Is Asia Preparing to Adopt Cryptocurrency Before the West?

The potential of digital currencies to transform the current financial order is becoming more evident in a variety of economic relations worldwide. The nascent crypto sector is thriving, with virtual assets like bitcoin now seen as legitimate alternatives to central bank currencies. These emerging financial instruments have become significant flashpoints for global competition. Nations in the West and the Central and Southern Asia and Oceania (CSAO) region are seemingly engaged in a growing digital currency war. Asian giant China has already made headway in forging a Central bank digital currency (CBDC) ahead of Western heavyweights. The result has been a new global arms race in digital finance, where many Western world powers have revamped efforts to lead in decentralized blockchain technology. Despite the regulatory uncertainty in some CSAO jurisdictions, leading crypto businesses and venture capital firms have been eyeing the lucrative Asian market in recent times. This article explores the ongoing race for dominance in the crypto sphere and how the Asia-Pacific market could eclipse Western countries in terms of overall adoption. The Future of Digital Currency Competition Huw van Steenis, a Senior Adviser at UBS Group, sees the intensifying war for dominance in the Fintech industry as having far-reaching implications. He believes that the future of money will center on CBDCs and decentralized tokens like bitcoin. Countries ...