How Asia uses Bitcoin in one color-coded map: Do you agree? Surprised?

[gatecoin]

Bitcoin is a global phenomenon, but not everyone around the world uses it in the same way. Here in Asia, the way a person from the Philippines uses bitcoin is probably very different from how it’s used in Thailand, and both are very different from the typical user in Taiwan.

Despite bitcoin being hailed as "borderless," these use cases tend to vary by country due to factors like government policy, economics, and culture. To help visualize these trends, we reached out to half a dozen Bitcoin thought leaders from some of the region’s most prominent bitcoin businesses. They include Ron Hose from Coins.ph, Mario Gomez Lozada from Quoine, Aurélien Menant from Gatecoin.com, Danyal Manzar from Urdubit, and Satyaki Maitra from Zebpay.

To read more on this, visit: https://www.techinasia.com/asia-bitcoin-colorcoded-map/

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[SpanishSoldier]

From your map it seems China is mining coins which India & Pakistan are consuming.

[fox19891989]

I am not agree, I am not a miner in China, I use it as a currency and remittance service. My translation service ONLY accepts btc as payment. 

[hasiramasenju]

for mining and investment that is dominated china and follow by malaysia,thailand and for remittance financial service dominated by india honestly i just to know about this but are you sure this data is accurate?

[RodeoX]

I think the map shows the most common use in these countries. Not that they are exclusively used that way.

[cellard]

I am not agree, I am not a miner in China, I use it as a currency and remittance service. My translation service ONLY accepts btc as payment. 

You are only a person, you cant deny that China contains some of the biggest mining operations on earth. These guys started very early on in the mining game and are dominating, because they see the potential.

[RhodaGila]

I bring all article here
Maybe this can help to more clearly

Bitcoin is a global phenomenon, but not everyone around the world uses it in the same way. Here in Asia, the way a person from the Philippines uses bitcoin is probably very different from how it’s used in Thailand, and both are very different from the typical user in Taiwan.

Despite bitcoin being hailed as "borderless," these use cases tend to vary by country due to factors like government policy, economics, and culture. To help visualize these trends, we reached out to half a dozen Bitcoin thought leaders from some of the region’s most prominent bitcoin businesses. They include Ron Hose from Coins.ph, Mario Gomez Lozada from Quoine, Aurélien Menant from Gatecoin, Danyal Manzar from Urdubit, and Saurabh Agrawal from Zebpay.
We asked each one to categorize the markets they operate in into three use cases. Using their crowdsourced feedback combined with our own research, we’ve mapped out how bitcoin is primarily used in each country.

The first use case is investment and mining. Most bitcoin users in these countries jumped on the bandwagon to make money from bitcoin itself. Miners, the ones who secure the bitcoin network using high-powered computers, are rewarded with new bitcoin, which they then sell to exchanges on contracts. Investors are typically either day traders or long-term buy-and-hold investors. They depend on the price of bitcoin, which is still quite volatile, to go up so they can receive a return on their investment.

The second use case is currency and commodity. This is how many people first envision bitcoin being used. It’s a fiat currency replacement used to buy and sell goods and services. This can be done online or offline at any merchant who accepts it. These countries tend to be well-developed and have enough such merchants to make using bitcoin worthwhile. Lending and crowdfunding also fall under this umbrella. Despite being the original intent of the currency, it’s probably the least developed aspect in Asia.

The final use case is financial services and remittances. In these instances, the price of bitcoin is more or less irrelevant. Instead, the function of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin network (upper-case ‘B’) make it a viable alternative to other financial services. In other words, it’s the medium, not the money. For those needing to send money abroad, bitcoin is typically far cheaper, more transparent, and just as convenient as a traditional wire service. Payment processing is another emerging opportunity. With the stipulation that the government allow it, countries with low banking and credit card penetration rates are often hotspots for these sorts of bitcoin businesses.

As you can see, many countries were left blank because we couldn’t dig up enough information about them or they just haven’t developed to a point where we could make a judgment call. This is a work in progress, and we welcome your help. The map is based on anecdotal evidence, not statistical data or official policy. Join the conversation on our Talk forum to let us know what countries to fill in and where we might have gone wrong.

