Well crypto has been booming at many corners of the world since the invention of Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto. In some parts of the world crypto currencies are a primary payment option at many retailers. Besides, in Southern America crypto currencies like Bitcoin provide an income via the process of mining. Many facilities are being built around the world to mine crypto currency at a rapid rate especially in China due to the low electricity tarrif in China. However, in most parts of Southeast Asia, crypto currencies have yet to boom. Some people in this region might know what is Bitcoin or crypto currency but they are only able to describe it as a digital currency. From my point of view crypto currencies are more than a digital currency, it is a technology that is shaping lives of millions on our planet. Most Southeast Asians don't really know the mechanism of blockchain that is behind the worldwide crypto currency boom. Only a handful of people in this region have a basic or high level knowledge on blockchain. A huge amount of people have still not heard about Bitcoin which is sad.
In most countries in SEA the law does not allow it's citizens to use crypto currencies as payment method for purchases. Why? We all know that crypto currencies are decentralized so governments don't like this because they can't keep track of their citizens. Furthermore, crypto currency payments are irreversible. This is a threat to governments. In a bank payment the process can be tracked or reversed by authorities. It is also hard to carry out money laundering via banks because the payments are traceable by the authorities. Crypto currency is an excellent method for money laundering. This is a reason why governments ban it. Crypto currency funds cannot be freezed but bank funds can be freezed. This is a plus point for governments to curb crypto currency usage. Crypto currency is a primary payment method in the dark web. Even though all these restrictions apply some retailers and tourist related outlets accept crypto currencies to cater the tourists.
Many of us think that people all around the world use crypto regularly, well we are wrong. SEA should at least conduct research on how to use blockchain in various sectors even though crypto currencies are not used regularly.
Blockchain is more than just crypto currencies. More efforts should be taken to educate the citizens of SEA about crypto currencies and the technology running it, blockchain. Hopefully we could see a boom in crypto in SEA just like in the rest of the world. Maybe a crypto boom in SEA can boost the Bitcoin price. Crypto tourists out there SEA is not really a good destination for spending crypto, in the future it will be.
