Japan removes 8% Japanese Consumption Tax on Bitcoin
April 1st represented a major milestone for Bitcoin's credibility around the world as Japan was the first to truly legalized the currency, encouraging commercial ventures to accept it as they do the Yen and encouraging investors to dive in.
Over the past 3 months Japan has not rested in trying to get Bitcoin to be fully adopted. One thing standing in the way was a relatively expensive tax, of 8% that was levied on Bitcoin. As of today this tax has been eliminated, making investing and trading in Bitcoin that much more enticing.
Being so forward thinking is bringing further attention to the potential for cryptocurrencies around the world. It'll be exciting to head over to Tokyo sometime 2018 and fund an entire adventure using only Bitcoin!
Japan now sees Bitcoin accepted within 260,000 additional Commercial Locations!
Recruit Lifestyle Co., Ltd. partnered with Japanese bitcoin PoS, Coincheck. This has now provided Bitcoin with an added 260,000 commercial facilities which can accept the cryptocurrency. This includes restaurants, pharmacies, and other retailers. This is just the beginning too!
South Korea is staging Legalization of Bitcoin
India has been in the news seeking a way to regulate and legalize Bitcoin, South Korea is jumping on the bandwagon, as it should. Considering that Korea now represents around 8% of the global trading of Bitcoin and over 20% for Ether! They've come out of the wood works, similar to how China had last year.
Korea is looking to add regulation to the Bitcoin and Ethereum. The idea is that Exchanges will need to have a reserve of fiat in place to maintain liquidity to manage volatility.
The positive news here is certainly that major governments are taking crypto seriously which means that larger investors may start to see it as a viable option.
As we see greater adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide we're moving towards an environment where it must be taken seriously. The space is not a ponzi scheme or one for criminal activity. A legitimate move towards digital currency is upon us. Where we go is anyone's guess, but it's so great to be observing and being a part of a global phenomenon.
What do you think about Japan and Korea's recent moves?
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/its-official-japan-has-eliminated-tax-on-bitcoin-rise-in-trading-expected
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/south-korea-preparing-legalize-bitcoin/
https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korea-to-soon-legalize-bitcoin-and-ethereum-protect-traders-from-bubble-burst
https://news.bitcoin.com/rollout-of-260000-bitcoin-accepting-stores-in-japan-begins/