The 2025 Global Adoption Index: India and the United States Lead Cryptocurrency Adoption

This submit is an excerpt from our 2025 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report. Reserve your copy now!

We are excited to share the sixth annual Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index. In annually’s report, we have a look at each on- and off-chain information to find out which nations are main the world in grassroots crypto adoption. Our analysis highlights nations the place distinctive cryptocurrency use instances are taking maintain, and explores why individuals in nations round the world are embracing crypto.

Keep studying to be taught extra about:

• Our methodology for the Global Crypto Adoption Index;
• Changes in this year’s methodology;
• The top 20 countries on our Global Crypto Adoption Index for 2025, and;
• Key takeaways from the index.

Our Global Crypto Adoption Index methodology

The Global Crypto Adoption Index is made up of 4 sub-indices, every of which relies on nations’ utilization of various kinds of cryptocurrency providers. We rank all 151 nations for which we now have adequate information on every sub-index, weight the rankings by traits together with inhabitants measurement and buying energy, take the geometric imply of every nation’s rating in all 4, and then normalize that ultimate quantity on a scale of 0 to 1 to offer each nation a rating that determines its total rating. The nearer the nation’s ultimate rating is to 1, the larger the rank.

To calculate our sub-indices, we estimate nations’ transaction volumes for various kinds of cryptocurrency providers and protocols primarily based on the net site visitors patterns of these providers’ and protocols’ web sites. We acknowledge that net site visitors information are imperfect, as some crypto customers possible make use of VPNs and different related instruments to cover their true bodily places. However, on condition that our index accounts for a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency transactions and greater than 13 billion net visits, it’s possible that any misattributed transaction quantity attributable to VPNs is marginal, given the measurement of the dataset. We additionally evaluate findings with insights from native crypto specialists and operators round the world, giving us extra confidence on this methodology.

Below are descriptions of the sub-indices and how they’re calculated, in addition to enhancements in our methodology since last year.

Sub-index class 1: on-chain cryptocurrency worth obtained by centralized providers, weighted by GDP per capita on a PPP-adjusted foundation

We embrace this sub-index to rank every nation by complete cryptocurrency worth obtained on centralized providers, and weight the rankings to favor nations the place that quantity is extra important compared to the common particular person’s earnings in that nation. To calculate this, we estimate the complete worth obtained on-chain by customers of centralized providers in every nation, and weight that by GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation, which measures the nation’s earnings per resident. The larger the ratio of on-chain worth obtained to GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation, the larger the rating. In different phrases, if two nations obtained equal quantities of cryptocurrency at centralized providers, the nation with a decrease weighted GDP per capita, on a PPP-adjusted foundation, would rank forward.

Sub-index class 2: on-chain retail cryptocurrency worth obtained by centralized providers, weighted by GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation

We additionally estimate the exercise of non-professional, particular person cryptocurrency customers at centralized providers, primarily based on the worth of crypto they’re transacting in comparison with the common particular person’s buying energy. We do that by estimating the quantity of crypto obtained at centralized providers by customers in every nation — much like sub-index class 1 — however solely counting worth obtained in retail-sized transactions, which we designate as transactions below $10,000 price of crypto. We then rank every nation in line with this metric, however weight it to favor nations with a decrease GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation.

Sub-index class 3: on-chain cryptocurrency worth obtained by DeFi protocols, weighted by GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation

We rank nations by their DeFi transaction quantity and weight the rankings to favor nations with decrease GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation.

Sub-index class 4: on-chain institutional cryptocurrency worth obtained by centralized providers, weighted by GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation

We additionally estimate the institutional exercise of customers at centralized providers, primarily based on the worth of crypto they’re transacting in comparison with the common particular person’s buying energy. We do that by estimating the quantity of crypto obtained at centralized providers by customers in every nation — much like sub-index class 1 — however solely counting worth obtained in retail-sized transactions, which we designate as transactions over $1 million price of crypto. We then rank every nation in line with this metric, however weight it to favor nations with a decrease GDP per capita on a PPP adjusted foundation.

