SINGAPORE — Stablecoins will drive institutional adoption in Asia, “even if regulators are not happy with it,” Chainalysis co-founder and CEO Michael Gronager said in an interview at Token2049 in Singapore. Yet, while more users in the region have leaped into cryptocurrency than elsewhere, the U.S. is still the industry’s most influential geography.
Stablecoins, crypto tokens whose value is pegged to a real-world asset like the dollar or gold, underpin the crypto trading system. Also, because their value is fixed – or meant to be – they can be used as a store of value and a medium of exchange.
“One of the things we have seen as the biggest trends in crypto right now, and probably the killer app, is something as mundane as stablecoins,” he said. “Two-thirds of all transactions in transaction volume on blockchains are stablecoins.”
Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics company, regularly releases reports on the state of crypto and its adoption across the world. The most recent listed five Asian countries in the top 10 of the Global Adoption Index. India and Nigeria have kept the top two positions for two years in terms of grassroots crypto adoption, and Indonesia, a new No. 3, is the fastest growing.
“Last year, one or two banks in Japan said they wanted to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin within a year. It hasn’t happened yet,” Gronager said. “I had conversations last week in Japan and now we have 10 banks wanting to launch such stablecoins.
“Why hasn’t it happened yet? (Because) banks are slow. They talk to the regulator.”
Regulators definitely have “some level of concern” and many things will need to be ironed out, he said. In the meantime, banks have to face growing competition from stablecoins when it comes to remittances, according to Gronager.
While Asia appears to dominate in terms of adoption, the U.S. which ranks fourth in the Chainalysis report, is the most influential region because that’s where the trading volumes come from and the crypto economy looks to institutions like the U.S. Congress and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for big signals.
“The real volume of crypto is tied to countries like the U.S. and others,” Gronager said. “The story we are trying to tell you is more like saying crypto users per capita. So basically, how many people using [crypto] within the country. The adoption is, like, who’s holding crypto for the average people in countries. In the U.S., that’s less than it is, for example, in India.”
Despite the regulatory influence and despite crypto influencers’ focus on the U.S. presidential candidates’ positions on the industry, the November election isn’t a big deal, Gronager said.
“It won’t matter much,” whether Donal Trump or Kamala Harris wins, Gronager predicted. “Just getting on the other side” of this election will be healthy for everyone.”