Spain mobilized 60,000 million euros in cryptocurrencies
The Bank of Spain pointed out that during 2021 Spain mobilized some 60,000 million euros in transactions with cryptocurrencies, 10 % of the business in the euro zone
A report from the Bank of Spain highlights that approximately 60,000 million euros was the volume of transactions executed with cryptocurrencies during 2021 in Spain, which is equivalent to about 1,275 euros per inhabitant and represents 10 % of the business in the eurozone.
The Banco de España used the unofficial statistics provided by Chainalysis as a source for the investigation, which are based on advanced identification and geolocation algorithms.
The study found that Spain ranked fifth in the number of financial transactions with digital assets in Europe. The first places were occupied by the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the Netherlands, respectively.
Although the results of the study are not considered “completely reliable”, the Bank of Spain also refers to the “Finder Crypto Asset Adoption Index”, which conducts a periodic survey in 27 countries.
This index highlights that 12 % of Spanish adults have invested in cryptocurrencies, most of them are male, with young people between 18 and 24 years old being the most active in purchases.
Low rate of illicit activities
The report issued by the Spanish Bank also indicates that the percentage of transactions related to illicit activities is quite low, reaching just 1 % between July 2020 and June 2021 in Spain. However, he admits that it may be related to the way the measurement is carried out, since Chainalysis identifies only those operations where a police investigation has been carried out.
Another aspect outlined in the study by the Spanish regulatory body is that the boom in cryptocurrencies is not supported exclusively by small savers, but by the incursion of institutional investors. “A greater relative importance of the largest transactions, more than 10 million dollars, is observed, which suggests that they would have gained relative importance in the operations with these currencies.”
According to the numbers issued in the report, Europe would be classified as “the mecca of cryptocurrencies“, because it represents 25% of all global transactions, equivalent to about 845,000 million euros, followed by North America with 18%.
The financial entity urges improving the instruments of evaluation and control of the use of digital assets in the country. It also proposes to establish the government registry that allows for official statistics, as well as surveys and studies on the use of cryptocurrencies by the Spanish population.
M. Rodríguez
Source: elpais.com
