The World’s Top 5 Crypto Countries in 2026

Updated: Aug. 26, 2026

The United States, South Korea, Russia, India, and Brazil recorded the highest estimated retail crypto volumes in the first quarter of 2026, according to blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs.

TRM attributed $979 billion in global retail crypto activity during the quarter. Its country ranking tracks transaction volume across exchanges, payment services, hosted wallets, peer-to-peer marketplaces and similar retail-oriented services.

This article therefore ranks countries by TRM-attributed retail transaction volume, not by ownership or number of users.

1. The United States 

The United States ranked first, with an estimated $213.3 billion in retail crypto volume during Q1 2026. That was more than three times South Korea’s $66.6 billion, the second-largest total in the ranking.

The U.S. figure represented about 22% of the $979 billion in global retail volume measured by TRM. Its attributed volume fell 11% from the first quarter of 2025, according to the report’s comparison table.

The gap between the United States and the rest of the ranking was substantial. The five largest markets together accounted for about $414 billion, while the United States alone accounted for more than half of that total.

2. South Korea 

South Korea ranked second with $66.6 billion in attributed retail crypto volume. Its total was more than $19 billion ahead of Russia, which ranked third.

The country’s retail volume fell 31% from Q1 2025, the sharpest year-over-year decline among the five leading markets. Even after that decline, South Korea remained one of the largest retail crypto markets in TRM’s global dataset.

3. Russia

Russia ranked third, with $47.5 billion in estimated retail crypto volume during the quarter. It placed $1.3 billion ahead of India and $7.1 billion ahead of Brazil. TRM’s table showed a 13% decline from Q1 2025. Russia nevertheless held its position among the three largest retail-volume markets covered by the index.

The difference between Russia and India was narrow. A movement of less than $1.5 billion separated third and fourth place in a quarter when global retail activity totaled $979 billion.

4. India

India ranked fourth, with $46.2 billion in attributed retail crypto volume during Q1 2026. Its total placed it narrowly behind Russia and ahead of Brazil.

India’s volume was down 5% from Q1 2025, the smallest decline among the top five countries. TRM said the market’s relative resilience reflected peer-to-peer activity and continued growth in domestic exchanges.

The result kept India within $1.3 billion of Russia’s third-place total. It also placed India ahead of Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Ukraine, and Germany in the published ranking.

5. Brazil

Brazil completed the top five with $40.4 billion in estimated retail crypto volume. It was the only Latin American country among the five largest markets in TRM’s Q1 2026 table.

Brazil’s attributed volume was 12% lower than in Q1 2025. Its total still placed it ahead of Türkiye, which TRM listed as sixth at $34.9 billion.

The United States, South Korea, Russia, India, and Brazil together accounted for 42.3% of the global retail crypto volume measured by TRM during the quarter.

What the Ranking Does and Does Not Measure

TRM estimated country volumes by combining on-chain VASP data with SimilarWeb traffic shares. It used March 2026 traffic shares for all three Q1 months because January and February data were unavailable.

Only about 432 of the roughly 600 VASPs in TRM’s coverage had SimilarWeb data, so the ranking is a standardized estimate of covered retail activity rather than a complete count of crypto use.