With the power to change your life in your hand, mobile phones played an instrumental role in the growth of the crypto sector globally.
As the world started to become smaller after the advent of the internet, a lot of other things also became very popular, like sending money, making payments online for utility services, booking domestic & international flight tickets from home, phone banking, and others. These all became possible with the growth of internet access.
There were some limitations to it, as to use it, one needed a computer and internet connection. Some even used cyber cafes to access online services.
But, when people started accessing the internet from mobile phones, the online services quadrupled and many telecom companies started offering internet packages to users.
To access crypto, you only need a device that allows you to connect to the wallet with an internet connection. You now don't need a personal computer for it.
Launch of crypto
Since the launch of cryptocurrencies in 2009, when the world's first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) was launched, global mobile phones have been growing at a very good speed and over 1.2 billion handsets were already in the market, according to statista.com.
During 2009, of the 1.2 billion handsets sold, the share of smartphones was 172 million, recording a growth of 24% in sales, as compared to 11% in smartphone sales during 2008. The global mobile handsets went on increasing every year and demand, as well as the share of smartphones also kept on rising.
The entry of Google Android in 2008, Windows OS, and Apple OS have made people move to smartphones, as they can use applications for specific needs. Initially, mobile game applications (Apps) were very popular, but later on, other utility applications were used more and mobiles phones really became smart.
With the launch of Ethereum, the crypto sector now had a competitor to Bitcoin, which led the race, on the sidelines. Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, Monero, though leaders, did not really compete with Bitcoin.
Ethereum brought in smart contracts, which was a game-changer in the crypto industry and it also had lots of other features that Bitcoin lacked.
Bitcoin was more a peer-to-peer decentralized digital currency, whereas, Ethereum (ETH) was an open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality.
After people across the world started realizing the power of smartphones, demand started to rise and it became the most sought electronic device in the world.
At some places, smartphones also became a status symbol, many companies launched special editions of smartphones, and mobile phones entered in a new avatar, a phone that does more than calling.
Initially, you could mine Bitcoin from your smartphones, but later on it became difficult to mine, as more and more miners started mining with specialized equipment.
Klever Wallet
Mobile applications like Klever Wallet that are available on Android and iOS are changing the way people are banking today. The Klever Wallet application is a simple, powerful, and secure self-custody crypto wallet, supporting the world’s major blockchains. The app offers 300+ trading pairs in Klever Swap and access to ETH and TRX-based DApps in Klever Browser.
Now, let us come back to mobile phones.
Growing mobile commerce
Given the growth of mobile commerce, it’s become increasingly important for e-commerce business owners to focus their efforts on mobile marketing.
The latest figures show an increasing number of smartphone users year after year. In 2021, the number of global smartphone users is estimated at 6.4 billion, marking a 5.3% annual increase.
It is also 73.9% more than the number of smartphone users there were in 2016, just half a decade ago.
In fact, from 2016 to 2021, the total number of global smartphone users grew at an average of 11.84% annually, with the biggest growth coming in 2017. That year, the number of smartphone users grew by 20.915.
Smartphones are also the most popular type of mobile handsets. The latest smartphone users statistics show of all the mobile handsets being used today, more than 75% are smartphones.
Reports estimate that the number of global smartphone users will continue to increase and hit 4.3 billion by 2023.
Given an expected global population of eight billion by then, that means that the smartphone penetration rate in 2023 will be at 53.8%. In other words, more than half of all people in the world will be equipped with a smartphone.
As expected, smartphone ownership is significantly higher across advanced economies including most European countries and the US, Australia, South Korea, and Japan.
An average of 76% of adults in these countries reports that they own a smartphone, with the highest usage coming from South Korea, where nearly every single adult (95%) is a smartphone user.
India, China leaders in smartphones users
According to Newzoo's Global Mobile Market Report 2020, China is a leading country with over 911. 92 million smartphone users, India with over 439.42 million users, the US with over 270 million users, Indonesia has around 160.23 million users, Brazil has over 109 million users, and other nations.
Even though China and India are leading, in the overall coverage, Italy leads with 85% penetration of smartphone users, followed by the US with 81.6%, the UK with 78.9%, Germany with 77.9%, France with 77.6%, and South Korea with 76.5%.
More than 65% of the world’s population now uses a mobile phone, with global users increasing by nearly 100 million in the past year, according to data by research firm We Are Social.
Global mobile phone users reached 5.29 billion in October 2020, the firm noted in a report titled ‘Digital 2021: October Global Snapshot”. The report looked at the internet, mobile, and social media adoption around the world.
However, less than half of India’s population has access to the internet, much less than the global average of 60%. Denmark, UAE, and South Korea topped the list with over 98% of people using the internet.
The smartphone industry has been steadily developing and growing, both, in terms of market size and models. Globally, by 2021, 40% of the world’s population is predicted to own a smartphone.
According to Ericsson, the number of smartphone subscriptions worldwide surpasses 6 billion and is expected to further grow by several hundred million in the next few years. It is expected that by the year 2026, the number of smartphone subscriptions would increase to 7.51 billion.
With over 6 billion people having smartphones, and awareness is being created by the crypto exchanges, crypto developers, and crypto communities, crypto is expected to witness a phenomenal growth in the coming days.
Jagdish Kumar
Klever Writer