Top 4 Countries with Crypto Frenzy: India, America, Nigeria and El Salvador

Bitcoin is down nearly 70 percent from its November high of $68,991. Investors continue pouring into digital assets despite the Bitcoin's selloff. Cryptocurrency adoption remains growing around the world, especially in India, America, Nigeria and El Salvador.

Most Crypto Owners Are Indians

According to TripleA, a leading cryptocurrency payments company, there are over 300 million crypto users worldwide. And over 18,000 businesses are already accepting cryptocurrency payments.

Among others, the five countries with the largest number of cryptocurrency owners are India (100,740,320), USA (27,491,810), Russia (17,379,175), Nigeria(13,016,341) and Brazil (10,373,187).

But looking at the ratio of cryptocurrency owners to the total population, the top five countries are Ukraine (12.73%), Russia (11.91%), Venezuela (10.34%), Kenya (8.52%) and USA (8.31%).

America Has More Crypto ATMs Than Any Other Countries

Driven by the continued growth in the number of new cryptocurrency users and the subsequent need for crypto ATMs to convert cryptocurrency into fiat money, the global crypto ATM market size is expanding at the same pace. The chart shows number of bitcoin machines installed over time from 2014 to 2022 (Source: Coin ATM Radar).

 According to data from Coin ATM Radar, there are currently about 36,959 cryptocurrency ATMs installed around the world. Most of them are in the United States, which has 33,976 devices, followed by Canada with 2,506. Thus, North America is the region with the highest number of installed cryptocurrency ATMs, with 95.1% of total market share.

These are followed by Spain (235), El Salvador (212), Poland (193), Switzerland (151), Hong Kong (150), Austria (138), Romania (133) and Italy (76). Europe is the second region with the most installed devices with 3.7%, followed by Asia with 0.7% and Oceania and South America with 0.2%.

Cryto Search Interest Is Especially High in Nigeria

Cryptocurrency is one of the most searched topics on the internet. Fazzaco examines the interest over the last 12 months for cryptocurrency-related searches through Google Trend, including: 'cryptocurrency', 'what cryptocurrency to invest in', 'cryptocurrency trading' and 'Cryptocurrency to buy'.

According to the result, Nigeria ranks first in the last 12 months searches for the four terms, with a interest score of 100. For the term 'cryptocurrency', Nigeria is followed by United Arab Emirates and Singapore, which rank No. 2 and 3. This ranking is the same as the ranking of the term 'Cryptocurrency to buy'.

Meanwhile, Australia and the United Kingdom held the second and third spot in the interest-by-region list for the last 12 months for the term 'what cryptocurrency to invest in'. Kenya and Ghana held the second and third spot for the term 'cryptocurrency trading'.

El Salvador: The Most Crypto-Friendly Country with Advantageous Tax Regime

As a virtual asset, it is defined differently in different countries, hence different regulatory frameworks. There is, inevitably, anarchy to a certain extent without a unified regulator. And the most important factor that consumers have to consider is tax.

The general crypto tax consensus is that most countries levy a tax on income in crypto and capital gains from crypto. Activities such as selling crypto for fiat currency, trading crypto for another cryptocurrency, spending crypto on goods or services and inncome from crypto staking or mining, are subject to taxation in most countries. Fortunately, there are also many countries that are very friendly to cryptocurrencies.

El Salvador is the undisputed king when it comes to crypto-friendly regulation. In El Salvador, Bitcoin is legal tender, so there is no tax on transacting in Bitcoin like there might be in countries like the USA. Consequently, the country has no income or capital gains tax on Bitcoin.

Another well-known crypto-friendly country is Singapore. The country has no capital gains tax, so any gains made on crypto are tax-free. Furthermore, transacting with crypto is seen as barter trade, and there is no tax on barter trade. Singapore is indeed an attractive destination if you hold crypto.

While Germany is one of the highest-taxed countries in Europe, they have a very interesting approach when it comes to cryptocurrency. Germany does not consider cryptocurrency as a capital asset. This means that if you decide to hold your cryptocurrency for over a year and sell it later on, you'll not be taxed a single cent.

In addition, Portugal, Malaysia, Malta, Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico are also friendly to cryptocurrency investors with preferential tax policy.