Crypto mobile wallets hit 36M record high amid growing retail adoption

Mobile cryptocurrency users have reached a new all-time high, as Increasingly more passive cryptocurrency holders are turning into active users, showcasing growing mainstream adoption.

Mobile cryptocurrency wallets reached a new all-time high of over 36 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Coinbase’s quarterly crypto market report, published on Jan. 29.

“Mobile wallets can play a critical role in turning passive crypto owners into active crypto users,” wrote Daren Matsuoka, data scientist at a16z Crypto.

While crypto owners only hold digital assets passively, they are considered cryptocurrency users after actively interacting with decentralized finance (DeFi) or other blockchain-based applications.

Compared with the 36 million active crypto wallet users, there were about 560 million crypto holders worldwide, according to the 2024 Cryptocurrency Ownership report by Triple-A.

According to Pavlo Denysiuk, CEO of crypto payments firm Lunu, the number of cryptocurrency holders may triple over the next two years based on current user growth.

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Stablecoins are crypto’s new “killer app” 

Stablecoins became crypto’s new “killer app” in 2024, amid increased crypto market liquidity and the growing use of crypto for payments and cross-border transactions, according to Coinbase’s report, which said:

“Behind this growth lies a simple but powerful fact: stablecoins can make it faster and cheaper for both businesses and individuals to move money around the globe.”

Total stablecoin supply rose over 18% during the fourth quarter of 2024 and nearly surpassed the $200 billion mark before the end of the year.

Growing stablecoin supplies can signal incoming crypto buying pressure and growing investor appetite, as stablecoins are the main investor on-ramp from fiat to the crypto world. 

Stablecoin trading volume saw an over threefold increase to $30 trillion during 2024, with over $5 trillion worth of trading volume in December, amid Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally to a $100,000 record high.

Stablecoin inflows to crypto exchanges reached a record monthly high of $9.7 billion on Nov. 21, two weeks before Bitcoin price breached the $100,000 mark for the first time in crypto history.

Stablecoins are poised to see broader adoption, but clearer crypto regulations will be crucial to promote broader financial inclusion, according to the report, which added:

“The stage has now been set for broader adoption of stablecoins in remittances, digital capital markets, and financial services for the unbanked or underbanked.”

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Stablecoins are threatening fiat money dominance in Eastern Asia

Stablecoins and cryptocurrencies are starting to replace fiat currencies in some East Asian countries, highlighting their significance in emerging economies.

East Asia emerged as the sixth-largest crypto economy in 2024, accounting for over 8.9% of global cryptocurrency value received between June 2024 and July 2023, according to a Sept. 17 report by Chainalysis.

The growing adoption of crypto and stablecoins is partly driven by countries with constant fiat currency devaluation and high inflationary rates, according to Maruf Yusupov, the co-founder of Deenar, a digital stablecoin backed by physical gold.

Yusupov wrote in a statement shared with Cointelegraph:

“In most emerging markets, stablecoins are gradually replacing fiat because of lower barriers to entry, low cost, and ease of use. If the current adoption trend is sustained, the asset might fuel lower patronage to traditional banks as we have it today.”

Stablecoins are emerging as a cheaper and faster alternative to traditional bank transfers, especially for cross-border transactions. Remittance fees cost an average of 7.34% during 2024 if they involved bank account transfers, according to Statista.

East Asia received over $400 billion in onchain value between June 2024 and July 2023.

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