Tag Archives: users

bitcoin users

Bitcoin users growth: read the University of Cambridge’s research about cryptocurrencies

According to a recent research conducted by the University of Cambridge, bitcoin users number has increased by four times in five years.

The research explains that bitcoin active wallets surged from 8.2 mln in 2013 to nearly 35 mln in 2016, suggesting that the number of active wallets ranges from 7.5% to 30.9% of the total number.

The Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance at the University of Cambridge suggested an estimated number of unique active bitcoin users wallets to be grown from between 0.6 mln and 2.6 mln in 2013 to currently between 5.8 mln and 11.5 mln in 2017.

This study – led by Dr. Garrick Hileman & Michel Rauchs – is the first of its kind to examine the growing global cryptocurrency industry and its exchanges, wallets, payments and mining platforms.

The research, in fact, is not only focused on bitcoin users, but also on cryptocurrencies in general.

“81% of wallet providers are based in North America and Europe, but only 61% of wallet users are based in these two regions,” the study which collected non-public data from nearly 150 companies and individuals states. “Almost half of all wallet providers are located in the United States and the United Kingdom. If we break down origin by world region, Europe is leading with 42% of wallet providers, followed by North America with 39% and Asia Pacific with 19%.”

North American wallet providers think that the current regulation is good and 57% of European and 2% of Asian-Pacific wallet services seem to be satisfied with the existent regulation.

Exchanges have to gain more popularity yet as only two of the 51 exchanges included in the research can provide a decentralized platform: 40% of North American wallet platforms said that the existing regulation is excessive and too strict – a point of view shared by 14% of European companies.

Another focus of this study is the innovative and rapidly changing of the cryptocurrency economy that is becoming more fluid in a few countries.

It says the line between exchanges and wallets is more and more “blurred” and several other digital currencies after Bitcoin are now supported by a growing environment as they are able to be used in a wide range of use cases.

Also, it argues that security-related problems and the lack of clarity about digital currencies regulation will continue to be prevalent in the next future.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Amelia Tomasicchio
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Which kind of Bitcoin user are you?

Today we want to do a little quiz with you, to find out how many types of Bitcoin user exist. 
In fact, below, you can read two studies conducted on this topic and – at the end of the article – you will be able to know which profile best fits you. 

The four types of Bitcoin users

According to Dr. Paul Ennis, researcher at The Centre for Innovation, Technology & Organization at University College Dublin, there are four types of bitcoin users: nerds, speculators, criminals and libertarians. 
In his own study, Ennis explains that each of these profiles identifies a different benefit or reward in the use of bitcoin:
– For computer programmers, the rewards for mining
– For speculators, the volatility
– For the libertarians, the perceived lack of regulation
– For criminals, the perceived anonymity.

Yellowitz and Wilson Whitepaper 

To know more about the characteristics of Bitcoin users, you also can read this whitepaper written by Aaron Yelowitz and Matthew Wilson in 2015. 
Yelowitz and Matthew Wilson identified four types of Bitcoin users too (pg 1030): computer programming enthusiasts, speculative investors, libertarians and criminals. 

Libertarians

Maybe the greatest part of Bitcoin users are the libertarians, because this cryptocurrency can allow a method of payment free from a centralized authority. 
In fact, according to an online survey by Lui Smyth, researcher at University College London, 44.3% of Bitcoin users identify themselves as “libertarian”. 
Libertarians, for example, don’t trust the government to manage the nation’s currency supply, so they prefer to use Bitcoin instead. 
Bitcoin is not controlled by banks or governments, and can zip across the globe and – of course – it’s stateless.


Multicurrencies Wallet 

To use the most part of these tools you may need an online wallet where you can store your bitcoin.

Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.

Amelia Tomasicchio