Methodology modifications

Methodology change 1: Removing the retail DeFi sub-index

This 12 months, we eliminated the retail decentralized finance (DeFi) sub-index from our calculation of total on-chain exercise. While DeFi continues to symbolize a good portion of complete transaction quantity globally, our inner evaluation revealed that it constitutes a a lot smaller share of total consumer exercise — notably when in comparison with centralized platforms. Including retail DeFi as a standalone class launched a disproportionate emphasis on a comparatively area of interest conduct, leading to a skewed illustration of crypto engagement.

To higher replicate the precise composition of at present’s crypto ecosystem and keep away from over-optimizing for high-volume however low-frequency consumer conduct, we determined to take away this sub-index. This change ensures that the index weights user-level exercise extra evenly throughout sorts of providers, resulting in a extra correct and consultant measure of grassroots adoption.

Methodology change 2: Adding an institutional exercise sub-index

In 2025, institutional participation in cryptocurrency has reached new heights. With the approval of multiple spot bitcoin ETFs in the US and expanded regulatory readability in main markets, conventional monetary establishments have more and more entered the area — not solely as buyers however as infrastructure suppliers and liquidity sources.

To replicate this rising affect, we launched a brand new institutional exercise sub-index, which captures the complete worth transferred by large-scale entities and good contract addresses estimated to belong to skilled buyers, hedge funds, custodians, and different institutional gamers primarily based on the switch measurement. Any switch larger than $1 million is positioned on this class. By including this part, the index now affords a fuller view of world crypto engagement, capturing each bottom-up (retail) and top-down (institutional) exercise.

While our index nonetheless focuses totally on grassroots adoption, incorporating institutional flows offers precious insights into how mainstream the crypto ecosystem has grow to be, particularly in developed markets the place these institutional transactions are sometimes now performed on behalf of finish retail clients.

The 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index Top 20

In 2025, APAC furthered its standing as the international hub of grassroots crypto exercise, led by India, Pakistan, and Vietnam, whose populations drove widespread adoption throughout each centralized and decentralized providers. At the similar time, North America climbed to the second-highest regional place in the presence of regulatory momentum, together with the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs and clearer institutional frameworks, that helped legitimize and speed up crypto participation throughout conventional monetary channels.

Country	Overall index rating	Retail centralized service worth obtained rating	Centralized service worth obtained rating	DeFi worth obtained rating	Institutional centralized service worth obtained rating
India	1	1	1	1	1
United States	2	10	2	2	2
Pakistan	3	2	3	10	3
Vietnam	4	3	4	6	4
Brazil	5	5	5	5	5
Nigeria	6	7	8	3	8
Indonesia	7	9	7	4	7
Ukraine	8	4	6	8	6
Philippines	9	6	9	13	10
Russian Federation	10	8	10	9	11
United Kingdom	11	27	12	12	9
Ethiopia	12	16	19	7	20
Bangladesh	13	14	15	14	14
Turkiye	14	11	13	22	12
Korea, Rep.	15	12	11	24	13
Yemen, Rep.	16	15	16	21	16
Thailand	17	21	17	15	17
Venezuela, RB	18	13	14	37	15
Japan	19	17	20	16	27
Argentina	20	18	18	29	19

APAC is the quickest rising area

In the 12 months ending June 2025, APAC emerged as the fastest-growing area for on-chain crypto exercise, with a 69% year-over-year enhance in worth obtained. Total crypto transaction quantity in APAC grew from $1.4 trillion to $2.36 trillion, pushed by strong engagement throughout main markets like India, Vietnam, and Pakistan.

Close behind, Latin America’s crypto adoption grew by 63%, reflecting rising adoption throughout each retail and institutional segments. In comparability, Sub-Saharan Africa’s adoption grew by 52%, indicating the area’s continued reliance on crypto for remittances and on a regular basis funds. These figures underscore a broad shift in crypto momentum towards the Global South, the place on-the-ground utility is more and more fueling adoption.

