Two countries in particular have been instrumental in the incredible rise of cryptocurrencies: China and Japan. Cryptocurrencies have become popular in China due to the government's stringent control of the Yuan — a power they occasionally exercise by artificially devaluing the currency for trading purposes. With private wealth in China growing, individuals have found a more stable and accessible alternative to the Yuan in cryptocurrencies. Additionally, China has an abundance of cheap energy and hardware, which facilitates crypto mining. Japan got its foot in the cryptocurrency door at the beginning of 2017 when the market in China experienced an institutional and systematic crackdown, with the most potent measure being a ban on all cryptocurrency withdrawals. This caused an increase in Japan's trading volume. Cryptocurrency adoption was further amplified by currency turbulence in the country. Quantitative easing lead to extremely low interest rates, which have occasionally even become negative, meaning that it costs an individual to save money. As in China, cryptocurrencies therefore became viewed as a more stable asset than the native currency, so more people have chosen to invest and store their money in them.
The enthusiasm with which China and Japan have embraced cryptocurrency systems has contributed to their worldwide success. The success of cryptocurrencies is also reflected in their increasing adoption by formal institutions. Virtual currencies have become more popular and valuable than the vast majority of people could have anticipated upon their inception around a decade ago. The value of a single bitcoin has risen from roughly $0.00075 to $4000 and the market cap for all cryptocurrencies has exceed $125 billion.
