Virtual currenciesWith the developing trends in technology, most countries are embracing the use of crypto-currencies in making payments. Nevertheless, there have been widespread concerns about the use and misuse of the crypto-currencies all over the world. The article “The crypto sun sets in the East” focuses on the stances taken by various Asian nations regarding the use of bitcoin. According to the article, Asian countries have embraced bitcoin trading differently.
On one end, Japan has fully supported and welcomed crypto-transactions. On the other hand, some nations, like China, have banned the use of such forms of payment. Besides, other countries such as South Korea are still contemplating on what position to take. Some of the primary reasons why North Asia has openly embraced crypto-currencies are due to the presence of smartphones, the fast internet, as well as capital controls. These factors have aided in boosting the appeal of crypto-currencies in South Korea and China.Nevertheless, some of the regulators in the region have failed to agree on the future of this technology, thus leading to each country taking a different position on the matter.
China has opted to take a hard stance after it banned domestic exchanges last year. This has prompted bitcoin miners to shift to other countries. Additionally, Japan has allowed crypto-currencies to thrive in its economy with full knowledge of the dangers it could pose. The government has approved the virtual currencies to flourish to the extent of licensing up to eleven exchanges in a bid to minimize the risk of fraud. In a nutshell, governments are responsible for making or breaking the fortunes of virtual currencies. I found this article interesting given that we are moving into a technological era where business transactions will be done using virtual currencies.
As such, I wanted to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the same. In my opinion, I believe states should allow virtual currencies to thrive but with regulation. This way, the government will be able to protect its people against scandals such as the Mt. Gox collapse that happened in Japan in 2014.
