Cryptocurrency wealth has significantly declined over the past year, primarily due to a downturn in the crypto market.

According to a new research by British investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners, the number of crypto millionaires worldwide holding at least US$1 million worth of cryptocurrencies, excluding stablecoins, decreased by 43.9%, falling from 241,700 individuals on June 30, 2025 to 135,694 on August 31, 2026.

Similarly, the number of crypto centi-millionnaires also declined. Last year, there were 450 individuals with crypto holdings of at least US$100 million. On August 31, 2026, this number stood at 290. Additionally, the number of crypto billionaires also declined from 36 in 2025 to 23 in 2026.

Declining crypto wealth came as the market’s overall strength weakened. On August 31, 2026, total market capitalization stood at US$2.61 trillion, marking a 21.9% from US$3.34 trillion on June 30, 2025.

After surging to a record of US$125,000 in October 2025, Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has shed by up to 52% this year, briefly testing the US$60,000 threshold in July 2026. Since then, it has rebounded to US$78,000 on September 14, 2026, but it remains down 11.4% since the beginning of the year.

Financial services firm Morningstar attributes much of this year’s decline to capital outflows from US-domiciled spot crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), removing one of the strongest sources of demand that fueled the 2025 crypto rally.

According to Chris Perkins, head of Franklin Templeton’s active digital asset management unit, Franklin Crypto, this capital shifted toward artificial intelligence (AI), contributing to subdued trading volumes across digital assets.

“Retail risk capital has migrated toward AI as the new fixation,” he told Morningstar. “But institutional building has not stopped, and the underlying network fundamentals continue to strengthen.”

Global funding to AI companies reached a record of US$223 million in 2025, driven by soaring demand from both enterprises and consumers. The figure marks a 77% year-over-year (YoY) increase from US$126 million raised in 2024, according to Crunchbase data. This momentum is persisting in 2026 with already US$394 million secured in H1 2026, already surpassing last year’s total by a staggering 76.7%.

Analysts have identified several catalysts that could propel the crypto market back upward before the end of 2026, with regulation topping the list. In particular, progress with the long-awaited Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in the US, known as the CLARITY Act, could provide greater legal certainty and encourage broader institutional participation.

The CLARITY Act aims to establish a clearer legal framework for digital assets. The legislation delineates jurisdiction between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It also establishes a joint SEC-CFTC Advisory Committee to harmonize digital asset regulatory requirements.

Additionally, the act includes provisions that specifically target evasion, and addresses illicit finance by ensuring that key digital asset intermediaries are subject to anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing (AML/CTF) requirements. It also strengthens sanctions compliance, and authorizes Treasury to address high-risk foreign activity.

The legislation also requires centralized digital asset intermediaries that interact with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols to implement risk management standards, and includes a tailored rule-making for intermediaries that are not truly decentralized.

As of September 14, 2026, the CLARITY Act stood at the Senate stage but had not yet become law. The legislative chamber is scheduled to hold a cloture vote on September 15, 2026.

Despite the decline in crypto wealth, the number of crypto users has grown over the past year. In the year leading up to August 31, 2026, the number of funded Bitcoin addresses grew by 4.9%. This implies a total of 371 million Bitcoin owners. Considering Bitcoin’s 50% share of the crypto owners, this translates to an overall total of 742 million crypto owners as of August 31, 2026.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Magnific