Mass adoption and simplified user experience become the focus of EthCC in Brussels

The recent EthCC conference in Brussels has refocused on the two ongoing topics of mass adoption and simplifying user experience. Let’s examine the current adoption rate of Web3, the challenges it faces, and user preferences through a series of data to assess how far cryptocurrency technology is from becoming mainstream.

Since the emergence of Bitcoin in 2009, the number of global cryptocurrency holders has surged to around 560 million, a growth rate that far exceeds that of the largest traditional payment networks over the past five years. However, only 6.8% of the global population holds cryptocurrency. According to research, the number of cryptocurrency holders grew by 33% in 2023, reaching 420 million, with 34% of them aged between 24 and 35.

Asia has performed outstandingly in terms of the growth of the number of holders, increasing from 268 million to 326.8 million, a growth rate of 21.8%, highlighting Asia's important role in shaping the cryptocurrency landscape.

However, the figure of 560 million may be somewhat exaggerated, as it includes users holding assets on centralized exchanges or other digital asset custodians. According to on-chain metrics, by 2024, the total number of monthly active addresses for the top 20 Layer 1 blockchains has just surpassed 75 million. Even when adding the monthly active addresses of the most popular Layer 2 solutions (slightly below 20 million), the total number of users across all mainstream chains is only about 100 million, and this number may be overstated due to individuals having multiple addresses.

By observing the new address metric of Bitcoin, it can be found that the growth rate of new addresses per month has slowed to the level of 2018, indicating that on-chain activity is shrinking, which is a typical manifestation of the decline in the network's fundamentals.

The main driving force behind the surge in cryptocurrency users may be the approval of the Bitcoin ETF earlier this year. Among non-crypto users, 21% stated that this approval had a positive impact on their investment decisions.

Despite the increasing acceptance of cryptocurrencies this year, 44% of non-crypto users still say they will never purchase cryptocurrencies, mainly due to value instability and a lack of government protection.

Clearly, speculation remains the main play in Web3 and cryptocurrencies, but the average portfolio performance of new Web3 users who entered the market after 2021 often ends up in a loss.

Interestingly, according to a study in 2023, the third most popular cryptocurrency among crypto investors is DOGE. This ranking may not include stablecoins such as USDC and USDT.

Although the friendly attitude of the U.S. government towards cryptocurrencies may affect the increase in crypto users, "stories" like the thousandfold rise of DOGE can truly spark interest among non-users. Should the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies soar first, or should users adopt them first? This question is as thought-provoking as "which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

It is certain that Web3 in 2024 is still in the early stages of development.