The number of people holding cryptocurrencies worldwide has passed 1 billion, according to a survey by Coinpedia Research. The study estimates 1.01 billion users, equivalent to roughly 12.2% of the global population, a sign that the crypto market continues to expand even after the sector's total value fell from a peak of US$4.2 trillion at the end of 2025 to around US$2.67 trillion.
The growth points to an important shift in the sector. Adoption no longer depends solely on the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. According to the study, crypto use has split into two tracks: in developed markets, growth is driven mainly by ETFs, tokenised funds and regulated products; in emerging economies, use is growing more in connection with payments, international remittances, peer-to-peer trade and protection against the depreciation of local currencies.
India leads in absolute numbers, with 127 million projected users, up from an estimated 119 million in 2025. Nigeria stands out proportionally, with 47% of its adult population using or holding crypto assets. The United States remains the main hub for institutional capital, with 67 million users and the bulk of assets held in spot crypto ETFs.
Brazil also features among the notable markets. According to the survey, the country has 26 million users, with an adoption rate of 12%, behind Vietnam, which records 18.7%. In Latin America, the study finds that Brazil accounts for around 33% of regional crypto activity, in a market driven mainly by stablecoins and international payments.
Stablecoins move beyond a trading tool
One of the main drivers of this adoption is stablecoins. The survey estimates that the total supply of these assets reached US$305.5 billion, with USDT and USDC together accounting for 82% of the market. While USDT dominates trading pairs on centralised exchanges, USDC carries more weight in institutional and corporate settlement, according to Coinpedia.
Annual stablecoin settlement volume reached US$33 trillion, according to the study. Of that total, USDT accounts for US$13.3 trillion, while USDC handles US$18.3 trillion. Coinpedia's reading is that stablecoins have become the main transactional infrastructure of the crypto market, used not only for trading but also for payments, remittances and business-to-business settlement.
This growth helps explain the importance of low-cost networks such as Tron and Solana in everyday crypto use. The study puts Solana at 4.7 million daily active users, followed by Tron with 3.7 million, largely due to their role in peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers and in emerging markets.
Adoption also shows up in comparisons of international remittance costs. According to the survey, traditional transfers carry an average global cost of 6.49%, rising to 8.78% in Sub-Saharan Africa and exceeding 30% on some intra-African routes. Crypto and stablecoin payment corridors would cut that cost to somewhere between 1% and 3%, including fees for converting between local currency and digital assets.
ETFs, tokenisation and regulation widen institutional use
On the institutional side, ETFs stand out as one of the main entry points. According to the survey, regulated crypto products have accumulated US$72.9 billion in net inflows across 12 approved assets. Coinpedia assesses that these vehicles have helped bring crypto to traditional investors, especially in the United States and Europe.
Another highlight is the tokenisation of real-world assets. The study estimates that the on-chain RWA market has reached around US$340 billion, taking into account fiat-backed stablecoins, tokenised commodities, yield-bearing tokens and institutional debt. Within that market, tokenised US Treasury securities total US$15.1 billion, with BlackRock's BUIDL fund leading among products of this kind.
Regulation has also taken on a central role in this new phase. The survey cites the consolidation of formal licensing frameworks in markets such as the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Japan, with requirements for KYC, anti-money-laundering checks, reserve audits for stablecoins and transfer identification rules.
The study's conclusion is that crypto adoption is partly decoupling from price cycles. Even with the market below its 2025 highs, the use of stablecoins, ETFs, tokenisation, low-cost networks and decentralised applications shows that infrastructure keeps advancing. For investors, this suggests the sector's next phase may depend less on Bitcoin's price rising and more on the practical utility of blockchain networks within the global financial system.
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