Bitcoin

Industry Report: Asia Continues to Dominate in Bitcoin and Beyond

Nick Marinoff | Aug 24, 2016 | 09:00

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Sales in China grow as Asia dominates ecommerce, a new form of malware finds its way onto Mac computers, and you’d better not visit a blocked site in India. Want to catch up on your latest digital currency news? Check out the stories below.

Also read: Industry Report: Moscow Gets its First Bitcoin Exchange

DOMINANCE IN ASIA

CHINA

Thanks to a massive increase in Asia’s online shopping community, China is now set to become the world’s largest ecommerce retail market with nearly $5 trillion in sales, a number that’s slated to double by the year 2020. The U.S. ultimately falls into the number two category, a first for the western nation.

Forecasting director of eMarketer Monica Peart explains in a statement:

“Alibaba, Tmall and JD.com positioned themselves well to capitalize on growing consumer demand by creating their own payment systems and logistical services… In addition, with rising incomes and increased Internet access in rural areas, the cultural appetite to shop digitally will continue, and we can expect to see further growth in mobile spend.”

INDIA

India is planning to enforce prison sentences of up to three years and fines nearing $5,000 on those who try to visit blocked sites.

Censorship is common throughout India thanks to Bollywood media moguls, who invoke their dictatorial regulations through what’s known as the “John Doe Order.” The law works like something out of “Minority Report”; any site deemed capable of leading to criminal activity is relatively blocked. It tries to stop crime before it starts, but the situation can be quite scary — attempting to visit any site that falls under John Doe legislation labels one a criminal.

A blocked site in India will present browsers with the following message:

“This URL has been blocked under the instructions of the Competent Government Authority or in compliance with the orders of a Court of competent jurisdiction. Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including but not limited to under Section 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act, 1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of up to Rs 3,00,000/-.”

The message also details how those hit with legal action can address the “High Court” and potentially defend themselves.

MALWARE

A new form of malware is infecting Mac computers. Posing as an anti-malware tool called the “Advanced Mac Cleaner,” the software can affect one’s computer once willfully downloaded by stealing Internet passwords and blocking Bitcoin wallets.

The program was discovered by Thomas Reed, head of research at MalwareBytes. He warns bitcoin enthusiasts to be wary, as the malware could potentially grow tough enough to take control of said wallets and even steal users’ funds.

Know of any stories that belong in our regular industry reports? Post your thoughts and comments below!

Images courtesy of 3dprint.com, in.undp.org, & snoopwall.com.