Vietnam ranks Highest in Global Crypto Adoption Index: Chainalysis Report

A new Chainalysis report has shown that Vietnam has the highest rate of crypto adoption in the Central & Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) region. The region, comprising mostly India, Vietnam, and Pakistan received a total of $572.5 billion in transaction value between July 2020, and June 2021, a figure that makes up about 14% of global transaction value during the time period.

The Chainalysis report highlighted that the rate of adoption of crypto in the CSAO region is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with a growth rate of 2%. The rate of growth of digital currency adoption is notably being fueled by a number of factors including the embrace of decentralized finance (DeFi), exchange transactions, and gambling activities amongst others.

Crypto Transaction Value Received in the CSAO. Source: Chainalysis

Of the countries in the CSAO, the Chainalysis report ranks Vietnam as the number one in the Global Crypto Adoption Index. Per the ranking, India is placed second, Pakistan at number 3, Thailand at the 12th position, and the Philippines coming 15th.

Platform Adoption and Institutional Embrace

Some of the most popular and mainstream decentralized finance marketplaces are equally very popular in the CSAO region, the Chainalysis report detailed. Uniswap is adjudged the most popular in the region, with InstaDapp, dYdX Exchange, Compound, Curve Finance, Aave, and 1INCH exchange also ranking as the most used services in the region.

While the presence of institutional investors is not as pronounced as we have it in other regions including North America and Europe, the CSAO also has a number of institutional crypto transactions. 

“Professional-sized transfers between $10,000 and $1 million worth of cryptocurrency make up the largest share of transaction volume in CSAO,” the report highlights, “institutional and large institutional payments combined dominate activity, though not quite to the same degree as in the larger markets of North America and Central, Northern, & Western Europe.”

While there is no debate on how popular digital currencies have become in the CSAO region, industry experts noted that the majority of the retail drivers lack deep financial literacy and that their embrace is being fueled by speculative motives.

“Most forms of gambling are illegal but quite popular in Vietnam, and I think that’s one reason people here are willing to invest in high volatility assets like cryptocurrency,” said Binh Nguyen, the Coordinator of the RMIT Fintech-Crypto Hub and Senior Program Manager of Finance at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology- Vietnam (RMIT), adding that;

“Low financial literacy is a driver of excessive risk-taking and may create lucky financial rewards for crypto-investors during a bull market. Lots of sophisticated investors may be waiting five to ten years and missing out.”