Crypto Adoption & Migration Analysis

The Challenge: Financial Exclusion of Migrants

Why This Matters

Millions of migrants and refugees around the world cannot access basic banking services. Without bank accounts, credit history, or formal identification, they are locked out of the financial system.

This exclusion affects their ability to:

Send money to family back home
Build credit for loans or housing
Access insurance and other financial services
Participate fully in their new economies

A Potential Solution

Blockchain technology offers a different approach. Unlike traditional banks, blockchain-based financial systems don't require:

Extensive paperwork or credit history
Physical bank branches
Government-issued ID in some cases
High minimum balances

But do migrants actually use cryptocurrency? And could it really help with financial inclusion?

Our Research Question

"Can blockchain-based identity and credit systems provide a viable solution to financial exclusion among migrants and refugees who lack access to traditional banking services?"

To answer this, we investigated whether regions with more migrants show higher cryptocurrency adoption rates. If they do, it could suggest that blockchain technology is already filling gaps in traditional financial services.

How We Studied This

To answer our research question, we looked at data from two reliable sources:

Cryptocurrency Usage Worldwide

We used rankings of how much different countries use cryptocurrency for everyday transactions (not speculation or investment).

Where Migrants Live

We gathered UN data on international migrant populations around the world, including refugees and people seeking better opportunities.

Then we compared these patterns to see if places with more migrants also tend to use cryptocurrency more often.

What We Discovered

Our Key Discovery

We found a moderate connection between areas with more migrants and higher cryptocurrency usage, especially after accounting for regions with highly developed banking systems. This suggests that migrants may indeed be turning to digital currencies when traditional banks don't serve them well.

Regional Crypto Adoption Trends

Some regions consistently lead in crypto adoption. The chart below shows the average adoption score by region over the past three years. A higher score means higher adoption.

Global Migrant Distribution

The global migrant population is concentrated in a few key regions. This pie chart illustrates the share of the world's migrant stock for each area in 2024.

Connecting Migration and Crypto Adoption

When we plotted migrant populations against crypto adoption scores for 2024, a clear pattern emerged. The graph below compares the migrant stock (blue bars) with the crypto adoption score (teal line). Regions are ordered by their migrant population size.

Crypto adoption compared to migrant population

While regions like North America and Western Europe have the largest migrant populations, their crypto adoption scores are moderate. In contrast, regions like Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia show high adoption scores relative to their migrant populations, suggesting crypto is filling a need where traditional banking is less accessible.

Data Visualizations in Detail

Adoption vs. Migrant Stock (Top 50 Countries)

This chart narrows the focus to only the top 50 countries with a crypto adoption score over 0.5. It helps clarify the relationship in high-adoption areas, including North America, showing that even in developed regions, there's a notable overlap.

Top 50 countries adoption vs migrant stock

Country-Level Adoption Scores by Region (2024)

This visualization breaks down the regional averages and shows the adoption score for every country. Each dot is a country. This reveals the diversity of adoption within regions—some are very consistent, while others have wide disparities.

Distribution of crypto adoption scores by country and region

What This Means for Real People

The Big Picture

Our research suggests that blockchain technology might actually help solve financial exclusion for migrants and refugees. When traditional banks don't work for people, they're finding alternatives.

This is important because it shows that:

Migrants are already adapting and finding solutions
Digital currencies can work where traditional banks fail
Technology can help level the playing field

Practical Benefits

Blockchain-based financial services could help migrants by:

Sending money home without expensive fees
Storing value safely without needing a bank account
Building financial history that isn't tied to one country
Accessing services with just a smartphone

Important Note: While our findings are encouraging, this is just the beginning. More research is needed to fully understand how well these solutions work in practice.

What Comes Next

This research is just the beginning. To really understand how blockchain can help migrants access financial services, we need to dig deeper.

Talk to Real People

We need to interview migrants, refugees, and aid organizations to understand:

What financial challenges they actually face
Whether they're using cryptocurrency now
What solutions would help them most

Study Specific Cases

We want to look at real examples where this is happening:

Refugee camps using digital money
Remittance corridors (money sent home)
Countries with crypto-friendly policies

Measure Real Impact

Most importantly, we need to find out:

Does crypto actually improve people's lives?
What are the risks and challenges?
How can we make these tools safer and easier to use?

Our Goal: To help create financial systems that work for everyone, regardless of where they come from or what documents they have.

Meet Our Research Team

We're a diverse group of students from the MIT Emerging Talent program, passionate about using technology to solve real-world problems and create more inclusive financial systems.