Monday, May 11, 2020 UTC
How Emerging Markets & Developing Countries Are Turning to Bitcoin
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Introduction
There is a very common misconception in the developed world regarding the interest from cryptocurrencies in developing countries. Many people believe that all the action in the Bitcoin and Blockchain ecosystem takes place in the developed western nations of the world.
Countries, which are thought to be first world like USA, UK, Germany, France and other western European countries are thought to be the epicentre for the crypto movement. In Asia, we only think of China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore to show some action when it comes to the bitcoin system.
However, this is a fallacious oversight, which needs to be addressed at the very outset. In this article, we are going to look at how cryptocurrencies are penetrating into the third world countries and the developing world. We are also going to examine certain reasons- social, economic, political and geo-political as to why this is happening.
Developing Countries and Bitcoin: A promising relationship
One of the main regions, which have escaped the attention of crypto enthusiasts, is the Middle East. The region is well known as providing a majority of the world’s oil supply through the OPEC. However, it is also a region, where the last vestiges of monarchy and dictatorships continue unabated.
Iran is a country, which has always been at the forefront of promoting Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem. It was one of the first countries in the Middle East, which supported Bitcoin Mining. However, some issues forced them to abandon their overenthusiastic zeal towards cryptocurrencies.
In the latter half of 2019 and early 2020, Iran once again reached out to miners and other industries and has been successful in inviting them to set up mining rigs in different parts of the country. Mining companies find the lower electricity costs and the cheap availability of land and factory space as great pulls towards setting up mining facilities.
Another country, which has very recently ratted the Bitcoin ecosystem, is India. India’s highest court of appeal, the Supreme Court recently overturned a ban on everything related to cryptocurrency by India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.
The lifting of the ban is very advantageous for the crypto ecosystem because India is following a very deep mobile and data connectivity strategy. It is also putting a lot of emphasis on digital. The government is investing a lot of money into ‘Digital India’. The sheer scale of the country and its recent rise as an economic superpower is attracting attention.
Why do countries like Iran think of Cryptocurrencies as a good bet?
It should be pointed out that Iran and the United States are embroiled in many hostilities for a long time. The sanctions on Iran have taken a toll on their economy in a major way. Even though Iran is the world’s third largest oil producer, sanctions on it mean that it cannot sell its oil to any country.
This has forced Iran to look at other options in terms of setting its finances in order. Iran is betting big that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are going to be important advantage for the future. It wants to be ingrained in the new financial order of the world. By supporting the people and the companies in the ecosystem, Iran is paving its way into formal acceptance.
If you look at how digital currencies are being used by different countries, you will realise that they carry a strong international relations messaging. The Crypto or Digital Yuan evolved by China is already threatening to replace the dollar as the world’s global currency.
Conclusion
According to experts and analysts, ‘developing countries’ are where the real action in cryptocurrencies is going to take place. This is not only going to make Bitcoin and others become more mainstream, but also improve more and more people to come within the fold of an organized finance.
There is a very common misconception in the developed world regarding the interest from cryptocurrencies in developing countries. Many people believe that all the action in the Bitcoin and Blockchain ecosystem takes place in the developed western nations of the world.
Countries, which are thought to be first world like USA, UK, Germany, France and other western European countries are thought to be the epicentre for the crypto movement. In Asia, we only think of China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore to show some action when it comes to the bitcoin system.
However, this is a fallacious oversight, which needs to be addressed at the very outset. In this article, we are going to look at how cryptocurrencies are penetrating into the third world countries and the developing world. We are also going to examine certain reasons- social, economic, political and geo-political as to why this is happening.
Developing Countries and Bitcoin: A promising relationship
One of the main regions, which have escaped the attention of crypto enthusiasts, is the Middle East. The region is well known as providing a majority of the world’s oil supply through the OPEC. However, it is also a region, where the last vestiges of monarchy and dictatorships continue unabated.
Iran is a country, which has always been at the forefront of promoting Bitcoin and the crypto ecosystem. It was one of the first countries in the Middle East, which supported Bitcoin Mining. However, some issues forced them to abandon their overenthusiastic zeal towards cryptocurrencies.
In the latter half of 2019 and early 2020, Iran once again reached out to miners and other industries and has been successful in inviting them to set up mining rigs in different parts of the country. Mining companies find the lower electricity costs and the cheap availability of land and factory space as great pulls towards setting up mining facilities.
Another country, which has very recently ratted the Bitcoin ecosystem, is India. India’s highest court of appeal, the Supreme Court recently overturned a ban on everything related to cryptocurrency by India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.
The lifting of the ban is very advantageous for the crypto ecosystem because India is following a very deep mobile and data connectivity strategy. It is also putting a lot of emphasis on digital. The government is investing a lot of money into ‘Digital India’. The sheer scale of the country and its recent rise as an economic superpower is attracting attention.
Why do countries like Iran think of Cryptocurrencies as a good bet?
It should be pointed out that Iran and the United States are embroiled in many hostilities for a long time. The sanctions on Iran have taken a toll on their economy in a major way. Even though Iran is the world’s third largest oil producer, sanctions on it mean that it cannot sell its oil to any country.
This has forced Iran to look at other options in terms of setting its finances in order. Iran is betting big that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are going to be important advantage for the future. It wants to be ingrained in the new financial order of the world. By supporting the people and the companies in the ecosystem, Iran is paving its way into formal acceptance.
If you look at how digital currencies are being used by different countries, you will realise that they carry a strong international relations messaging. The Crypto or Digital Yuan evolved by China is already threatening to replace the dollar as the world’s global currency.
Conclusion
According to experts and analysts, ‘developing countries’ are where the real action in cryptocurrencies is going to take place. This is not only going to make Bitcoin and others become more mainstream, but also improve more and more people to come within the fold of an organized finance.
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