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Although 2023 was a fantastic year for cryptocurrencies, with all the largest cryptos seeing double and triple-digit growth, the global interest in apps allowing cryptocurrency storage dropped.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, crypto wallets saw 100.9 million downloads in 2023, or 26% less than the year before.

The Second Year of a Double-Digit Drop

According to Statista and App Magic data, the number of newly installed crypto wallets, including Coinbase, Blockchain.com, Metamask, Trust, and Binance, among others, has been in a downturn spiral for the past two years, ever since the crypto market peaked in 2021. That year alone, people worldwide downloaded nearly 186 million crypto wallets, the highest figure so far.

This figure is even more impressive when compared to years before. Statistics show 2021 saw almost five times more downloads than 2020 or twice more than the entire period between 2015 and 2020. However, after reaching an all-time high in 2021, crypto wallet downloads started falling and have been doing so ever since.

The Statista and App magic data show people worldwide downloaded 137.5 million apps that allow for cryptocurrency storage in 2022, showing a 26% drop year-over-year. During that year alone, the monthly downloads more than halved, falling from 16.8 million in January to only 7.8 million in December.

The downward spiral continued in 2023, with crypto wallet downloads falling by another 26%, marking the second year of a double-digit drop. Statistics also show that last year saw an average of 8 million downloads each month, or 40% less than the monthly average reported in 2022.

Q4 Saw the Highest Number of Downloads

Although the total number of crypto wallet downloads was down for the entire year, quarterly figures still show some positive movement at the end of 2023, which might continue this year.

Between January and March, people worldwide downloaded 17.4 million crypto wallets or only one-third of the figure seen in the same period in 2022. The year-over-year difference reduced in the next three months, with 24.8 million downloads in Q2 2023, only 1.3 million less than in the same period a year before.

Statistics show Q3 saw another downturn, with total downloads falling by 25% YoY to 23.2 million. However, following crypto`s price rally at the end of the year, the number of crypto wallet downloads rose to 25.7 million in Q4, the highest quarterly figure in 2023, but still 8% less compared to the same period in 2022.