East Asia Slips to Fourth Place in Global Crypto Transaction Volumes Amid China Crackdown

China's consistent crackdown on cryptocurrency transactions over the past several months saw East Asia, as a region, slide massively from first place to fourth in terms of global cryptocurrency transaction volumes, as of June 2021. In terms of trade volume as per a report, the region saw total transactions to the tune of $590.9 billion (roughly Rs. 44,89,370 crores) between July 2020 and June 2021, which represents 14 percent of the global crypto activity during that timeframe. While that's still a 452 percent increase year-on-year, it's said to be among the slowest growing regions.

According to blockchain data provider Chainalysis' 2021 Eastern Asia Report, East Asia's share of global cryptocurrency transactions fell from 31 percent in April 2019, when the region was by far the world's largest crypto economy. China's status as the top cryptocurrency mining country changed completely changed over the period of study, drastically impacting the region's scores.

Data gathered from blockchain analysis reveals that the top 20 mining pools outside China saw mining proceeds spike to more than double, while the important mining pools in China saw proceeds drop by 50 percent.

Of the $256 billion (roughly Rs. 19,18,460 crores) in cryptocurrency received in China between July 2020 and June 2021, 49% went to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, Chainalysis said. Hong Kong had a higher proportion of DeFi transactions, with 55 percent of the cryptocurrency going to DeFi protocols.

In contrast, just 15 percent of cryptocurrency received went to DeFi protocols in South Korea, the second-largest crypto market in East Asia. Japan, the third-largest crypto market, had 32% of cryptocurrency received going to DeFi protocols.