What’s Going On with Bitcoin in Southeast Asia?

Introduction 
Hello, hello everyone. Welcome to the Open Source stage. Today we are going to talk about what’s going on with Bitcoin in Southeast Asia.

Just to introduce myself, my name is Dea. I am from Indonesia, and I’m currently working at Fedi as the community master. We are tirelessly working on the ground with different communities, especially in the Global South. Today I’m very excited to share with you what’s actually happening in Southeast Asia right now.

But before that, I would first like to thank Bitcoin Magazine and also HRF for inviting me to speak here on the stage. It’s funny because two years ago, I came to my first Bitcoin conference in Miami, and now, two years later, I’m on stage talking to you guys, which is kind of fun. Life is just full of surprises, I would say.

Geography of the Region

Okay, so just to give some context about Southeast Asia: I’m sure a lot of people here, when they think about Bitcoin adoption in the Global South, they think about Africa or Latin America, not so much about Southeast Asia. But just to give some context—Southeast Asia is a region located between China and Australia, and it consists of 11 countries. Currently, it’s home to 673 million people. If we combine everyone living in this region, it’s the third-largest population on Earth after India and China.

Funny enough, even though there are 670 million people living in this region, on average, 70% are underbanked. When it comes to size, the region is about half the size of the United States. If you look here, I’ve also spread it out based on population and inflation rates that are currently affecting this region. Some countries are doing okay, but there are also countries with double-digit inflation. This region has suffered a lot in terms of losing currency value.

If you look at this map, some countries are highlighted in yellow and red. Red means that these countries are ruled by authoritarian regimes or by a single ruling party. Yellow means they are partly free because they are semi-authoritarian. The people who live in these countries have their money devalued, and their purchasing power is going down. Historically, many of these countries have experienced high inflation. Most of the countries here have double-digit inflation, and even my country, Indonesia, experienced triple-digit inflation back in the ’60s.

If you see on the screen, Southeast Asia is home to some of the weakest currencies in the world, like the Laotian Kip, Cambodian Riel, Vietnamese Dong, and Indonesian Rupiah. These are some of the weakest currencies in the world. You can see a note there—500,000 Vietnamese Dong is equal to $20, and 100,000 Rupiah is equal to $6. If you compare that, people in this region cannot really save because the governments keep printing money. They are also prone to different crises like the Asian financial crisis, the oil crisis, and even COVID-19. This region also has a long history with the IMF and World Bank. You can read more about how the IMF and World Bank control monetary systems in books like Alex Gladstein’s.

Opportunities and Challenges
So, what are the opportunities and challenges in this region?

First, I would like to talk about the challenges. The region itself has a lot of migrant workers who live in different countries within the region  , but because of the weak currency, there’s not much demand for their currency. It’s very hard for people to send remittances to different countries. If they want to send money to their hometown for their family, they usually use Western Union or MoneyGram, which comes with high fees.

As I mentioned before, this region is also ruled by many authoritarian regimes, so the governments tend to have gray areas in terms of Bitcoin regulation. They also heavily support CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies). Six out of these 11 countries have already piloted or launched CBDCs. Due to high inflation in the past and weak currencies, people in these countries tend to take more risks with investments because they want to increase their purchasing power. However, because of the current situation, there aren’t many investment opportunities available, so they tend to get involved in riskier ventures. As a result, they are prone to scams or Ponzi schemes.

Cambodia, for example, is a hub for crypto scams, with many originating from this area. But there are also a lot of opportunities. Even though many people are underbanked, there is high usage of mobile money. When it comes to Bitcoin, there’s significant peer-to-peer trading volume, and in terms of Bitcoin mining, the region has an abundance of hydro and geothermal power. There are already established Bitcoin mining facilities in Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It’s a growing space.

According to the Chainalysis report in 2023, four out of the top 10 countries for Bitcoin adoption are in Southeast Asia—Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia. In Indonesia alone, 12 million people own bitcoin, which is larger than the entire population of Sweden.

Due to the need for a hedge against inflation and the desire for an asset that can hold purchasing power, Bitcoin communities in Southeast Asia are growing. There are several examples of these communities in the region, but there are many more. I’d like to talk more about what’s going on and what activities are taking place in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asia Communities

First of all, in Indonesia, Bitcoin Indonesia holds 20 meetups each month in 20 different cities. Roughly 300 members join either online or in person every month. One of their biggest achievements is being able to talk to the president about Bitcoin, which made headline news. They also recently started a physical space called Bitcoin House Bali. If anyone here has heard of Bali or wants to visit, I encourage you to check out their space, where people can learn about Bitcoin.

In Thailand, for example, there’s Bob Space. It’s a place that runs a residency program for Bitcoin developers. They have a co-working space and also host meetups. They support different Bitcoin projects such as PayJoin, UTXO, Nutstash, and various developments in eCash and Nostr. They also host conferences and support other projects. In Thailand, it’s not just Bob Space—there are also communities in Phuket and Chiang Mai.

In Malaysia, we have Bitcoin Malaysia, which has around 600 members. They hold meetups every month and have hosted prominent guests like Stephan Livera, Jimmy Song, and John Vallis. Currently, they’re focusing on building a Bitcoin education center in Southeast Asia. They also run a podcast and are planning to host conferences soon.

In Vietnam, one of the oldest Bitcoin meetups has been running since 2014. They organize conferences and are now focusing on more inclusive activities, such as the Saigon flea market.

In the Philippines, there’s Boracay Island, where a community has been spearheaded by an app called Pouch. They have on boarded more than 300 businesses on the island to accept bitcoin. So, if you ever visit Boracay, a lovely island, you can spend your bitcoin there. They’re not just focusing on merchants in this tourist destination; they are also onboarding co-ops, allowing them to learn about Bitcoin and accept bitcoin payments.

These are just a few examples of what’s happening in the region. There are 30+ meetup organizers across Southeast Asia, more than 400 merchants have been onboarded, and there have already been six Bitcoin conferences. Last year alone, there were four conferences, which is quite impressive for Southeast Asia. Many people attended these events either online or in person.

If you’re interested in visiting Southeast Asia, there are some upcoming events. For example, the Thailand Bitcoin Conference will take place in September. Bob Space is also organizing an unconference in January, and there’s a Bitcoin gathering in Bali on September 5th and 6th of next year, which I’m organizing.

This is the power of Communities
So, what’s the common denominator in all of this? I would say that Bitcoin adoption won’t happen without the help of the communities. Communities are part to education and helping people understand Bitcoin. This is why we are doing what we do at Fedi. At Fedi, we create tools for communities to reach more people and showcase how easy it is to use bitcoin. That’s why we are so focused on communities.

To give an example of what we’re doing at Fedi, we helped establish the Indonesia Bitcoin Community Federation. They’ve used the Fedi app to onboard more people and learn about Bitcoin. They’ve also created their own mods—small external apps that can be attached to the Fedi app—specifically to run their peer-to-peer exchanges. One cool thing is that in Indonesia, if you’re under 18, you can’t buy bitcoin through an exchange because you need to be over 18. But with the Fedi app, even kids can start stacking sats. There’s even a video of a community member’s child showing other kids how to buy bitcoin using the Fedi app and their mobile money. Now, everyone can own bitcoin.

In the end, people in Southeast Asia really need Bitcoin. We see this through the lens of inflation and government situations. Communities play a vital role in making Bitcoin adoption possible, and that’s why at Fedi, we are committed to empowering these communities.

Thank you very much for your attention, and please come visit Southeast Asia.

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