Not many developments have come as far in the last decade as cryptocurrency has. It hasn’t been a smooth road though, with some regions being more accepting of the method of alternative trade, with others being more on the fence.
With benefits such as the removal of central bank management, greater resistance to inflation and option to use trading tools like 1k Daily Profit to maximize crypto ROI, it stands to reason why the territories that have adopted crypto in large part have done so.
Focusing in on the Asian market, here are a couple of case studies and success stories to paint a picture of potential crypto development in the region.
Case Studies
Thailand
As far as digital payments go, Thailand has established itself as one of the leaders across the globe. Whether it’s mobile methods, account numbers, or the implementation of QR codes, immediate interbank transfers using point-of-sale (POS) protocols has been one of the country’s main focuses in the industry.
Thai banks, in 2017, got incentivized for reducing cash use, thanks to the country’s support of the prompt pay initiative. The participation factor is pretty high, with just about 70% of bank account owners in the territory having signed up for PromptPay.
It’s not just beneficial for larger companies though, as there are even small retailers who now can go cashless. Although crypto is a worldwide trend, many Thai residents tend to use local exchanges.
China
There is no doubt that China has played a huge part in the digital payment advancement space. Much of this comes from low card and bank usage numbers combined with a very large population. This has translated to a push for QR scanning and digital instant payment methodologies for years.
Take WeChat Pay and Alipay, for example, which both have amassed almost 1 billion active users.
The country has been working on the “digital yuan” since 2014, which is an attempt at successfully bringing the first major sovereign digital currency in the world to market. Chinese users are expected to hop on board easily since they are used to digital cash offerings.
With all that said, however, there isn’t a current plan to have a Chinese cryptocurrency introduced.
Singapore
Singapore is yet another world leader in the instant payment space. While different central banks in Asia attempted to study domestic cryptocurrencies, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was one of the first to do so.
The activity was given the name “Project Ubin,” and intended to study clearing and settlement at both the domestic and cross-border levels. There is an expectation for a launch of a central bank digital currency in the country, but any such announcement is yet to be made.
Success Stories
With the case studies out of the way, here are a couple of success stories in the digital currency space that represent oh bright potential future for crypto.
Vietnam
As far as grassroots cryptocurrency adoption goes, you would be hard-pressed to find a country that outdoes Vietnam. Thanks to an analysis provided by a Geography of Cryptocurrency report conducted by analytics firm Chainanalysis, Vietnam has had the distinction of staying standing at the top in both 2021 and 2022.
Not only is purchasing power high, but the population has adopted peer-to-peer (P2P) and decentralized finance (DeFi) cryptocurrency tools remarkably well.
Back in 2021, Statista conducted a poll that indicated a 21% ownership level of crypto. The Philippines is a close second, standing at 20%.
The main drivers of adoption in both come from remittances and play to earn gaming. Vietnam doesn’t have the strongest national currency and is categorized as lower middle-income by the World Bank.
With not many services available for cross-border currency transfer combined with the state of the national medium of exchange, there is an increased reliance on crypto for saving preservation and remittance use.
It’s a situation that is the same for other lower middle-income countries such as Thailand and the Philippines.
China
With the government’s tight control of the yuan and its instability, people have been seeking alternative currencies. There’s also the fact that hardware and energy are both inexpensive in China, creating a more economical setting for mining.
This is why China stands out as the leading territory for Bitcoin mining with about 70% of computing power located there. Additionally, no other country has more patents dealing with cryptocurrency and blockchain than China.
The Bottom Line
Asian territories such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and China have contributed greatly to the advancement of the digital currency space. While the factors in each country may be different, the continued development that results is welcome.