Interest From Asia
South Korea and China may have clamped down on bitcoin, but that hasn’t tamped investor interest in the cryptocurrencies. (See also: After China, South Korea Bans ICOs). According to reports, investors in both countries are paying a premium to invest in bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. In fact, some bitcoin trades through China’s OKCoin exchange have already surpassed the $6,000 value.
South Korea’s regulation has resulted in limited numbers of cryptocurrencies and high demand. The result is that the Asian country has become the largest market for ethereum. Demand from Japan, which recognized bitcoin as legal tender earlier this year, could also drive up prices for cryptocurrencies. (See also: Bitcoin Gets Boost From Japan.)
I consider this as the main impetus for the growth of bitcoin this year. When Japan entered the market around April, the price suddenly jump and it hasn't look back since. Then South Korea joined in, pushing the price to the next level. And there's other country around that region as well who made impact but not as big as those two countries. You will be amazed as how trading pairs, BTC/KRW and BTC/JPY are really doing in terms of trading volumes. So no wonder we reached this peak with the help of those 2 Asian tigers. And I believe this trend will continue and no one can challenge the Asian domination of crypto market for the next 10 years or so.
