Today, there are already thousands of merchants around the world accepting Bitcoin as a means of payment, thus proving the growing usefulness of it.Bitcoin Value also has other desirable properties. It is fast, borderless and decentralised with the potential to change the financial world for better.

The creation of bitcoin has sparked a lot of debate about its validity as a form of currency, but it hasn’t stopped its popularity. The latest data from Blockchain.info indicates that more than $210 million in the form of bitcoin was transacted on the 22^nd of January 2017 from over 236,000 transactions. Keep in mind that this data only shows bitcoin transactions, yet there are over 700 forms of cryptocurrencies, called altcoins, although bitcoin accounts for 90% of the cryptocurrency market.

Nevertheless, we are able to obtain such information about bitcoin because cryptocurrencies are transparent about their operations without infringing on the individual’s privacy. Combined, these factors have made cryptocurrency very popular worldwide, even in Asia where there has been a lot of focus.

China

Bitcoin Value Of all Asian countries, and perhaps the world, none has embraced bitcoin more than China where, it is often quoted that, more than half of all bitcoin transactions take place. The anonymity of bitcoin users makes it impossible to know whether this is true or not, but it is undeniable that bitcoin is very popular in China. Also, the main reason for bitcoin’s popularity in China is not known, but there are a few theories thrown around often, among them:

• The Chinese are afraid of inflation due to the currency fixation by the government. A similar effect was seen in Nigeria when the Nigerian government fixed the exchange rate of the naira, causing increasing inflation in the country
• China is a socialist country, where the government often controls and restricts people’s freedoms. Bitcoin’s anonymity is a way for the Chinese to regain some control
• Lack of trading fees and commissions when transacting bitcoin
• A form of investment in the volatile bitcoin market which keeps rising in value.

Japan

After China, the second-largest user of bitcoin was the US, but that was until a few days ago when Japan took the second position. On the 14^th of January, there had been more than 80,500 bitcoins transacted in the Japanese market compared to 65,300 in the American market. This clearly shows that Japan has overtaken the US, and the figures show that the volume is only increasing to date.

Last year, Japan passed a law requiring bitcoin exchanges to be regulated by the Financial Services Agency. This was after MtGox, a major bitcoin exchange, lost 850,000 coins worth $480 million. This law improved confidence in bitcoin by Japanese investors, and the number of bitcoin users has been gradually increasing ever since. Although the numbers are still way behind China’s, the steady growth is comforting to all bitcoin traders.

Cryptocurrency in Japan 2017

All signs point to an increased use of bitcoin in Japan due to increased investor confidence and spread of knowledge about cryptocurrency. However, the increasing demand for bitcoin in Japan does may not have a significant role in its value, and the most impact is still going to come from China.

India

Cryptocurrency, and especially Bitcoin Value is nothing new in India, and there are already 3 major bitcoin exchanges: Zebpay, Coinsecure and Unocoin. The growth of cryptocurrency in India had been growing steadily, just like in most parts of the world, up until the end of last year.

Increasing bitcoin demand

On the 8^th of November 2016, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi demonetized the 500 and 1,000 rupee banknotes. This action was meant to curtail counterfeit cash, but it also left many people panicking. In the panic, Indian residents turned to bitcoin. Google recently reported that searches from India about bitcoin have reached all-time highs, and the value has too.

While bitcoin value in other exchanges is dropping after news from China, in Indian exchanges the value of bitcoin is peaking at $1,080 due to increasing demand. As more Indian residents turn to bitcoin, you can expect businesses to accept bitcoin as well, and the demand should only keep rising as the year goes by.

Bitcoin minefield in India

The vultures are already at India’s door as bitcoin companies from other regions are entering the Indian cryptocurrency market. Belfrics is one such company with headquarters in Malaysia that has already set up shop in India to take advantage of the crisis in the country. If the crisis continues, you can expect not only the value of bitcoin in India to grow but investments as well.

India’s view of bitcoin

Bitcoin Value not only the businessmen that have started to look at bitcoin as a viable alternative, but also the banks and government institutions. The central bank of India, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has actually tested the effectiveness of cryptocurrency as a payment method and conceded the benefits of the system. Such a test has never been conducted before anywhere else in the world by a government institution. A few banks have already implemented the use of cryptocurrency, and there is a lot of promise for the remainder of the year.

South Korea

This country is well known for being at the forefront of technology, and its appetite for Bitcoin Value is also growing. South Korea hosts some of the largest bitcoin exchanges in the world, and although cryptocurrency popularity is still not very high, demand for it has been growing. Last year saw a steady 6% monthly growth in bitcoin transactions, raising the value of bitcoin transacted to $1.3 billion.

Cryptocurrency legislation

In response to this growing demand, the country’s central bank and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) are seeking to create regulations to govern cryptocurrencies. They have created a fintech which is going to oversee the cryptocurrency exchanges in the country to prevent its use in drug trafficking, money laundering and tax evasion purposes. Fortunately for them they already have a guide from Japan’s legislation which is going to make their work a lot easier.