This calculation led to a reasonable estimate for the realized gains Bitcoin investors in each country earned in 2020 (chart above), though it doesn’t account for gains on assets that have yet to be withdrawn from an exchange. Here are some of the most notable observations from the analysis:
🞉 The most striking thing was the dominance of the United States — investors collectively made over $4 billion in Bitcoin realized gains. The number was more than thrice that of China ($1.1 billion), the next highest country. Despite China historically having the highest raw crypto transaction volume, the huge inflows in U.S-focused exchanges towards the end of the year accounted for the difference.
🞉 Another notable feature of these gains was that almost all countries saw the biggest increases toward the end of the year (right chart above). This was the time when the U.S investors broke away from the rest — most gains coming from activity on Coinbase.
🞉 Further analysis reveals that many countries in the Top 25 gainers list appear to be pulling above their traditional economic weight when it comes to Bitcoin investment. For example, Vietnam, which ranks 53rd in GDP at $262 billion and is categorized as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank — ranked 13th in Bitcoin investment gains at $351 million owing to a stronger grassroots cryptocurrency adoption. The Czech Republic, Turkey & Spain were other such examples.
🞉 However, some countries followed the opposite pattern — case in point, India, with the second-biggest population, fifth-largest economy and a GDP of $2.9 trillion, ranked only 18th in Bitcoin investment gains at $241 million. No surprise, though, considering the country has been under a blanket ban on cryptos.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, it is obvious that Bitcoin and associated cryptos have given investors across the world an opportunity to invest in a high-performing asset. Countries trying to limit cryptocurrency usage under various pretexts are only preventing their citizens from participating in this emerging asset class.
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