At the similar time, North America and Europe proceed to dominate in absolute phrases, receiving over $2.2 trillion and $2.6 trillion, respectively, in the previous 12 months. North America’s 49% development displays a 12 months of renewed institutional curiosity, bolstered by the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs and elevated regulatory readability. Europe’s 42% acquire, whereas decrease than different areas, nonetheless represents a considerable enhance, given its already high base, highlighting the continent’s sustained institutional exercise and increasing consumer base. Meanwhile, MENA noticed a extra modest 33% development, suggesting a slower tempo of adoption relative to different rising markets, although complete quantity nonetheless exceeded half a trillion {dollars}.

Compared to the earlier 12 months, this cycle noticed accelerated development throughout almost each area, with notably sharp will increase in APAC and Latin America. Last 12 months, APAC grew by simply 27%, however that quantity greater than doubled to 69% in the most up-to-date interval. Similarly, Latin America jumped from 53% to 63% year-over-year, reinforcing the area’s trajectory as certainly one of crypto’s fastest-growing hubs. Europe, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa additionally noticed quick development, suggesting a broad international enlargement. Interestingly, North America’s development fee additionally elevated from 42% to 49%, additional signaling that 2025’s regulatory readability and institutional inflows are starting to point out up in transaction-level information.

Adjusting for inhabitants paints a brand new image: A dominant Eastern Europe

Our index has historically targeted on complete exercise adjusted for GDP per capita, an strategy that labored finest when crypto was area of interest and concentrated amongst high-volume customers. But as adoption broadens, population-adjusted metrics supply a clearer view of the place crypto is gaining actual grassroots traction.

When we modify our index for inhabitants, we uncover a really completely different set of main nations. Countries in Eastern Europe, together with Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, high the checklist, reflecting high ranges of crypto exercise relative to the measurement of their populations. A mixture of financial uncertainty, mistrust in conventional monetary establishments, and sturdy technical literacy throughout the area would possibly drive adoption in Eastern Europe. These elements make crypto an interesting various for each wealth preservation and cross-border transactions, particularly in nations dealing with inflation, warfare, or banking restrictions.

The 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index Top 20, adjusted by inhabitants

Country	Overall index rating	Retail centralized service worth obtained rating	Centralized service worth obtained rating	DeFi worth obtained rating	Institutional centralized service worth obtained rating
Ukraine	1	1	1	4	1
Moldova	2	2	2	14	2
Georgia	3	4	5	5	8
Jordan	4	10	16	1	24
Hong Kong SAR, China	5	17	9	6	9
Vietnam	6	7	6	10	7
Latvia	7	16	12	7	10
Montenegro	8	8	22	3	33
Venezuela, RB	9	3	3	52	4
Slovenia	10	25	7	16	5
Estonia	11	29	13	11	6
Yemen, Rep.	12	12	14	29	14
Cambodia	13	11	10	46	11
Armenia	14	6	8	56	12
Singapore	15	42	20	13	16
Finland	16	51	29	8	23
Belarus	17	9	17	39	27
Korea, Rep.	18	14	11	48	19
Kyrgyz Republic	19	20	15	47	15
Portugal	20	47	33	9	29

Stablecoins surge globally for a wide range of use instances

The stablecoin regulatory landscape has advanced considerably over the previous 12 months. While the GENIUS Act in the U.S. has not but taken impact, its passage has pushed sturdy institutional curiosity, whereas in the EU, the MiCA stablecoin regime has paved the method for the launch of licensed euro-referenced stablecoins like EURC.

Still, after we have a look at on-chain information, stablecoin transaction quantity stays dominated by USDT (Tether) and USDC, which persistently dwarf different stablecoins in scale. Between June 2024 and June 2025, USDT processed over $1 trillion per 30 days, peaking at $1.14T in January 2025. USDC, in the meantime, ranged from $1.24T to $3.29T month-to-month, with notably high exercise in October 2024. These volumes spotlight the continued centrality of Tether and USDC in crypto market infrastructure, particularly for cross-border funds and institutional exercise.

However, taking a look at development traits reveals a special dynamic. While Tether and USDC noticed fluctuations with some volatility, smaller stablecoins like EURC, PYUSD, and DAI skilled speedy development. For instance, EURC grew almost 89% month-over-month on common, with month-to-month quantity rising from roughly $47 million in June 2024 to over $7.5 billion by June 2025. PYUSD additionally confirmed sustained acceleration, rising from round $783 million to $3.95 billion in the similar interval.

