UK crypto investors realised gains worth £6.2bn last year
UK investors bet big on the crypto market last year realising gains worth £6.2bn fresh analysis has revealed.
The UK, which is home to 2.3m crypto investors according to official estimates, ranked second in the world for returns on digital asset investments beaten only by the US where investors realised gains of almost $47bn.
“Our global gains analysis demonstrates the extraordinary growth in cryptocurrency in 2021, and especially in DeFi,” said Kim Grauer, the director of research for Chainalysis. “The UK in particular stands out as the second largest crypto market by gains.”
Globally investors made $162.7bn in 2021, up by 400 per cent compared to the previous year according to research firm Chainalysis. The majority of gains were supplied by Ethereum investments which returned $76.3bn to investors while Bitcoin gains totalled $74.7bn, the data showed.
The research comes after multiple financial regulators have raised the alarm about financial stability risks created by crypto adoption.
Crypto remains an unregulated asset class in the UK with the Financial Conduct Authority repeatedly warning investors they should be prepared to lose all their money.
The UK’s government has pivoted towards a welcoming approach to crypto with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announcing plans to transform Britain into a “global hub” for digital assets.
Read more: Bank of England ups budget by £24m to tackle crypto risks