North America retains crypto crown: Chainalysis

North America maintained its position as the world’s largest cryptocurrency market with an estimated US$1.2 trillion in on-chain value received from July 2022 to June 2023, according to blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis.

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• North America represents almost a quarter of global transactions with over US$1 trillion originating from the United States, Chainalysis said in its report published Monday.
• The region still has the top adoption rate of decentralized finance (DeFi), but crypto activity in North America has fallen over the past year following the FTX blowup in November 2022 and the banking crisis of March 2023.
• “North America’s crypto market is more driven by institutional activity than any other region’s with a whopping 76.9% of transaction volume driven by transfers of US$1 million or more,” Chainalysis reported.
• Crypto activity in the U.S. remains high despite a flurry of enforcement actions against industry players in the country. In September, David Hirsch, head of crypto assets and cyber unit at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the agency will load more charges onto crypto exchanges, intermediaries, and DeFi entities.
• While crypto activity remains high in the region, stablecoin usage declined. From February to June 2023, stablecoins’ share of North America’s on-chain transaction volume fell from 70.3% to 48.8%. 

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