Crypto Apps See Zero Growth as Bitcoin Price Triples This Year

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto may not be as hot as you think.

Despite Bitcoin tripling in price this quarter, consumers aren’t any more interested in downloading cryptocurrency applications on their phones and mobile devices than they were in the first half of 2018, when the digital-asset market tanked, according to app tracker App Annie.

Mobile phones are the only way for people to access the internet -- and to interact with cryptocurrencies -- in much of the world. Even in developed markets like the U.S., many people use mobile apps to trade.

App Annie looked at apps downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play, where it found more than 6,500 in the finance category with words such as cryptocurrency, blockchain or Bitcoin in their description as of June 26. In the first half of 2019, people downloaded 67 million crypto apps, compared with 65.8 million in the first six months of last year. The total number of apps is up 35% from January 2018, thanks to the debut of ones from the likes of the Gemini exchange.

The apps are just one of many indicators that consumer enthusiasm may not be driving this year’s rally, and that adoption of crypto may not be growing at the same break-neck pace. Google searches for the word Bitcoin were five times higher in December 2017 as well.

To contact the reporter on this story: Olga Kharif in Portland at okharif@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeremy Herron at jherron8@bloomberg.net, Dave Liedtka, Rita Nazareth

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