Tribune. Interest in crypto-assets has exploded in recent years, and has even accelerated during the pandemic. This allowed us to glimpse what could be very different models for the future of crypto-assets, depending on the one hand on the way, extremely diverse and evolving, in which consumers have actually used them in their lives. daily and, on the other hand, how governments and regulators view these uses.
In Western countries, after the initial enthusiasm of the pre-pandemic years and recent developments, such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs, tokens that use the blockchain to certify ownership of digital objects), the extreme volatility of returns , fraud and criminal activity have become the concerns of many governments, who are hesitant about the best ways to deal with it as the appetite for crypto-assets grows and the associated risks are not yet regulated.
The main challenge for regulators is that they are trying to fit these assets into existing legal categories, predating bitcoin. But that’s a whole different story playing out in developing and emerging countries. Bitcoin exchanges have become a valid alternative to banking, conservative and restrictive systems.
A great success in Africa, Latin America and Asia
Immigrant workers can thus send money to their country of origin at reduced cost and time. This fact has accelerated the adoption of bitcoin in Nigeria and Kenya, which are among the first users of this cryptocurrency in the world. The whole of Africa is experiencing a similar boom. Crypto-investments are also spreading in Brazil.
The volume of bitcoin trading has quadrupled since the start of the pandemic, and digital artists are discovering the usefulness of NFTs to sell their works. So much so that most of the traffic on cryptocurrency platforms is concentrated in Latin America, Africa and South Asia. Vietnam, India and Pakistan lead the crypto-asset adoption podium.
There are many reasons for this: the instability of national currencies, capital restrictions, the high cost of financial intermediation, especially for remittances, or simply the inability to access traditional banking systems are all factors. valid reasons to trust a less well-known but more available alternative. Cryptocurrencies therefore play a role of financial inclusion while promoting innovation, especially in Africa.
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