Is there a way to determine the number of people who are actually using Bitcoin till date? Who would have access to such information? Meaning a way to find out, how many new people have used Bitcoin in 2016 , so that we can say exponential growth is natural not artificially created by hoarders.
I think there is no way to determine this. there is nothing that can determine the actual growth accurately but i bet you there is increasing growth of people because of rising price.
I do not think that the exact amount of bitcoin users can find out. Assuming that it is possible to count the number of purses it is incorrect, or the number of transfers to a particular algorithm, it also will not work. Today, perhaps one of the most important features of bitcoin is a lack of control. Because it is not possible.