How can Bitcoin simultaneously trade at $53,047 in Malaysia, $49,727 in Singapore, $51,133 in India and over $86,000 in Nigeria? Is the reason simply a temporary imbalance between buyers and sellers, taxes, or regulations? Or is there something else at play?
This phenomenon isn't something new or exclusive to cryptocurrencies, however. Exxon Mobil stocks, for example, are traded in United States, Russian, Argentine, German, Mexican and Swizz markets.
While there may be different reasons for the friction, including bureaucracy and nation-specific laws, they're basically the same asset. Nevertheless, their prices usually differ after adjusting for currency exchange rates.
Unlike stocks, however, transferring cryptocurrencies usually takes less than an hour, and it doesn't depend on custodians and depositary receipt administrators. Therefore, bureaucracy can not be the reason for the big price differences for Bitcoin, which is borderless.