US Investors Gained $4.1 Billion From Bitcoin’s Price Surges

The U.S. gained the most from bitcoin’s price surges in 2020, followed by China and then Japan, according to a new insight report by Chainalysis that tracked 25 countries.

Estimated bitcoin gains in the U.S. totaled $4.1 billion, three times more than China’s $1.1 billion. Japan ranked third, with 0.9 billion. The U.K. followed Japan with gains of 0.6 billion, tied with the Russian Federation, Germany and France, per the report. At the bottom of the list with $0.2 billion in gains were India, Australia, Poland, Argentina, Switzerland, Taiwan, Belgium and Thailand.

“It’s impossible to know for sure where the parties of any individual transaction are located,” Chainalysis said, regarding the difficulty of analyzing crypto along geographic lines.

The company was able to calculate estimates using Chainalysis tracks, its transaction data tool, per the report.

Vietnam’s rank of thirteenth with gains of $351 million is noteworthy because it did better than countries like Australia, Saudi Arabia and Belgium, which all rank higher in traditional economic measures, per the report.

Although Vietnam’s economy has continually expanded since 2001, and slashed its poverty rate to less than 6 percent since 2002 from more than 70 percent, the country ranks 53rd in GDP at $262 billion, per the report. But as far as grassroots cryptocurrency adoption, Vietnam has a growing base, ranking 10th overall on the Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index. 

U.S. regulators have been taking a closer look at bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading for a number of reasons, including tax evasion and illegal activities. Regardless of the investigations, crypto trading is in the mainstream, with bitcoin-enabled cards and platforms that let people buy and sell crypto, as well as use the digital currency for online purchases.

PYMNTS Cryptocurrency Payments Report indicated that close to16 percent of U.S. consumers currently own or previously owned some form of crypto. Some 29 percent said they are likely to buy it.

It’s anticipated that crypto acceptance by merchants will ignite its use and unlock trillions of dollars in spending power, according to PYMNTS On the Agenda, with BitPay CEO Stephen Pair, Fancy CEO Greg Spillane and Jomashop Vice President Alex Sternberg.