From $6B in 2016, Bitcoin's market capitalisation witnessed exponential growth (337 times), achieving over $2.0T in Jan 2025

Key takeaways:

  • Bitcoin’s market cap grew from $6B in 2016 to $2T in 2025 — a 337x increase.
  • In 2021, Bitcoin’s market value peaked at $1.1T before reaching $1.2T in 2022.
  • Bitcoin experienced a sharp drop to around $525B in 2023.
  • Its recovery was strong in 2024, with the market cap rising again to $1.4T.
  • Despite periodic dips, the long-term chart shows a consistent upward growth trend.

Bitcoin’s market capitalisation has experienced extraordinary growth over the last nine years, rising from just $6 billion in January 2016 to $2.02 trillion in January 2025. This represents a 337-fold increase, proving how Bitcoin has evolved from a fringe digital asset into a mainstream financial instrument with global impact. Despite some volatility along the way, the long-term trend is unmistakably upward, reflecting growing institutional adoption, increased public trust, and broader integration into global finance. This level of exponential growth is not something you see often. What began as an alternative asset class now rivals the size of major national economies and corporations.

Source:

Coinmarketcap

Period:

2016 - 2025
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Stablecoins are the most frequently transacted asset for outbound payments among Nigerian users (38.3%), outpacing bitcoin (27.3%)
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  • Bitcoin ranks second at 27.3%, showing it remains a major channel for store-of-value transfers and remittances.
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  • Less than 3% of users earn above $1,000 per month, confirming that the Nigerian crypto market remains largely retail-driven rather than dominated by professional or institutional traders.
About 44% of Nigerian crypto users mostly send crypto, primarily for investments and payments
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  • Investing in other platforms or projects leads as the top reason for sending crypto (29.2%), indicating strong speculative and wealth-building motives.
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Over 60% of Nigerians use crypto for savings and long-term investing
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  • Nigerian retail users treat crypto like a conventional financial instrument rather than only as a means of payment or speculation.
Over 65% of surveyed Nigerian crypto users transact below ₦50,000; less than 3% move above ₦1 million
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  • Less than 3% of users transact above ₦1 million, confirming that Nigeria’s crypto market remains primarily retail-driven, not institutional or high-net-worth.
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