On April 26, the Central Bank of Spain published a report briefing on the use of cryptocurrencies by Spaniards and Europeans. The report found that the European Crypto users prefer decentralized services and unbacked crypto-assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).
In addition, the Bank of Spain indicated that the volume of cryptocurrency transactions in the European Region grew at an increasing rate over the past year. The volume reached almost €845 billion—thus, leaving behind the United States.
As per the report, in Europe transactions in BTC and ETH account for nearly 60% of all transactions made over the last year. While backed cryptocurrencies make up for 25%, altcoins other than ETH accounted for about 15%.
On the flip side, the European Central Bank reported that nearly 64% of Spaniards prefer using decentralized services for their transactions. Comparatively, in the rest of Europe, the average use of crypto services is 53%.
This report does not come off as a surprise considering that crypto exchanges are booming in Europe. However, it stands in stark contrast with the recent crypto laws introduced by European authorities that encourage citizens to go for other transactional alternatives instead.
The report also said that only 1% of the total cryptocurrency transactions from July 2020 to June 2021 involved illegal activities such as scams, theft, and frauds, among others.
The report also concluded that France ranks first in Europe when it comes to transaction volume followed by Germany, the Netherlands and Spain respectively.
France can be a potential leader in the European crypto space. Recently, French Prez Emmaunel Macron talked about creating a self reliant European metaverse wherein cryptocurrencies are regulated without affecting their development.
