Trading in Asia vs. Trading in Europe
By Aries Wang, Co-Founder of Bibox Group
2019 has seen the cryptocurrency exchange landscape evolve significantly. The number, quality, and diversity of exchanges have multiplied, giving traders an unprecedented number of venues to choose from. The explosion of interest in digital assets means there are more crypto traders than ever. Yet, every trader has their own practices, perspectives, and tendencies when it comes to navigating the crypto market.
The European trader’s approach to cryptocurrency revolves around personal privacy, liberty and circumventing the capitalist surveillance of today’s digital age. Paris, Zug, London, Berlin — Europe has been essential to the evolution of the cryptocurrency markets and has emerged as fertile ground for cryptocurrency traders.
According to a report from Datalight, there are 10.3 million crypto traders in Europe. Many European traders are drawn to cryptocurrency because of its unpredictability. Accustomed to the “plain vanilla” volatility of traditional assets, cryptocurrency opportunity is much greater, with the occasion for 100x leveraged traders, making it far more appealing for professional traders looking at using more risk-on trading strategies.
Several governments across the EU have positioned their jurisdictions to be welcoming towards cryptocurrencies, including Gibraltar, Malta, Estonia, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. In Liechtenstein, one can open a bank account with Ether. Malta, with a population of less than 500,000 became the country with the highest cryptocurrency trading volume in the world.
We saw Europe as a great area of growth. Home to many of the top exchanges, Europe’s progressive ideas for innovating and disrupting the status quo of the global financial system while maintaining a balanced regulatory approach was the impetus for launching Bibox Europe.
In Asia, especially Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, stock trading is far more ubiquitous in comparison to Europe. Playing the markets is a secondary source of income. But as the more traditional investment opportunities be it stocks or property become more restricted, many have turned to the accessibility and freedom of the crypto markets.
Traders are drawn to the wild dreams of instant riches and the stories of basement millionaires, the ease of remittance payments, as well as the safe haven that cryptocurrencies provide from economic and societal tensions. From the protests in Hong Kong to the simmering trade tensions between Washington and Beijing cryptocurrencies are now positioned as an attractive vehicle for moving assets.
Asia has been proclaimed as a crucial player in the realm of cryptocurrency with a substantial percentage of nations driving the path to adoption, improvement and governing the industry. Many deem Singapore as the epicenter of crypto development. Bitcoin ATMs can be found all around Hong Kong. China is currently in charge of 50% of the world’s mining hash. Korea is home to five major Ethereum exchanges. Japan made one of the boldest administrative actions by dubbing Bitcoin a legitimate payment method. Indeed, cryptographic money is pervasive in Asia. It is undeniable that cryptocurrency exchanges are starting to get widely adopted by the entire Asian crypto community. It is home to some of the titans of the industry — Bibox, Huobi, OKEx, KuCoin, and Binance.
Since our inception in 2017, we here at Bibox have witnessed the explosion of interest in cryptocurrencies across the globe. We believe things are only really getting started. Our aim is to continuously support cryptocurrency adoption in Europe, Asia and beyond. It’s time to start trading.
