Crypto is gaining traction is various countries
Intro
We all know that the country of El Salvador has officially adopted Bitcoin as legal tender, that is old news.
In latest news Crypto is gain momentum in Europe because of the Russia-Ukraine War
And the prices are seeing a uptick for various coins and tokens
Movement
Crypto is more than just a medium of exchange, its an ecosystem with many blockchain with smart contracts. However right now, in the time of crisis people need an alternative to traditional paper currency. And because of the decentralized and borderless nature of Crypto many people have turn to it when their national currency is either in free fall or withdrawals are blocked by the banks.
Why Crypto?
In the old days people use to turn to gold in the times of crisis as it will have value in any eventuality, even when the price of gold would fall it would still retain some of its value. SO, in case the fiat currency becomes worthless those who had gold could use it for their survival.
Now, in 2022 its Crypto. I remember a post on reddit where it tells of a Ukrainian guy that is in different country and all of his savings in his home country are blocked by banks for overseas transaction. He is now literally living off his Crypto holdings.
Unlike Gold, Crypto isn't heavy, you don't need a big vault to store it, it can be easily be transferred over a vast distance.
Value of Crypto
Even if everyone start selling their Crypto still it can't eliminate the worth of the large coins and tokens like BTC, BCH, ETH and the like, they are just too big of an ecosystem now.
Sure the price could fall, like about a year ago BitcoinCash was around $1,000 now its around $300
But it still has value, when I wanted to make a deposit to a betting site which only accept Crypto I could easily use my BitcoinCash that were in the value. Sure the amount I got was less but I able to do what I need it to do when I had no other deposit options. By the way you can check out my article on that platform here
Crypto Transactions are still denominated in fiat
If you happen to visit El Salvador and want to buy something with Bitcoin then you'll be quoted a price in USD and in the app you will type the amount in USD and transfer the equivalent BTC
Same is also the case with online merchant like Travala or Unstoppable Domains they all quote you the price in USD and you have to transfer the equivalent amount of Crypto of your choice.
Which is necessary right now for adoption due to the volatility risk.
Crypto Adoption in Latin America
The number of merchants accepting Crypto is raising day by day in many of the Latin American countries and its just not countries but problems like Venezuela but a lot of others as well.
Those that are tourist reliant are some of the fastest in terms of adoption.
One more thing is that in many of Latin American countries are using USD as a currency and can't control it, which can be used against them by the US.
Asia is lagging behind
Its sad to see that you can't walk into a cafe in Hanoi or Bangkok and pay the bill with BCH, in terms of adoption there is some process with the efforts of the great community.
Still the governments in Asia needs to be more Crypto friendly, this could be a chance to be part of the new world at an early stage.
It could be like missing out on the internet revolution.
Based on my experience, in the Philippines, I think the government is open to crypto as long it is regulated. We have local apps that are crypto friendly. I think they will improve more on that.