These shifts coincide with an increase in institutional exercise round stablecoins. Stripe, Mastercard, and Visa have all launched merchandise enabling customers to spend stablecoins by way of conventional rails, whereas platforms like MetaMask, Kraken, and Crypto.com have launched card-linked stablecoin funds. On the service provider aspect, partnerships between Circle, Paxos, and corporations like Nuvei intention to streamline settlement in stablecoins. At the similar time, conventional monetary establishments similar to Citi and Bank of America have introduced their intentions to discover increasing their choices and hinting at even launching their very own stablecoins.

Regionally, this divergence could sign a shift in how stablecoins are getting used. USDC’s development seems intently linked to U.S.-based institutional rails and regulated corridors, whereas EURC’s rise suggests rising curiosity in euro-denominated digital belongings, presumably pushed by MiCA-compliant platforms and European fintech adoption. PYUSD’s development may level to a broader urge for food for various, extremely regulated stablecoins in retail and fee contexts. These developments recommend a fragmenting however increasing stablecoin panorama, the place native use instances more and more form international volumes.

Fiat on-ramping: bitcoin stays the main entry level

To assess fiat on-ramping conduct, we examined purchases made on centralized exchanges between July 2024 and June 2025, the place customers acquired cryptocurrencies utilizing fiat buying and selling pairs. Each transaction was categorized by the higher-order classification of the bought asset, permitting us to guage which sorts of tokens function the main gateway into the crypto economic system.

Bitcoin leads by a large margin, accounting for over $4.6 trillion in fiat inflows throughout the interval. That’s greater than double the next-highest class, Layer 1 tokens (excluding BTC and ETH), which noticed roughly $3.8 trillion in quantity. Stablecoins ranked third at $1.3 trillion, whereas altcoins adopted at roughly $540 billion. Other classes, together with low-liquidity tokens, meme cash, and DeFi, every obtained lower than $300 billion in fiat inflows.

Geographically, the United States stays the world’s largest fiat on-ramp, with over $4.2 trillion in complete quantity — greater than 4 instances the next-highest nation. South Korea adopted with over $1 trillion, and the European Union registered just below $500 billion. Bitcoin dominance — the proportion of complete fiat purchases allotted to BTC – was particularly high in the United Kingdom and European Union, at roughly 47% and 45%, respectively. In distinction, South Korea confirmed a extra diversified onramp profile, with BTC accounting for a decrease share of quantity. These variations replicate variations in investor conduct, change preferences, and entry to various cryptoassets at the level of fiat entry.

It’s essential to notice that this evaluation solely consists of fiat onramping on tracked centralized exchanges and doesn’t seize exercise via OTC desks, casual markets like hawalas, or cash-based crypto outlets, all of which can play a significant position in sure areas.

Adoption is unfold throughout nearly all earnings brackets

If we break the Global Adoption Index right into a quarterly time collection and section it by World Bank earnings brackets, a transparent image emerges: high-, upper-middle-, and lower-middle-income cohorts crest collectively on this report. That synchronicity suggests the present wave of crypto adoption is broad-based moderately than remoted – benefiting mature markets with clearer guidelines and institutional rails, in addition to rising markets the place remittances, greenback entry by way of stablecoins, and mobile-first finance proceed to speed up adoption. In different phrases, crypto adoption is really international.

There’s an essential caveat in the low-income nation cohort (LIC). This basket consists of a number of nations you wouldn’t ordinarily count on to maintain strong crypto utilization, and that composition produces extra volatility – transient surges adopted by retracement – pushed by elements similar to coverage shocks, connectivity and liquidity constraints, and conflict-related disruptions. Afghanistan, for instance, is a LIC that Chainalysis recognized as briefly shedding all crypto exercise following the US withdrawal in 2021. The international peak sign is actual, however LIC traits are extra fragile and episodic; sturdy positive factors there’ll hinge on bettering on-ramps, regulatory readability, and primary monetary and digital infrastructure.

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