cambodias-first-bitcoin-point-of-sale-system-debuts-amid-currency-debate

[Ikuedowoni]

Cambodia, Land of Currency Fervor

Quietly, Cambodia has racked up solid economic gains now spanning more than a decade. Inflation is down. Major global economic metrics point to it lifting all boats, including its very poor.

At least part of its growth has come due to allowing foreign investment, which include repopulating rice from the Philippines to a domestic culture familiar with wide varieties of tourists.

With investment and tourism comes currencies, and with them the need for exchange and pricing structures.

This summer, political sentiment began to change toward foreign money such as the United States Dollar (USD). Wildy popular, it is the premier fiat currency used by the country’s private sector to pay wages and generally do business.

Cambodia's First Bitcoin Point-of-Sale System Debuts Amid Currency Debate

Nevertheless, because currencies are linked to governments they can be used as calls to national fervor and pride, and even animosity.

The Khmer riel, trading at about 4300 to 1 dollar, is that for some. A few politicians are urging what’s commonly referred to as “de-dollarization,” relying less on USD and more on riel.

The research arm of The Economist magazine noted “Cambodia currently has 95 percent of its deposits in foreign currency,” according to The Cambodian Daily online.

Southeast Asia analyst, Miguel Chanco, insisted, “The use of dollars in Cambodia is still far too widespread for [de-dollarization] to be achieved.”

Primed for Bitcoin

Such hardened and passionate debates are lessened by bitcoin, if not eliminated altogether. And the country’s ease with multiple currencies make it an ideal experiment for cryptocurrencies.

Though the country has made economic strides, a great many of its people remain unbanked. Bitcoin could address that issue too.

“The main goal for me is to put bitcoin on the map in Cambodia and increase its adoption in the country,” CEO Steve Miller of Cryptoasia told Thailand’s portal, The Nation.


All the merchant has to do is enter the dollar amount that’s owed and the gateway generates it into bitcoins with a unique payment address.

In a company online newsletter, it announced how bitcoin “continues to be adopted by merchants in Phnom Penh.” Bars, lodging are new places bitcoiners in the area can spend. It also points to a then-upcoming conference on financial technology, where bitcoin will be featured, and points to meet-ups for locals to become better acquainted with the cryptocurrency.

An ambitious first is Cryptoasia’s PoS payment gateway. “We install a widget on a merchant’s website that generates bitcoin addresses,” Mr. Miller explained. “All the merchant has to do is enter the dollar amount that’s owed and the gateway generates it into bitcoins with a unique payment address. It’s useful for online businesses and can also be used as point-of-sale platform if you have a smartphone or a tablet.”

Plans are also in the works for a bitcoin exchange later this year.

What do you think? Are currency wars a good opening for bitcoin? Tell us in the comments below.


Images courtesy of: freshwallpapers, Visit Angkor .

[stompix]

At least part of its growth has come due to allowing foreign investment, which include repopulating rice from the Philippines to a domestic culture familiar with wide varieties of tourists.

An ambitious first is Cryptoasia’s PoS payment gateway. “We install a widget on a merchant’s website that generates bitcoin addresses,” Mr. Miller explained. “All the merchant has to do is enter the dollar amount that’s owed and the gateway generates it into bitcoins with a unique payment address. It’s useful for online businesses and can also be used as point-of-sale platform if you have a smartphone or a tablet.”

Plans are also in the works for a bitcoin exchange later this year.

What do you think? Are currency wars a good opening for bitcoin? Tell us in the comments below.
Images courtesy of: freshwallpapers, Visit Angkor .

1) Repopulating rice?  LMAO
2) At least do some editing when you copy paste articles.
3) And the important part

This is a PR article. One guy advertising his business of selling bitcoins at vending machines, usually at crappy prices with 10% fees.

The impact on the so called "de-dolarization" is null.

[limek]

It is a good entry point for crypto. We could see many adoption elsewhere and why not....If it is widely used like grocery store, cafés, hotels, etc. that use crypto, we can easily have access to it. So many services that could be paid by using crypto. This is just the beginning of the massive adoptions around the world as we hardly find some physical stores and services provider that accepting it. Buying crypto is considered difficult as it is not widely used yet in your daily life. Concepts that Pundi X is planning to develop and implement will become the adoptions solution. One of the implementations will be a POS payment system that let you pay your good, utility bill, top-up, etc. by using crypto. The technologies are out there, it will not disappear like smartphone, internet, gps, etc. Just that someone choose to use it but some others just deny it.  In matter of time, the knowledge or techno-how will soon become a common discussions in coffee shops.