Cryptocurrency usage is thriving with no slowdown in site, according to a new report.
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, in its annual "State of Crypto" report, says there are 617 million cryptocurrency owners worldwide, with an estimated 30 and 60 million active users.
The report, released Wednesday, also cited 220 million unique crypto addresses engaging with a blockchain at least once in September — tripling numbers from late 2023.
After trading at $28,000 a year ago, Bitcoin had surged to $66,860 as of Thursday morning.
"The state of crypto has made significant strides across policy, technology, consumer adoption, and more over the past year," the Andreessen Horowitz report said. "There were policy milestones, including the sudden approval and listing of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs, as well as the passage of significant bipartisan crypto legislation.
"There were major infrastructure improvements, from scaling upgrades to the rise of Ethereum L2s and other high-throughput blockchains. And there were new apps being built and used, from the growth of mainstays like stablecoins to explorations of more nascent categories like AI, social networking, and games."
Crypto has become an issue in this year's general election.
Two battleground states, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, have seen the fourth and fifth biggest jumps in crypto search interest since 2020.
Among other swing states, Michigan saw the eighth biggest jump in crypto search interest; Georgia remained put; Arizona and Nevada saw moderate drops in interest since 2020, Andreessen Horowitz said.
"Traders are betting on an upside for the world's most valuable crypto regardless of whether Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris wins. Trump has morphed from Bitcoin enemy to ally, and Harris is promising to 'encourage innovative technologies' like digital assets," Barron's said.
The report said stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is linked to the value of traditional currencies, have made it easy to transfer value.
"That stablecoins have entered the same conversation as such well-known and entrenched payment services as Visa, PayPal, ACH, and Fedwire is a remarkable testament to their utility," the Andreessen Horowitz report said.
Another factor in the crypto growth is the fact blockchains are processing more than 50 times as many transactions per second as they were just four years ago
Growing interest in artificial intelligence also has contributed to the increase in crypto usage. Among crypto builders, 34% say they're using AI. That's up from 27% last year.