Despite the close of 2023 which saw the prosecution of the former CEO of the collapsed and bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, FTX Sam Bankman-Fried, and legal challenges for Terraform co-founders, the beginning of 2024 seems to paint an optimistic picture for the industry.
Emerging narratives, particularly the memecoins trend, have contributed to this positive outlook from late 2023 to the early days of 2024.
Examining the data, CoinmarketCap has published a report that highlights the most active nations in the industry and the most popular coins in January.
CoinMarketCap is a popular platform that provides information about various cryptocurrencies. It offers real-time data on cryptocurrency prices, market capitalizations, trading volumes, and price charts.
Additionally, the platform also ranks and scores cryptocurrency exchanges based on factors such as traffic, liquidity, trading volumes, and confidence in the legitimacy of reported trading volumes.
Users can access current and historic data for Bitcoin and thousands of altcoins, making it a valuable resource for individuals interested in the cryptocurrency market.
Countries with the most active crypto users
According to the report, the United States, Germany, India, Turkey, and Brazil stand out as the top five countries with the most active crypto users.
This determination is based on community pageviews, on the CoinmarketCap community, which reflect the vibrancy and interest in the crypto space within these nations.
Surprisingly, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Russia, Indonesia, France, and the Netherlands also made the top eleven spot, standing behind the first five.
CMC noted that Nigeria secured the 19th position, and the first for African nations, surpassing Italy in community engagement.
This is not surprising as in December 2023, Nigeria’s Central Bank lifted its ban on transacting in cryptocurrencies, reversing a 2021 directive against institutions facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.
The decision was announced in a circular dated December 22, 2023, which outlined guidelines for banks and financial institutions regarding the opening of accounts, designated settlement accounts, settlement services, and acting as channels for foreign exchange inflows and trade for firms transacting in crypto assets.
Most Popular Coins in January
When examining the top 20 cryptocurrencies, it’s no surprise that Bitcoin takes the lead with a market capitalization of nearly $1 trillion.
Not only does Bitcoin serve as a fundamental pillar in the crypto market, but it has also witnessed the introduction of new innovations within its ecosystem.
These innovations encompass Layer 2 solutions, Optimistic rollups and zero knowledge rollups, BRC-20 tokens, among others.
Following Bitcoin were Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Myro (MYRO), Bonk (BONK), Tether USDT (USDT), BNB (BNB), Sei (SEI), XRP (XRP), and Kaspa (KASPA). Others were Shiba Inu (SHIBI), Internet Computer (ICP), Manta Network (MANTA), Terra Classic (TCL), Celestia (CEA), Cardano (ADA), Xai (XAI), Dogecoin (DOGE), Avalanche (AVAX), and Tellor (TELL).
Additionally, Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum stood as the three most popular coins in all regions of the world with Polygon, Shiba, XRP, Sei, Bonk, Cardano, and Manta following.