Abstract
Background Digital asset adoption varies substantially across regions despite improvements in digital infrastructure. This study examines whether digital infrastructure, financial inclusion, and regulatory clarity are associated with regional differences in digital asset adoption and the resulting digital asset龉gap. Methods The study uses an eight-year regional panel covering 2018–2025 across the United States, EU-10, Visegrád Group (V4), and Indonesia–Malaysia–Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), comprising 32龉region-year observations. Digital asset adoption is measured using cryptocurrency users per 1,000 population. The analysis combines descriptive comparisons with fixed-effects panel regressions, interaction effects, and robustness checks using alternative variable definitions and specifications. Results Internet penetration has a positive but statistically insignificant association with current adoption after controlling for lagged adoption (β = 0.308, p = 0.251), while lagged adoption shows strong path dependence (β = 1.086, p