The total number of crypto users could hit the 4 billion mark by 2030, according to former hedge fund manager and crypto bull Raoul Pal.

In an X post on Sunday, Pal shared data comparing the adoption rate of crypto users to internet users after each innovation hit 5 million users.

Pal did this by looking at the number of crypto wallets compared to the number of IP addresses.

According to Pal, the total crypto user base has grown by 137% annually in nine years and has reached 659 million users by the end of 2024. In comparison, the total number of internet users hit 187 million by the end of 2000, at an annual growth rate of 76%.

Pal predicts the number of crypto users will grow by a moderate 43% next year, reaching 1 billion crypto users by 2030, or one-eighth of the global population. 

$100 trillion market capitalization

Pal’s bullish forecast further predicts that crypto’s market capitalization could cross the $100 trillion mark within the next decade and be achieved as early as 2032.

Debasement and adoption would likely be the primary catalysts for this growth, according to Pal.

“Debasement explains 90% of price action (adoption explains 100% of outperformance vs debasement),” said Pal, who is the founder and CEO of the financial knowledge and education platforms Real Vision and Global Macro Investor.

Community taps brakes on Pal’s bullish take

Some comments on Pal’s X post, however, suggest Pal could be overestimating things. 

One X user said that wallets are not a reliable source of growth, with another suggesting that a founder of a crypto project could simply open “10000 wallets and spreading coins to make it look like he has a community.”

Another user pointed out that they create a new wallet every six months and have been doing so for the past four years.

However, Pal responded, arguing that everyone has multiple IP addresses, too. 

According to the B2B digital currency platform Triple-A, there were more than 560 million crypto users by the end of 2024.

Meanwhile, an October 2024 report by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto division indicates roughly 30 million to 60 million real crypto users monthly.