TLDR
- Raoul Pal predicts that the number of crypto users could reach 4 billion by 2030.
- He highlights that crypto adoption has grown by 137 percent annually over the past nine years.
- The total number of crypto users stood at 659 million by the end of 2024.
- Pal believes that debasement explains 90 percent of price action while adoption drives overall outperformance.
- He forecasts that the market capitalization of crypto could cross 100 trillion dollars within the next decade.
Former hedge fund manager Raoul Pal has projected that crypto users could reach 4 billion by 2030. He compared current adoption patterns with internet growth during its early years. He argued that strong adoption and debasement will fuel this expansion.
Crypto Users Adoption Trend
Pal highlighted that crypto users have increased at an annual rate of 137% over the past nine years. He noted that this growth brought the number of users to 659 million by the end of 2024. In comparison, internet adoption reached 187 million users by 2000, growing at 76% annually.
Crypto is still being adopted at twice the speed on the internet from 5m IP addresses vs 5m wallets (very like for like). 1/ pic.twitter.com/5v2rmdab8d
— Raoul Pal (@RaoulGMI) August 31, 2025
He explained that adoption is moving at a faster pace compared to the early internet era. Pal argued that both global accessibility and financial innovation support these rapid gains. He emphasized that wallets represent a strong metric for this adoption curve.
However, some critics challenged this perspective by noting wallets do not always represent unique crypto users. They suggested that one person may create multiple wallets for different reasons. Pal responded by pointing out that people also own multiple IP addresses.
Market Growth Forecasts
Pal also forecasted a possible 1 billion crypto users by next year. He said steady expansion could bring the total to 4 billion by 2030, which would represent one-eighth of the world’s population.
He added that adoption alone cannot fully explain the valuation trends of digital assets. According to him, “Debasement explains 90% of price action while adoption explains outperformance versus debasement.” He believes that macroeconomic pressures combined with technology will define the next phase.
Additionally, Pal forecasted a market capitalization of over $100 trillion for crypto within the next decade. He suggested this milestone could occur as early as 2032. He tied this projection directly to both adoption and economic policy shifts worldwide.
Industry and User Perspectives
Some community members voiced skepticism about Pal’s bullish stance on crypto users. One argued that crypto founders can create thousands of wallets to simulate adoption. Another noted they create new wallets every six months for personal use.
Meanwhile, Triple-A estimated that 560 million crypto users existed globally by late 2024. Andreessen Horowitz reported between 30 million and 60 million active monthly users. These contrasting figures show the debate over how to define adoption remains unresolved.
Nevertheless, Pal maintained confidence in his projections. He insisted that adoption would continue to scale at a historic rate and concluded that the future trajectory of crypto users would surpass many expectations.
