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Crypto usage hits new highs – and shows no signs of slowing down.
That’s according to a recent report by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which found record crypto usage amid a maturing business and tech infrastructure.
In its annual “State of Crypto,” released on Wednesday, the report puts the number of cryptocurrency owners worldwide at a new high of 617 million this year, with an estimated 30 and 60 million active users. It also reveals a significant rise in blockchain activity, with 220 million unique crypto addresses engaging with the technology at least once in September.
This marks a threefold increase compared to the figures from late 2023, highlighting the growing adoption and integration of cryptocurrencies across various platforms and services.
This growth follows a prolonged “crypto winter,” exacerbated by the collapse of FTX, the exchange led by the now-disgraced CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.
However, the situation has dramatically changed. Bitcoin, which was trading at $28,000 a year ago, has now surged to $68,000, representing a remarkable growth of over 142%. This rebound signals renewed investor confidence and a resurgence of interest in the crypto market.
Stablecoins drives mass crypto adoption
According to the report, a significant factor fueling this growth has been the widespread adoption of stablecoins—digital tokens that are linked to the value of traditional currencies, such as the U.S. dollar.
Stablecoins offer a level of stability not typically seen in other cryptocurrencies, making them more appealing for everyday transactions and as a store of value. This reliability has driven increased usage across various sectors, from remittances and e-commerce to decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, further boosting overall activity in the crypto ecosystem.
The report revealed that stablecoins have become more popular due to cost reductions in executing crypto transactions, with fees dropping more than 90 percent from $12 to $1 for USDC, a popular U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin on Ethereum. On Base (COIN), cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase’s popular network to send and receive cryptocurrencies, it costs less than a cent on average to send USDC.
AI is gaining popularity among crypto users
The report revealed a significant overlap between ChatGPT visitors and users of top crypto websites, indicating strong connections between crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) users. About a third of crypto projects say they are using AI, the highest adoption rate among all technologies tracked by Andreessen Horowitz.
However, the study warns that AI could lead to increased centralization of power on the internet, as only the largest tech companies may have the resources to leverage advanced AI models.
On a more optimistic note, the report suggests that crypto projects, already addressing centralization issues, could leverage blockchain technology to mitigate AI-related centralization risks. This approach could potentially foster a more equitable distribution of technological power in the AI field.
“AI’s centralization-related challenges are almost exactly the inverse of the opportunities for decentralization presented by blockchain networks,” according to the report.
