Blockchain Knows No Bounds, But Still ...

By their nature, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies are generally indifferent to the geographic location of their users. However, digital money and distributed ledger projects cannot exist only in the virtual world, without intersecting with the real one, without transforming into something tangible and material. At the moment when the blockchain comes into contact with the values and assets of the physical world, numerous and diverse collisions happen, to which we devote lots of the materials of the Bitnewstoday agenda.

In this article you will learn about how ordinary users in different countries interact with distributed ledger technologies.

Nigeria

According to Google Trends, the leadership among countries whose users request “bitcoin” in search systems, belongs to Nigeria. This has been going on for many years. Why?

Nigeria is a state in western Africa, with an area of about one million (923,768) square kilometers and a population of more than 201 million people (that is more than in all other countries of the continent). The main source of budget revenue is oil exports. Nigeria is one of the world's leading exporters and the first one in Africa. The government is trying to change the structure of the economy and increase the share of income from other industries, but apparently, without effect.

Nigeria has a very young population, with an average age of just over 18 years. This is probably due to the fact that the country has an exceptionally high birth rate and at the same time high mortality rate. Another important factor is low life expectancy. Research shows that such a plight is associated with the low availability of medical care, a lack of pure water and civilization achievements such as electricity and sanitation. Nigeria has a high proportion of the population, usually described by the term underbanked — people not covered by banking services.

It can be assumed that this is the reason for the special interest of Bitcoin users in Nigeria: the main efforts and the main capacities of the state are concentrated in one industry, and ordinary citizens have vague prospects for increasing prosperity, career and realization of their potential.

All this is along the low availability of financial products, high crime and corruption, regular massive religious conflicts. The vast majority of the population are energetic, full of strength and young. All this makes active, striving for a better life, experienced in the achievements of modern technology people pay attention to cryptocurrencies and particularly to the oldest of them — Bitcoin.

Mongolia

In recent years, this country has regularly appeared in news feeds of publications reporting on the blockchain and fintech industries. The general positive background of these reports forces us to pay closer attention to the Asian state, which is locked in the borders between China and Russia.

Mongolia is a country with a harsh continental climate. It is hot in summer and very cold in winter. Most of the territory, which is more than one and a half million square kilometers, is occupied by deserts and steppes. The population is more than three million people, and the density is about two people per square kilometer. Most of the citizens live in cities, which are not very many, and none of them reaches a million people, even the largest — the capital Ulaanbaatar.

The budget of Mongolia comes from: mining (about 40%) – the country has deposits of copper, coal, uranium, molybdenum; service industry (about 50%) and agriculture. The main trading partners are Russia and China. Mongolia has long-standing economic, cultural and political ties with these countries. It is heavily dependent on its neighbors, primarily economically. About 90% of the energy this state receives from Russia. At the same time, about 90% of exported goods are bought by China. Until the 90s of the XX century, the budget of the Mongolian People's Republic was backed by the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the USSR, the support ceased, and this had shocking consequences for the economy of the country.

Nowadays, the country's government is working hard to create the image of Mongolia as an advanced state in the fintech and blockchain areas. In May of this year, it became known that the head of the IOHK company and one of the authors and founders of the Cardano platform, Charles HOSKINSON, has been in contact with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia Damdin TSOGTBATAAR since 2018, and the process is moving towards creating a project based on the blockchain on the accounting of medical drugs.

We are excited to share that today #IOHK signed an MoU with Mongolian Blockchain Technology & Cryptocurrency Association & Mongolian Fintech Association. This MoU is to help implement & foster #blockchain project development & #education in Mongolia. More information coming soon! pic.twitter.com/7JDJy5supi

— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) 11 мая 2019 г.

The authorities of Ulaanbaatar are collaborating with the Terra project to create a blockchain-based payment and loan system. Back in 2018, the Japanese company Ginco drew attention to the favorable conditions for mining farms in Mongolia: a cool climate, inexpensive electricity, and adequate actions by administrative authorities.

Malta

A small state located on an island in the Mediterranean Sea is becoming one of the world centers for the adaptation of blockchain technologies. The size of Malta is 316 square kilometers. The population is 440 540 people. The density is thus 1394 people per square kilometer. In 2018, the government of this country adopted three legislative acts that comprehensively and flexibly regulate the activities of enterprises in the field of cryptocurrencies and distributed ledgers.

Malta is a developed country within the European Union. Tourism, industry, finance, and the service industry are the main sources of Malta's budget revenue. Agriculture doesn’t matter much, the country cannot independently provide itself with products and thus purchases them. The same situation is with drinking water – there are no permanent rivers on the island, only seasonal ones. Malta's energy enterprises operate on petroleum products purchased in other countries, but electricity is not imported for state needs – it is produced on the island. A convenient location, a climate favorable for tourism, a developed sphere of services and financial institutions are almost an ideal combination for the development of modern fintech and blockchain projects in Malta, supported by the authorities.

MDIA, the digital innovation support act, is one of the government's blockchain initiative packages. It envisages the creation of a special body that will be called upon to support the development of innovative projects of the Republic of Malta. In terms of its legitimacy, it will take control over the honest and transparent work of these enterprises.

ITAS, the law on innovative technical services and agreements. Based on this act, registration and certification of technological solutions in the field of distributed ledgers and other innovative technologies will take place.

VFAA, Virtual Financial Assets Act. An act that will regulate various manifestations and technological solutions in the field of ICO, exchanges, exchangers and other solutions using digital assets.

Image courtesy of PCMag