Binance said 77% of its users are now based in emerging markets, driven largely by stablecoin savings demand.
Crypto News
Users from emerging markets make up 77% of Binance's total user base in 2026, up from 49% in 2020, according to a report published by Binance Research on May 7. The shift reflects growing use of the platform for savings, payments, and investment access in countries where conventional financial services remain limited.
The report draws on World Bank data to frame the scale of unmet financial need globally. Around 1.3 billion adults currently lack access to any financial services. A further 4.7 billion adults have no access to credit or loans, 3.6 billion adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) do not use digital payments or cards, and 1.4 billion savers in those countries earn no interest on deposits. Of the world's unbanked adults, 900 million own a mobile phone and 530 million own a smartphone.
Stablecoins Drive Savings Behavior
Stablecoin holdings are a defining feature of how emerging-market users engage with the platform. Around 36% of users in those markets with balances of at least $10 hold at least half their portfolio in stablecoins, compared with 28% globally, a share that has risen from just 4% in 2020. Binance Research described the pattern as consistent with savings behavior rather than trading activity. Of all stablecoin savers on the platform globally, 73% are based in emerging markets.
The cost advantage of stablecoin transfers over conventional remittance channels is central to the report's argument. Transfers on high-performance blockchain networks can cost as little as $0.0001 and settle almost instantly, compared with a minimum of $20 for cross-border SWIFT transactions. The World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide database shows the global average remittance cost remains above the United Nations target of 3%. In Brazil, the country's tax authority has reported that stablecoins account for 90% of total national crypto volume.
Multi-product engagement on the platform is also concentrated in emerging markets. Among users actively using two or more Binance products, 83% are based in emerging markets, representing 24% of total active users on the platform. Users engaging with three or more products account for 14% of the active base. Binance Research said the pattern is consistent with users treating the platform as a broader financial tool rather than a standalone trading venue.
The report also covers tokenization as a mechanism for broadening capital market access. Tokenized pre-initial public offering (IPO) instruments allow retail investors in markets outside major listing jurisdictions to gain exposure earlier in a company's value creation cycle. SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI appreciated by an average of 88% in secondary markets in 2026, according to Ventuals data cited in the report.
Binance Research additionally examined AI agents as a new category of on-chain economic participant. More than 17,000 agents have been deployed since 2025. Approximately 19% of on-chain activity is now automated or agentic, and 76% of stablecoin transfer volume is bot-driven, according to Artemis data cited in the report.
Moody's and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have each raised concerns about the monetary sovereignty and financial resilience risks that widespread stablecoin adoption in emerging markets could create. Neither warning is addressed directly in the Binance Research report.
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