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- The US ranks the highest among 76 countries in its readiness for widespread cryptocurrency usage, a study reveals.
- The US has more than 17,000 crypto ATMs, the most in the world.
- Cyprus ranks second in readiness terms while Greenland pulls in the lowest score.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
The US is the country most prepared for widespread use of cryptocurrencies, with a study published Thursday showing a high accessibility to and interest in digital currencies within the world's largest economy.
The number of crypto ATMs in each country, usage ability in banks, and the number of online searches about cryptocurrencies were among the measures analyzed by Crypto Head, a website focused on cryptocurrency education.
The US ranked first among 76 countries as it landed a total score of 7.13 out of 10.
Looking at crypto ATMs, the study found the US had 17,436 such machines, far outstripping Canada, which had the second-most, at 1,464. The US has the most crypto ATMs per capita, at one for every 19,023 people. The UK had 200 ATMs for cryptos, resulting in one for every 333,984 persons.
Meanwhile, there were 14,796 Google searches for crypto per 100,000 people between May 2020 to April 2021, representing a 140% increase from the same period in the previous year.
"Our research also found that the United States is the most crypto ready for consumers, even though the government has been slow with regulation clarity over the last few years, which has actually driven most crypto business overseas," said Adam Morris, the co-founder of Crypto Head, in a statement.
Consumer interest in cryptocurrencies, fronted by bitcoin, has surged in the US this year, with investors driving bitcoin's market cap above $1 trillion and its price to a record high near $65,000 earlier this year before each of those figures pulled back significantly. The trading debut of shares of crypto exchange Coinbase and greater use of crypto assets at retail outlets such as PayPal have been cited as reasons for the pickup in trading activity surrounding bitcoin and other digital currencies such as ether, the token of the Ethereum blockchain, cardano-ADA and dogecoin.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus ranked second in Crypto Head's study with a preparedness score of 6.47 out of 10. The country doesn't have any crypto ATMS but 33,941 per 100,000 people searched for cryptocurrencies between May of last year through April of this year.
"This level of interest is the highest of any country in the world and is a 139.6% increase from the previous year. While there are no crypto ATMS, Cyprus allows the ownership and usage of cryptocurrencies in banks, bringing its 'readiness' score up the charts," said Crypto Head.
Cyprus is home to a large number of foreign exchange brokerages, in part as the country has the lowest corporate tax rate in the European Union at 12.5%.
Singapore's score of 6.3 out of 10 ranks the financial hub as third on the readiness index. Greenland comes in last with a readiness score of 3.52.
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