Bitcoin Payment Making Global Inroads

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Thursday, April 27th, 2017 | Written by Adam Brown

As of today (27/4/17) the price of Bitcoin has soared to $1,337, marking an all time high for the virtual currency, with the recent rally having started on March 26th at $952. The main catalyst for its soaring value appears closely linked to positive legislative news recently out of both Japan and Russia, whose legalization of bitcoins have helped expand the market of businesses allowed to trade in the crypo-currency by a further 270 million people.

Legitimate Payment Method

On April 1st, Japan, a country of 127 million people, not only legalized Bitcoin as a legitimate payment method, but also one that is free from any imposed sales tax. Already a number of Japanese retailers have announced their intention to start accepting bitcoin payments, perhaps encouraging a few more of the 260,000 stores in Japan to accept the cryptocurrency as part of their business activities. The new law introduced at the start of this month had been debated for months following the collapse of the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange a few years back. The recent decision made by the Japanese government, however, could help usher in more positive attitude towards bitcoin, with the regulatory entities in Japan having already accepted the digital currency. While the Japanese cabinet approved a number of bills that put bitcoin along with other digital currencies on the same level as other types of money, its parliament took matters a step further by recognizing bitcoin as a true, authorized payment method.

Expanding the Market

As a result, the acceptance of bitcoin in Japan has increased exponentially, with merchants who accept the digital money having grown nearly five times, expanding from a mere 900 locations to an impressive 4,200 locations. With plans to implement bitcoin at some of those other 260,000 locations, all there is left to do now is wait and see if bitcoin is going to catch on with the customers themselves. Chinese tourists who are in Japan may be one of the main bases for the digital currency, seeing as China’s most used e-wallet is integrated with bitcoin, allowing them to pay while avoiding foreign transaction fees.

Japan doesn’t seem to care if other countries catch on and ditch their negative attitudes about digital currencies, either. Instead, it has an overwhelming level of confidence in regards to bitcoin, even with the country’s rather negative historic experience with the cryptocurrency.

Pioneering the way

With the Japanese government’s elevated level of trust and interest in this new form of payment, if the experiment proves successful, it could show other countries how to go about legislating bitcoin. If it works, it will also be a good way of winning the confidence of other countries which still have uncertain thoughts regarding bitcoin, and could therefore serve as a positive advertisement to the global retail community, and governments alike. By making bitcoin legal, it helps people to justify the use of the digital currency, and for such a large economy as Japan to put full trust in bitcoin can only speak volumes to the world as to the digital currency’s growing influence. Bitcoins can therefore be seen as a useful tool that could brings many advantages that far outweigh any negative opinions. Only time will tell, however, what will become of the bitcoin market in both Japan, and across the whole globe.

Russia

In 2014, Russia banned the use of bitcoin, as well as other virtual currencies out of concern that they may serve to undermine its own struggling currency, the ruble. At the time, lawmakers backed up their stance by citing concerns over their potential for money laundering and the financing of terrorism, but by October 2016 the government signaled a U-turn in its opinion, and declared that digital currencies were no longer illegal. Furthermore, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexey Moiseev announced recently that he was working towards having them recognized as a legitimate payment method as early as 2018.

Elsewhere

Recent developments in bitcoin have received mixed responses across the world. For example, in the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission put a stop to attempts to allow bitcoin into the mainstream when it tried to open up a fund for the digital currency based around exchange trading. That said, outside of Japan and Russia, there are a few other countries that could allow bitcoin payments in the near future. Switzerland and Australia, for instance, have introduced changes that could enhance their reputations for being bitcoin friendly zones, and if successfully enacted could subsequently lead to other countries soon following suit.