[futureofbitcoin]

pretty much there is only 1 color that is needed currently in the world: speculation.

[hasiramasenju]

that mean this data only just a speculation because blank country does not mean not using bitcoin there are some countries that use bitcoin like vietnam and laos include in blank country

[BillyBobZorton]

Seems exaggerated to me. A lot of people is actively using BTC for transactions, the thing is China is so powerful at mining that it takes all the space of the statistic so you end up with a big red map.

[gatecoin]

Yes, there are still a lot of data needed to be included for this bitcoin use map. The map's creator acknowledges this fact. I think it would be great if each of us can provide real data based on our respective countries to further build upon this map. But I think a data based on scientific surveys and market studies of each country's bitcoin use is scarce if not completely non-existent.

I still think it's good that someone came up with the idea of creating such a map.

[Kakmakr]

How do they calculate the per capita usage? One HUGE mining farm represent only a few people and huge numbers associated to the selling of BTC. It is still surprising to see such a small percentage of those mined coins not being used for commodities. Based on that, they have to be the biggest hoarders of Bitcoin in the world. ^ha ha ha^

[minerpumpkin]

I am not agree, I am not a miner in China, I use it as a currency and remittance service. My translation service ONLY accepts btc as payment. 

Sure, this isn't an exclusive map! But the majority of mining operations really reside in China. It's mostly due to the proximity to the production facilities, the low wages, and the cheap electricity in some areas. Right now I don't see any country being able to compete with that.

[DeboraMeeks]

I am not agree, I am not a miner in China, I use it as a currency and remittance service. My translation service ONLY accepts btc as payment. 

Sure, this isn't an exclusive map! But the majority of mining operations really reside in China. It's mostly due to the proximity to the production facilities, the low wages, and the cheap electricity in some areas. Right now I don't see any country being able to compete with that.

I agree. fox19891989, the map shows general usage, obviously there are miners in other countries and there are people in China using it for remittance.

[ranochigo]

The map is accurate to a extent. The most accurate one would be for China. Due to the fact that is has great factor that increases the profitability of Bitcoin. For other countries, uses for currency remittance is pretty accurate since most of them have relatives or family members at other place of the world and don't want to pay for huge fees to send money.

[yayayo]

This map is totally inaccurate and exaggerated. They did not collect real empirical data, instead they asked for the opinion of some guys.

[...] we reached out to half a dozen Bitcoin thought leaders from some of the region’s most prominent bitcoin businesses [...]

Half a dozen = six people. Not even randomly selected users, but "thought leaders" (whatever that means) from some of the most prominent businesses. = Those that where available for interview.

I don't think that this a valid data basis to draw any conclusion.

ya.ya.yo!

[BitcoiNaked]

Shows those chinese dont care about bitcoin and just mine dump it and trade it, twats.

[Cryddit]

Chinese dominance in mining is mostly because of their heavily subsidized electricity; power is cheaper there than nearly anywhere else.

Of course the *production* of power isn't cheaper; all that subsidy comes out of their economy via taxes and fees collected from the public by the government.  Chinese Bitcoin miners are getting rich basically by using the government to rip off their fellow citizens.  Bitcoin is just a new vehicle for that very ancient and traditional transaction.

[minerpumpkin]

I am not agree, I am not a miner in China, I use it as a currency and remittance service. My translation service ONLY accepts btc as payment. 

Sure, this isn't an exclusive map! But the majority of mining operations really reside in China. It's mostly due to the proximity to the production facilities, the low wages, and the cheap electricity in some areas. Right now I don't see any country being able to compete with that.

I agree. fox19891989, the map shows general usage, obviously there are miners in other countries and there are people in China using it for remittance.

That being said, I do see that the map illustrates some facts in a simple way, but it doesn't really give any new or quantifiable numbers. Why can't they just give a pie-chart for every country on the map? All in all this makes the illustration rather simple.