Global Bitcoin ownership estimated at 5%, India ranks first

Bitcoin ownership is estimated at about 5% of the world’s population, with India accounting for the largest number of holders, according to figures published by on-chain analyst Willy Woo.

Woo’s country-level table, posted on September 1, places worldwide adoption in a range of 4.5% to 6%, equivalent to roughly 370 million to 500 million people. India is estimated to have about 68 million Bitcoin holders, representing 4.6% of its population and the highest absolute total among the 25 countries listed.

The United States ranks second by number of holders in Woo’s estimates, at about 50 million, while China is third with 33 million. Indonesia follows with an estimated 22 million holders and Brazil with 21 million. The figures underline the distinction between total ownership and penetration rates, with large populations producing high holder numbers even where the share of residents owning Bitcoin is comparatively modest.

Vietnam records the highest estimated ownership rate in the table, at 17% of its population. The United Arab Emirates follows at 16%, Argentina at 15%, while the United States, Turkey and the Philippines are each listed at 14%. Iran is shown at 13%. India ranks 12th among the 25 markets when measured by percentage of population rather than by the number of owners.

The estimates should be treated as indicative rather than as a census of Bitcoin users. Woo did not identify a complete country-by-country source methodology in the social-media post accompanying the table, and measuring cryptocurrency ownership is difficult because one person can control multiple blockchain addresses, while custodial exchanges can hold assets for many customers through pooled wallets.

Different studies consequently produce varying estimates for the number of cryptocurrency users. Chainalysis, which measures cryptocurrency adoption through on-chain and off-chain activity rather than attempting to count individual Bitcoin owners, ranked India first in its 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index. India placed first across all four components of that index, covering retail activity through centralised services, overall centralised-service activity, decentralised finance and institutional activity.

Chainalysis estimated that India received about $338 billion in cryptocurrency value between July 2024 and June 2025. The wider Asia-Pacific region received about $2.36 trillion during the same period, up from roughly $1.4 trillion in the previous comparable period, reinforcing the region’s importance in global digital-asset activity.

Woo also compared his roughly 5% Bitcoin ownership estimate with figures he cited for gold and the S&P 500. Those comparisons are not directly equivalent because ownership definitions, asset structures and underlying datasets differ. Exposure to equities can also occur through pensions, mutual funds and other pooled vehicles that do not necessarily translate neatly into individual holder counts.

India’s large estimated Bitcoin holder base exists alongside a tightly monitored tax and compliance framework for virtual digital assets. The Income Tax Department states that gains from virtual digital assets are taxed at 30%, along with applicable surcharge and cess. Transactions are also subject to tax-deduction reporting rules, including requirements covering transfers of virtual digital assets.

Virtual digital asset service providers operating in India are subject to anti-money-laundering obligations and registration requirements administered by the Financial Intelligence Unit. The FIU updated its anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorist-financing guidelines for such providers in January 2026 and maintains registration procedures for businesses serving the market.

The ownership figures do not indicate how much Bitcoin each holder possesses, how actively the asset is used, or whether holdings are maintained for investment, payments or other purposes. They also do not measure institutional exposure held through exchange-traded products, corporate treasuries or investment funds in the same way as direct individual ownership.

Woo’s estimate places global Bitcoin ownership within a broad range rather than at a single verified level. The lower end, 370 million people, would amount to roughly 4.5% of the world’s population, while the upper estimate of 500 million would be close to 6%, leaving significant uncertainty around the headline figure.