Breaking crypto usage down geographically has revealed some interesting trends. Countries that should have been high up were nowhere to be found and some unexpected ones were big into crypto, according to these results anyway. They could be new markets for DeFi.
South America Dominates Crypto
Research by a Statista survey has revealed that the top countries for crypto ownership and usage may not be as expected.
SET Protocol CEO Felix Feng took a look at the charts commenting on the breakdown and noting opportunities for DeFi expansion.
“It seems there’s tons of opportunity for DeFi to expand overseas.”
Fascinating to see that Turkey, Brazil, and Colombia top the charts in crypto adoption.
It seems there's tons of opportunity for DeFi to expand overseas.@fidelitas_lex, a Social Trader, is a prime example of a trader who has a great Turkish-based following. pic.twitter.com/GyZLlPDyyG
— Felix {Setoshi} Feng (@felix2feng) January 17, 2020
The results should be taken with a large dose of salt since only a thousand people from ‘select countries’ were surveyed.
The surprise result was Turkey being at the top but that can probably be linked to recent economic and political issues that have plagued the nation. Pressure on the local currency will drive people to safer crypto havens such as bitcoin.
The same is the case for the numerous South American nations that make up the top ten. Hyperinflation and capital controls in the likes of Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela (which has not been included in these results) are driving people to use crypto.
Draconian regimes could put a dampener ion crypto adoption however as their central banks clamor for more control over the flow of finances within their borders.
It was recently reported by Bitcoinist that banking support for crypto exchanges may be in jeopardy following on of the country’s major commercial banks refusing to honor any agreement preventing the closures of crypto exchange accounts.
People of other nations such as India and China, where banks are already banned from dealing with crypto, have already sourced other methods to buy and sell digital assets.
One surprise omission was South Korea which would have been up the top somewhere. It was also surprising that Japan was so far down the list considering the nation’s positive attitude towards crypto.
DeFi Taps New High
The accuracy of the survey is questionable but the opportunities for decentralized finance expansion into some of these countries cannot be overlooked.
In 2019 DeFi grew by 180% in terms of total value locked into it. Today that value has hit a new all-time high of $834 million according to defipulse.com. A billion-dollar Defi market is now not far away and as Ethereum prices recover it could be just around the corner.
At the moment it is just a tiny market but the opportunities are boundless, especially in the growing number of nations with restrictive banking practices and harsh capital controls. Does the bank own the money or do the people?
Will DeFi be dominant in South America? Add your comments below.
Images via Bitcoinist Media Library, Twitter: @felix2feng