The Bitcoin Advantage: How Asia is Adopting Bitcoin

The Spaces features Isaiah Austin (Bitcoin Magazine) hosting Hunter Albright (CRO, SALT Lending) and Vivian Shang (media host of Live with Bitcoin and lead for Bitcoin Asia). They discuss SALT’s bitcoin-backed lending, including Stabilization (auto-converts collateral to stablecoin just under 91% LTV to prevent liquidation) and Salt Shield (a fee-based no-liquidation protection), and how such tools enable living on a Bitcoin standard. Vivian contrasts Asian adoption—pragmatic, payments-first, gaming/DeFi-heavy, remittance-driven—with the West’s base-layer conservatism, and highlights the upcoming Bitcoin Asia conference in Hong Kong. Hunter outlines use cases: using BTC as a reserve for expenses, income supplementation/retirement, and investment/diversification, stressing secured credit over unsecured, prudent LTV selection, and starting small. They explore corporate treasury adoption (especially for SMEs), SALT’s global survey tour with BTC Media to gather regional insights, and the centrality of education. The upcoming SALT book, The Bitcoin Advantage, aims to provide frameworks and human stories that bridge technical concepts with practical personal and corporate finance.

Bitcoin Lending, Living on a Bitcoin Standard, and Asia’s Adoption – Twitter Spaces Recap

Participants and Roles

• Host: Isaiah Austin (Social Media Coordinator, Bitcoin Magazine)
• Guest: Hunter Allbright (Chief Revenue Officer, SALT Lending; Advisory Board member at C4, the organization behind the Certified Bitcoin Professional exam)
• Guest: Vivian Shang (aka “BTC With”), host of “Live with Bitcoin” podcast; lead organizer for Bitcoin Asia (Hong Kong, Aug 28–29)

What Makes SALT Lending Distinct

• Customer-centric access and support
  • Emphasis on live support to guide borrowers through steps.
  • “Best-in-class” web and mobile apps to streamline borrowing.
• Safety and risk controls
  • Platform-level safety features designed to reduce liquidation risk.
• User control over collateral
  • Philosophy: “It’s your bitcoin; it should stay your bitcoin.”
  • Tools that help borrowers manage LTV, margin events, and asset movements.

Key Product Features

• Stabilization
  • An automated risk-mitigation mechanism activated just under 91% LTV (margin-call threshold).
  • When triggered, BTC collateral is converted to stablecoin to protect against fast, deep price drops and avoid liquidation.
  • Borrower can later add more collateral and/or convert stablecoins back into BTC at their discretion.
• SALT Shield (launched at BTC 2025, Las Vegas)
  • Fee-based “no liquidation” protection during the loan term.
  • Designed for users who want an added layer of certainty against liquidation events.

Living on a Bitcoin Standard: How It Works in Practice

Hunter Allbright’s lens (SALT customer behaviors)

• BTC as a reserve (personal or corporate)
  • DCA behaviors to accumulate BTC as a store of value; later borrow against it for flexibility.
• Three primary borrowing use cases
  1. Expenses: emergency or large planned costs (e.g., travel) without selling BTC.
  2. Income supplement: bridging sabbaticals; structured drawdowns for retirement; legacy planning.
  3. Investment: reinvest in BTC; diversify into dividend stocks/bonds for yield; or real estate.
• Shifting from unsecured to secured credit
  • Bitcoin-backed loans replace credit-card style unsecured borrowing (which “borrows against your future”) with borrowing against an asset you already own.
  • This can reduce personal and societal stress associated with unsecured debt cycles.
• LTV mechanics and best practices
  • Example: $50k in BTC collateral → borrow at 30% LTV ($15k), 50% ($25k), up to 70% LTV at SALT.
  • Lower LTV = higher safety margin; reduced risk of margin calls/liquidations.
  • Start small to learn operational flows (margin calls, adding collateral) so “your bitcoin stays your bitcoin.”

Vivian Shang’s lens (grassroots and cultural)

• Real-world usage snapshots across Asia
  • Philippines: wages paid in BTC; immediate cash-out to support family.
  • Thailand & Bali: cafés/hotels accepting BTC for daily spend; budding “Bitcoin-friendly” locales.
  • Vietnam & Indonesia: experiments with circular economies—BTC for savings, trade, and community projects.
  • Hong Kong: more welcoming regulatory tone; cross-border contractor payments in BTC for efficiency.
• Generational shift
  • Youth, shaped by gaming and digital-native payments, grasp crypto concepts quickly even if parents are skeptical.
  • The “Bitcoin lifestyle” is emerging, though not always reflected by headlines—many small, practical wins.

Asia vs. West: Different Adoption Curves and What Each Side Can Learn

Vivian’s observations

• East: pragmatic, explorative builders
  • Treat Bitcoin as technology and a financial product; active experimentation with L2s and DeFi atop Bitcoin.
  • Deep comfort with QR-code and digital payments long before Apple Pay; Lightning feels natural.
  • Cultural focus on practical solutions over ideology.
• West: conservative base-layer focus
  • Fewer L2s gaining adoption beyond Lightning; heavier emphasis on first principles.
• Mutual lessons
  • East can benefit from deeper education on “what is Bitcoin” and how it differs from other cryptocurrencies—leading to more informed tradeoffs.
  • West can adopt a more playful, creative, and exploratory mindset—build more fun, user-facing experiences on Bitcoin.

