Global cryptocurrency adoption is fragmenting along geopolitical and macroeconomic fault lines, according to new data from TRM Labs, as tighter financial conditions and policy shifts reshape how – and why – digital assets are used.

The firm’s Q1 2026 Global Crypto Adoption Index, which tracks retail activity across more than 200 jurisdictions, shows global volumes fell to $979bn in the first quarter, an 11 per cent decline year on year and the second consecutive quarterly contraction – the steepest pullback since the 2022 downturn.

The slowdown comes against a backdrop of tariff-driven uncertainty, a strong dollar and elevated real yields, all of which have historically damped retail participation in risk assets.

“What the Q1…