The “Vietnam Crypto Market Report 2022” revealed that 16.6 million Vietnamese own digital currencies, with bitcoin being the most popular asset.

Another research conducted by Chainalysis placed the Asian country as the world’s cryptocurrency adoption leader, with a score of 1.000.

Close to the Top

The study, reported by a local media outlet, estimated that 16.6 million Vietnamese had purchased cryptocurrencies (approximately 17% of the country’s population). 31% of those have invested in bitcoin, making it the most preferred digital asset.

The research determined that Thailand is the only country with more HODLers than Vietnam in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

Apart from having a considerable number of crypto investors, Vietnam is also home to multiple blockchain projects that primarily focus on GameFi (Game Finance), NFTs, or Web3. 

Vietnamese have founded seven of the top 200 blockchain organizations globally, with Axie Infinity, Coin98, and Kyber Network being some of the examples. Axie Infinity is among the most popular blockchain-based games, reaching a peak of nearly three million users at the beginning of 2022. The user base dropped below one million in the following months before spiking again at the start of 2023.

The game suffered a severe blowback in March last year after the North Korean hacking collective – the Lazarus Group – drained over $600 million worth of digital currencies from Ronin Network – an Ethereum-linked sidechain that powers Axie Infinity. The project improved its security policy and restarted operations three months later.

A Global Leader According to Chainalysis

“The 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index,” a study carried out by Chainalysis, outlined Vietnam as the world’s cryptocurrency adoption leader, reaching a score of 1.000. The platform claimed that one reason behind that success could be the high interest in blockchain-based games in the region. It is worth noting that Vietnam ranked first in the 2021 research, too.

The Philippines – another country located in South East Asia – was second with a score of 0.753, while war-torn Ukraine was third with 0.694.

Most nations in the top 20 list included lower-middle-income economies, such as Nigeria and Indonesia, and upper-middle-income ones (Argentina, Brazil, Turkey).

Two of the world’s super economies – the United States of America and the United Kingdom – also found their place, ranking respectively 5th and 17th.