MetaMask cites ‘global south’ for its 5x increase in users

MetaMask, the Ethereum wallet service and browser extension, has recorded 5 million monthly active users for the first time — marking a major milestone in the growth of decentralized applications. 

The sharp increase in adoption came just six months after MetaMask registered its first cumulative 1 million active users. Since October 2020, the service platform has grown five times, highlighting the continued strength of the cryptocurrency bull market.

The following chart, courtesy of MetaMask developer ConsenSys, highlights the exponential growth of the wallet service over the past six months:

Interestingly, MetaMask adoption has surged in the so-called “global south” — a phrase that describes emerging economies in Asia, Africa and South America. MetaMask mobile adoption has been especially pronounced in Vietnam and Nigeria. As Cointelegraph recently reported, Nigeria has emerged as a major center for cryptocurrency adoption as more of its citizens utilize Bitcoin (BTC) and other digital assets to escape inflation and navigate capital controls.

ConsenSys further explained its growing popularity in emerging economies:

“Increasingly, these people use MetaMask to earn a supplemental income or to make long-term investments. Many are unable to access their local banking system and thus need alternative technology to act as a savings account.” 

MetaMask was initially released in 2016 before undergoing several major upgrades. The wallet service surged in popularity during the height of the DeFi boom in 2020, as more investors used it to fund their token purchases.

MetaMask helped to facilitate the growth of not only decentralized finance but decentralized exchanges as well. These were the venues for finding low-cap altcoin gems not yet available on major exchanges such as Coinbase, Kraken or even Binance.

DeFi remains one of the hottest trends in the cryptocurrency market, with a total value locked of around $114 billion. TVL peaked above $123 billion earlier this month, according to industry data.