Hunter’s additions

• APAC trends
  • Greater usage of Bitcoin in gaming and DeFi than in the West.
  • Higher prevalence of remittances—Bitcoin as a tool for cross-border family support, highlighting TradFi pain points (cost, friction, delays).
  • Comfort with spending (e.g., via Lightning) can drive awareness and learning; in the U.S., “not spending” often stalls mainstream understanding.
• Reframing BTC
  • Move beyond “speculative asset” to “hard currency” and wealth-building tool.

SALT x BTC Inc Global Survey Initiative

• Kickoff at Bitcoin Asia, continuing as a global tour.
• Goals
  • Map out Bitcoin ownership rates by region.
  • Identify top use cases and the financial challenges users aim to solve with BTC.
  • Surface gaps (education, tooling, on/off-ramps) and regulatory outlooks.
  • Feed findings into educational resources and products.

Institutional Adoption and Corporate Treasuries

• Asia’s role
  • Vivian began noting Hong Kong’s historical importance during the 2015–2016 blocksize era (connection dropped), reinforcing Asia’s deep roots in Bitcoin’s builder culture.
• Hunter’s outlook
  • Expect more SMEs to build BTC treasuries alongside the headline-grabbing buys from large corporates and, potentially, nation-states.
  • Treasury BTC can make SMEs more resilient and reduce dependency on bank credit frictions.
  • Larger institutional purchases validate BTC as an asset class—even as they tighten supply for retail.

Education as the Catalyst: The Bitcoin Advantage (SALT’s Forthcoming Book)

• Purpose and content (Hunter)
  • A practical framework for using BTC as a personal, corporate, or even national reserve.
  • Tools, processes, and case narratives that blend “the math” with lived stories.
  • Will incorporate global stories gathered over the next nine months.
• Why it matters (Vivian)
  • Newcomers face steep learning curves and noisy information environments.
  • Human-centered resources that connect technical concepts to day-to-day life are essential to inspire real adoption.
  • Aligns with her media work (“Live with Bitcoin”) to make Bitcoin lived, not merely learned.
• Financial literacy
  • Hunter noted the scarcity of formal financial education (e.g., even among college graduates).
  • Advocates DCA and habit formation—small, consistent steps compound meaningfully over time.
  • Personal origin story: bought first BTC in 2017 by converting a decade’s worth of spare change via a Coinstar kiosk.

Bitcoin Asia (Hong Kong, Aug 28–29)

• Event objectives (Vivian)
  • Make it the best Bitcoin conference in Asia to date.
  • Program intentionally blends veterans (10+ years) and first-timers; both global and local insights.
  • Expect a vibrant mix of builders, experimenters, and educators; “inspiring and contagious” energy.
• SALT at the event (Hunter)
  • Speaking on a panel; hosting a meetup.
  • Aiming to learn regional use cases first-hand, advance financial literacy, and deepen understanding of local challenges.

Challenges Highlighted

• Infrastructure and policy
  • Inconsistent regulations; clunky on/off-ramps; volatility deters newcomers.
• Mindset gaps
  • In Asia, Bitcoin still often seen mainly as a speculative trading asset; broader utility is under-appreciated.
  • In the West, reluctance to “use” BTC (e.g., spending/Lightning) slows learning and awareness.

Key Takeaways

• SALT Lending’s risk controls (Stabilization; SALT Shield) and borrower tools aim to keep “your bitcoin your bitcoin,” reducing liquidation risk while enabling flexible access to liquidity.
• Asia’s adoption dynamics are shaped by digital payment culture, gaming, and remittances; pragmatic experimentation is common, producing diverse grassroots use cases.
• Cross-pollination helps: the West’s emphasis on first principles and the East’s bias for practical building can and should meet in the middle.
• Education is the unlock—both for individuals (habits, DCA, responsible leverage) and institutions (treasury strategy), and across regions (clear differentiation of Bitcoin vs. broader crypto).
• Corporate and SME treasury adoption in Asia could accelerate resilience and mainstream recognition, complementing headline institutional buys.

Actionable Insights for Listeners

• If considering BTC-backed borrowing
  • Start with low LTV and small amounts; learn stabilization/margin-call workflows; consider SALT Shield for added protection.
  • Treat BTC as a reserve; match loan purpose to your financial plan (expenses, income supplement, diversification).
• If early on your Bitcoin journey
  • Begin DCA with amounts you can sustain; prioritize self-education around wallets, Lightning, and basic tax/loan concepts in your jurisdiction.
  • Learn from regional use cases (remittances, circular economies, merchant adoption) to see practical value beyond price.
• For builders and SMEs
  • Explore BTC treasury policies to enhance resilience and reduce reliance on traditional credit hurdles.
  • Engage with local and regional communities to understand regulatory nuance and on/off-ramp realities.

Open Threads to Watch

• Results from SALT x BTC Inc’s regional surveys (ownership, use cases, regulatory outooks, gaps).
• Evolution of Asia-based corporate treasuries and SME adoption.
• Continued rollout and user feedback on SALT Shield; measured impact of Stabilization on borrower outcomes across market cycles.
• Expansion of circular economies in Southeast Asia and broader Lightning/payment experimentation.