You’ve probably heard this at a dinner party. “Only if you bought Bitcoin ten years ago.” Imagine now that the conversation echoes through the corridors of the central bank.
For emerging economies such as India, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam, strategic exposure to cryptocurrencies is essential for future economic resilience. They collectively make up more than 40% of the world’s population and around 25% of the world’s GDP, but remain vulnerable to external economic shocks, such as currency fluctuations and trade disruptions. Today, their sovereignty reserves rely heavily on traditional assets such as gold and forex. But they are not enough hedges in a rapidly digital world.
Cryptocurrency is no longer an experiment. Bitcoin is the most widely adopted and is a major example of this debate, but the broader debate applies to cryptocurrency as a whole. Since its inception in 2009, Bitcoin Network has been operating over 99.98% of the time. Cryptocurrencies have survived war, regulatory oppression and multiple financial crises. Over the past decade, Bitcoin has thanked nearly 200 times more, far surpassing tech giants like Nvidia and Apple.
The crypto space faces scams, lagpurs and bad actors without denial. This is common in virtually any financial system. Think about early stock markets and banking. That’s why smart regulation is important. Countries like Singapore, Japan and Switzerland have already balanced consumer protection and innovation, offering models to others. However, these risks do not deny the core appeal of cryptocurrencies. It demands careful governance.
Diversification is important. Ask your central banker, fund manager or financial advisor. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and certainly not bet on the future of the economy with a single asset class. In a rapidly digital world, ignoring digital assets like cryptocurrencies is a mistake. These assets tend to be hardly correlated with the performance of other traditional assets, making Bitcoin a strong hedge against economic turbulence.
The entire publicly-built company, built around Bitcoin, is built as its core assets. It will take the strategy of Michael Saylor, who started out as a software company and now owns 506,137 BTC (approximately $42 billion at the time of writing). Countries like El Salvador use Bitcoin as their fiat currency. Vietnam, India and Thailand are already ranked among the top 10 countries in the world for the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The EAE must follow this shift or fall behind.
Bitcoin is not the new digital gold. They play a very different role. In many cultures, in mine, we Indians love our money. We stock up on it, give it and trust it as a worthwhile store. Central banks around the world have been buying gold at a record-breaking pace in recent years. But money was not always a safe bet. Back in the 1980s, its price rose 60% before bouncing back.
Bitcoin brings new utilities. It can be transferred anywhere in the world in minutes, divided into microscopic fractions and fixed with an encryption protocol. Gold and Bitcoin share basic characteristics – they are shortages, resilient and hedges against uncertainty – but gold traditionally retains value, while Bitcoin expands its possibilities digitally. They don’t replace each other. They work together.
Critics often dismiss cryptography as mere speculation, but its usefulness is real. Large companies such as Microsoft and Starbucks have accepted Bitcoin and Stablecoins for trading. US Bitcoin ETFs have collected over $12 billion influx of facilities within a few months. Crypto allows faster, cheaper remittances, reduces global fees from 6.4% to less than 1%, saving billions for developing countries. With over $100 billion locked into the Defi protocol, it is clear that the future of finance is already built on the blockchain.
Emerging economies should take a strategic, positive step towards economic resilience. Allocating 1-2% of digital assets is smart and not gambling. Track its performance and get clues from early invokers like the US, El Salvador, Strategy and more, and refine your approach as you go. Encourage financial institutions to experiment with crypto-assisted financial products in a limited way. A proactive regulatory framework is essential to fostering innovation while ensuring stability.
The country must position itself for its future. Holding digital assets reduces dependence on external financial systems and isolates them from geopolitical and financial changes. We’ve seen this playbook before – these countries were not the first to adopt digital payments, but they have built world-class infrastructure such as UPI in India, PIX in Brazil, and Nebus in Nigeria. The same leadership is possible with crypto reserves. It doesn’t matter whether this shift will occur as the global crypto market approaches $3 trillion and institutional adoption accelerates.
The new economy can start building strategic reserves today, or hear “only if you bought Bitcoin in 2025” five years later at another dinner party five years later. The time has come.
