The number of cryptocurrency millionaires with over $1 million in crypto assets surged by 95 percent year-on-year to 172,300 individuals. This is as the number of Bitcoin millionaires rose by 111 percent to 85,400, according to the Crypto Wealth Report 2024.
According to the report, the total market value of crypto assets has reached $2.3 trillion, an 89 percent increase from the $1.2 trillion reported last year. The upper echelons of crypto wealth have also expanded, with the number of crypto centi-millionaires (those with crypto holdings of $100 million or more) rising by 79 percent to 325, and the number of crypto billionaires rising by 27 percent to 28 globally.
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Dominic Volek, Group Head of Private Clients at Henley & Partners, noted that the rapid growth has been fuelled by the introduction of crypto ETFs in major financial markets, ushering in significant institutional capital.
He said, “The cryptocurrency landscape of 2024 bears little resemblance to its predecessors. Bitcoin’s rise to over $73,000 in March set a new all-time high, while the long-awaited approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in the USA unleashed a torrent of institutional capital.
“Anticipation now builds for potential Solana ETFs joining the Wall Street party. These milestones have seeded a new era of crypto adoption, one where digital assets increasingly cross-pollinate with traditional finance and global mobility.”
In Nigeria, the government is finally becoming receptive to the cryptocurrency industry after a series of crackdowns on the sector. Earlier in August, Zacch Adedeji, chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, revealed that a legal framework for crypto regulation is currently being developed.
He said, “We cannot run away from the cryptocurrency ecosystem because it is the in-thing. But as it stands in Nigeria today, there is no law that regulates cryptocurrency operations.
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“We need a law that regulates that area of our economy. This is why we are having this engagement with the legislators. We will regulate it in a way that is not injurious to the economic development of Nigeria.”
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also recently granted operational approvals-in-principle to several crypto operators.
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