The clamor for increased crypto adoption has often resulted in stiff competition between countries. In the last couple of years, virtual currencies have banked several individuals and brought financial inclusiveness. Still, access to cryptocurrency services is easier in some countries than in others.

While many countries oppose virtual coins and others are still finding their footing, countries like the U.S. and the U.K. are reaping heavily from crypto transactions. Based on a report from Chainalysis, the United States made a killing in crypto gains last year.

U.S. and U.K Dominates the List

The U.S. realized about $47B in crypto gains in 2021, approximately $35 billion more than the second-placed U.K. Other countries that profited from cryptocurrency transactions are Germany, trailed by Japan, and China. 

China being on the list came as a shock to everyone, considering the number of crackdowns initiated to stop virtual currency use in 2021. According to Chainalysis, the crackdowns could have impacted the country’s cryptocurrency growth.

The report noted that although China’s $5.1B gains rose by 194% from the $1.7B realized in 2020, the growth rate is amongst the lowest compared to other countries. In that time frame, U.S. crypto gains skyrocketed by over 450%. 

ETH Displaced Bitcoin With the Most Realized Gains

Surprisingly, the coin with the most realized gains in 2021 wasn’t bitcoin but ether. Ethereum accounted for $76B in gains, closely beating BTC by $1.6 billion. Experts attribute the rise in ETH gains to the DeFi boom of last year. 

Another factor that is played in favor of ether is the volatility rate. BTC’s high fluctuation rate is no news, occurring in 2021 on numerous occasions. ETH is a less volatile asset compared to bitcoin. 

Surprisingly, countries like UAE and Singapore aren’t on the same crypto gains list as the United States and the U.K., considering they were most open to blockchain innovation in 2021. These countries realized low crypto gains last year. 

Issues Still Loom in the U.S. Crypto Space

The United States may be leading in crypto adoption, but some concerns are yet to be addressed. Crypto regulation is still a much-debated topic and is still in its infancy. In addition, BTC’s correlation to tech stocks is still high and impacting performance.

Other issues, such as the Russian-Ukraine conflict and rate hikes, could hit the sector hard in 2022. BTC and other major cryptocurrencies will perform below average this year if factors remain unfavorable.

Bitcoin is $41.5k at press time, while ETH is exchanging hands at $3k. The market is partially in excitement, according to Santiment, meaning traders should expect a bull run.