A crisis year with consequences: The adoption of cryptocurrencies between 2022 and 2023 stagnated, especially in industrialized countries. With about 25 percent of global transactions each, North America and Europe top the list, with the equivalent of about 1.2 trillion dollars traded in both continents. Germany ranks ninth in the global comparison, with a trade volume of about US$110 billion. But it leads in other areas, such as the most Web3 jobs. This is the result of a recent report by Chainalysis, a leading blockchain analysis company (you can download the report here).

A big surprise when looking at the transaction volume: half of DeFi transactions take place in Europe. This is crypto trading without traditional intermediaries such as banks. Decentralized, open to all, transparent: these are the ideals of DeFi's financial revolution. You can read more about it here.

Crypto in Germany and the United Kingdom

Germany stands out especially as a job market - with the most Web3 jobs in "absolute numbers", namely: 22,400 jobs. Germany also has the most Bitcoin nodes after the US. According to Dr. Sven Hildebrandt, quoted in the report, reliable regulation and investor education are the main drivers of adoption in Germany. He works at Boerse Stuttgart Digital, which offers cryptocurrencies. MiCA is paving the way for further adoption behind the scenes. It is the first crypto legislation for Europe.

Way ahead of Germany in Europe: the United Kingdom. With a transaction volume more than twice as large (about US$250 billion), it is the king of the continent. And that with legislation that received very mixed reviews from the Financial Services and Markets Act. PayPal subsequently paused its crypto offerings in the country because of "unclear legislation". The report says the impact of the new legislation remains to be seen.