With the collapse of stablecoin TerraUSD and concernes about the fragility of the crypto market, Sensor Tower, the market intelligence firm, has lifted the lid on how crypto apps are performing in Australia. It appears the FOMO around crypto investing may be wearing thin with the data revealing a drop in crypto app downloads. Downloads for the top ranked app in 2021 vs 2022 are down 82% with overall downloads down 72% in the same time period.
What were the major insights of Sensor Tower’s report?
- Sensor Tower data collects first-time downloads only (so if an app is redownloaded it won’t show in the data) there are fewer crypto app downloads in 2022 vs 2021.
- Overall downloads of the top 30 crypto apps decreased 72% in 2022.
- CoinSpot has seen nearly 80% less downloads in May 2022 vs May 2021.
- CoinSpot and Binance have been battling it out for the top spot for the past 12 months with Binance overtaking CoinSpot (for the time being).
- Aussie-based CoinSpot saw over 1 million downloads in 2021 but has dipped in 2022.
- Aussie-based Swyftx also performed strongly in 2021, ranking fifth on the annual AU download list but is now down to 8th spot in May 2022.
- New players do appear to be emerging though like ‘Phantom’ which trades only in NFTs.
What does the decline mean for the industry?
Eugene Du Plessis, Regional Director of Sensor Tower commented, “Crypto app downloads are fundamentally in lockstep with the value of Bitcoin so any market fluctuation has a direct impact on consumer behaviour. With the crash of TerraUSD last month, we are certainly seeing a cooling across the board for all crypto apps although this isn’t necessarily a cause for concern as we’ve seen the market’s ability to bounce back strongly before.”
“Coinspot has the highest daily active users and Binance isn’t far behind, showing whilst fewer people are downloading these apps, activity remains high for those using them. I expect to see new market entrants once the sector stabilises, particularly within the NFT space.”
“Whilst crypto app download has slowed, we’re seeing no signs of this across the app market more generally. In fact, our latest Sensor Tower report shows that Australia is the top forecasted climber, with our app market set to be worth over $7 billion AUD by 2026.”
“As the overall health of the app economy continues to climb globally and in Australia, as has Sensor Tower’s presence in Australia, signing on big names such as Immutable who is using our services to expand their footprint in the gaming space,” Eugene Du Plessis concluded.
