Benchmark University Study Shines a Spotlight on Crypto Assets

Judge Business School, a subsidiary of the University of Cambridge, has published its second annual report into the cryptoconomy. Its inaugural report surfaced in April 2017, just as crypto mania was exploding. A lot has happened in the ecosystem since then, and the school’s new 96-page report covers a good portion of it, with a particular focus on cryptocurrency mining, exchanges, storage, and payments.

Crypto Sector Receives Its Second Report in a Week

Judge Business School’s second crypto assets report draws a number of primary findings including:

Unpacking a Trove of Data

While the price of crypto assets has tumbled through most of 2018, user adoption has continued to grow for many leading digital currencies. The Cambridge report found that “Total user accounts at service providers [exchanges, etc.] now exceed 139 million with at least 35 million identity-verified users, the latter growing nearly 4x in 2017 and doubling again in the first three quarters of 2018.” The authors conclude, however, that only 38 percent of these users can be regarded as currently active. It is reasonable to assume that a significant portion of these individuals will reignite their interest in cryptocurrencies once the market recovers.

Another key finding from the report concerns the growth in industry employment. Despite having been published within days of various crypto projects including Consensys, Spankchain, and Steemit all downsizing, the report highlights the significant expansion of the cryptocurrency workforce since 2016. Back, then, the average cryptocurrency business had just five employees. Today that figure stands at 20. Other interesting findings from the university’s report include: