according to Juerg Steffen, CEO at Henley & Partners.
Investment expert Jeff D Opdyke says crypto, like the early internet, would always be a boom and bust.
The current crypto market, emerging from a bear market, is a replay of the internet bust between 1999 and 2001, “in other words, a fantastic opportunity to buy when blood stains the streets because we’re not likely ever to see these prices again.”
There is still debate on the best ways to value cryptos, but there are actionable methods investors can use, according to a research analyst at 21Shares, Carlos Gonzalez Campo.
Singapore is rated the world’s top crypto hub based on strong government support and cooperation between banks, businesses and the public. Low taxes and the absence of capital gains tax add to its allure for crypto investors.
Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are next in terms of a crypto adoption index, followed by Hong Kong, the US, Australia, Canada, Malta and Malaysia.
“The UAE and Singapore again share the leading position regarding public adoption, which measures the level of awareness, interest, and engagement with cryptocurrencies in the general population, with each scoring 7 out of 10 for this parameter,” says the report.
“The UK, US, Canada, Australia, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and Malta all make it into the Top 10 when considering factors such as the percentage of crypto users relative to the total population and Google search interest related to cryptocurrencies.” — Moneyweb
