Measuring how many people own crypto has become an essential way to understand its real-world penetration. Price movements and market cycles often dominate headlines, but ownership data provides a clearer view of adoption by showing who is participating, where growth is occurring, and how digital assets are integrating into everyday financial behavior. As more regions adopt crypto for savings, payments, and investment, tracking ownership helps distinguish long-term structural trends from short-lived market sentiment.

Global Ownership Numbers

Estimating global crypto ownership is challenging because different organizations apply different methodologies, but most recent studies align within a relatively narrow range. They all point to one clear conclusion where adoption is accelerating, and the number of holders is already massive.

• CoinLedger (June 2025): Approximately 562 million people own crypto, representing around 6.8% of the global population.
• DemandSage (Oct 2025): Roughly 559 million owners, with an estimated 9.9% global adoption rate, highlighting differences in how “active ownership” is defined.
• Crypto.com (1st half of 2025): An estimated 708 million crypto owners, rising from 681 million in January, showing rapid adoption across major markets.

Across these reports, the most reasonable consensus range is 560–700 million global owners. At the higher bound, crypto ownership already exceeds the population of North America.

The differences arise from whether the data counts custodial accounts, active vs. inactive wallets, or individuals who own multiple assets across platforms. Despite these variations, the overall trend is that crypto is steadily moving toward mainstream status.

Regional Highlights

Crypto adoption does not progress uniformly. Instead, it reflects varying economic conditions, regulatory environments, and cultural attitudes toward technology.

Asia continues to dominate adoption. Countries like India, Pakistan, and the Philippines have some of the highest adoption indexes globally, driven by remittances, mobile-first financial tools, and widespread digital payments infrastructure.

North America shows strong participation from both retail investors and institutions. Regulatory clarity, professional investment products, and integration with traditional financial services have all contributed to steady adoption.

Latin America is seeing some of the fastest growth rates. High inflation, unstable local currencies, and the need for affordable cross-border transfers make crypto particularly attractive. In regions where traditional banking access is limited, digital assets often act as a practical financial alternative rather than a speculative investment.

Demographics

Understanding who owns crypto is as important as knowing how many people own it. The demographic profile of crypto holders reveals a young, globally diverse, and increasingly balanced user base.

• Bitcoin Owners: Around 106 million people worldwide hold Bitcoin, or about 1.3% of the global population. Bitcoin remains the most widely held digital asset by a significant margin.
• Gender Split: Adoption is still male-leaning at 61% men and 39% women, but the gender gap continues to narrow as crypto becomes more integrated into consumer finance.
• Generational Trends: Millennials and Gen Z lead global adoption. These generations grew up with digital-native experiences and are more comfortable exploring new financial technologies. Baby Boomers and Gen X are participating as well, though at slower but gradually rising rates.

The demographic spread suggests that crypto’s long-term growth potential remains considerable, especially as financial tools become simpler and more regulated.

Why Ownership Is Rising

The growth in crypto ownership is not the product of a single factor but a combination of technological improvements, financial innovation, and global economic pressures.

• Accessibility has increased dramatically. Modern apps, user-friendly exchanges, and integrated payment platforms make buying digital assets far easier than in the early days of complex wallets and manual key management.
• Institutional adoption has transformed crypto’s credibility. Exchange-traded funds, custody services, and corporate balance-sheet allocations show that digital assets are becoming part of mainstream financial infrastructure.
• Utility growth continues to increase crypto’s relevance. Apart from trading, digital assets are being used for payments, DeFi, gaming, NFTs, and cross-border transactions. The more practical use cases appear, the more people adopt crypto as a functional tool rather than simply a speculative asset.
• Global inflation and economic instability have also pushed individuals, particularly in growing markets, to seek alternatives to weakening local currencies. In many countries, crypto acts as a store of value, a savings vehicle, or a means to preserve purchasing power.

Challenges in Measuring Ownership

While the adoption numbers are impressive, estimating global ownership remains complex due to several measurement challenges.

• Multiple wallets: A single user may maintain several wallets across exchanges, apps, or blockchains, which can inflate user counts if not adjusted.
• Custodial accounts: Many holders store assets on exchanges rather than in self-custodied wallets. Because a single custodial address can represent thousands or even millions of users, converting these into accurate counts requires assumptions.
• Data variability: Different organizations use distinct methodologies, some focus on active wallets, others on exchange registrations, and some on self-reported survey data.

These discrepancies don’t undermine the broad adoption trend, but they do explain why estimates can vary by over 100 million users.

Conclusion

The global crypto industry is now far larger than most people realize. Depending on methodology, between 1 in 10 and 1 in 15 people worldwide own crypto which firmly places digital assets along with mainstream financial participation. While measurement challenges are still present, it’s clear that adoption is rising across regions, demographics, and income levels. As accessibility improves, regulatory frameworks mature, and utility expands, crypto is steadily transitioning to a fixture of global finance.