Crypto app downloads became active again in September, and Binance’s mobile app was the most downloaded tool for crypto onboarding. The app saw 9.9M downloads for the month, far surpassing Coinbase with 551K downloads.
Binance is back, at least when it comes to mobile downloads. In September, Binance’s crypto app had 9.9M downloads, getting ahead of other wallets and exchanges. Of those downloads, 8M went to the Android version. Smaller utility apps for Binance services, including Ceffu, saw fewer than 5K downloads.
Once again, Binance’s app is ahead of Revolut’s main fintech app, which logged 2M downloads for the last month. Binance is more widely distributed due to the wider scope of the app, aiming to onboard users to multiple crypto trends. Binance Smart Chain retains nearly 1M active daily users, more than double the levels on Ethereum, though lagging behind Solana.
During the 2024 bull market, Binance surpassed other crypto and fintech downloads. The approach of the year’s end, however, accelerated the adoption of its app. In the whole of Q1, Binance logged 6.3M downloads for its main app, which combined trading with multiple Web3 features.
Interest in Binance also increased after the release of Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao, the exchange’s former CEO. In preparation for ‘Uptober’, app downloads got an additional boost.
Binance also moved up the web traffic charts. The exchange is now the second most used site in its category, after the leader Tradingview. Binance’s portal is also in the top 500 based on globally ranking sites, after moving up 21 ranks in September. The exchange remains key to multiple services and trends, though it has been cautious in adopting the latest wave of meme tokens. The main Binance site also had 54.5M visits in September, up from August’s low of 53M.
As September sparked predictions of slow trading, most major exchanges saw slower trading volumes. At the same time, new retail users showed they still had interest in crypto, especially with easy app-based access. In the previous month, most major exchanges logged a total of $987.26B, the lowest level since December 2023.
Bitget ranks second with global growth
The other high-ranking app was the Bitget wallet, as well as the BitGlobal app. Both were tied to the expected growth of Wrapped BTC (WBTC). Bitget Wallet saw 5.8M downloads in September.
As of October 15, the Bitget wallet continued to build on the previous month’s strong results. Bitget Wallet also crossed the threshold of 40M global users.
We've crossed 40M global users, growing over 100% since March 2024! 📈
Our rapid growth highlights a key trend: decentralized wallets are becoming the go-to entry for Web3, rivaling centralized exchanges 🌐💼.
Since 2018, Bitget Wallet has become a comprehensive Web3 hub… pic.twitter.com/pfzPMwqQgx
— Bitget Wallet 🩵 (@BitgetWallet) October 15, 2024
The growth of Bitget wallet also reflects demand for Web3 activities. Bitget wallet users also shifted the balance of networks used. The app grants multi-chain access, and Ethereum is still the most widely used chain.
In the past few months, Bitget shifted its balance of chains, with growth for BNB Smart Chain. Bitget users also expanded their access to Base and Solana, two of the most active meme token and Web3 chains. The ongoing demand for memes and DeFi may continue to drive the adoption of Bitget for Web3. As a client for Ethereum, Bitget even surpassed MetaMask as the go-to wallet.
Bitget’s app encompasses some of the most active chains in 2024, reflecting an inflow of users for swaps. In the past week, Solana orders for swaps dominated, signaling Bitget Wallet may become an integral part of meme token trading. Bitget is also used within the Toncoin ecosystem, reflecting some of the latest meme token airdrops and transfers.
The third most downloaded app belongs to the Bybit exchange, one of the main venues for listing meme tokens. Bitget draws in new assets that graduated from launchpads and decentralized exchanges, and has hosted some of the biggest meme stars in 2024. In September, 4.5M users downloaded the exchange app.
Traditional wallets like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, as well as Coinbase and KuCoin apps saw slower downloads, but remain the go-to apps for retail adoption. Some of the crypto activity in the past months was linked to custodial services and whale users. A shift to apps signals a new inflow of retail buyers, specifically interested in the latest meme trends.
