Japan Once Again Proves that it is at the Forefront of Bitcoin Adoption
Back in 2013, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, put a plan in place that would see him attempt to overturn decades of stagnation in the Japanese economy. His plan was all-encompassing and involved a dramatic overhaul of the way the government in the country spent its taxes, but was primarily painted as a stimulus package.
It's still ongoing, commonly referred to as Abenomics, and it's had some unique implications for the Japanese economy. One interesting thing is the nation's openness towards stem cell therapy and stem cell therapy research. This was a specific bill, introduced by Abe, designed to attract research capital and human resource talent. And it worked.
While other countries (we are looking at you, America) have dragged their heels on the ethics or the regulatory side of stem cell therapy research, Japan has become a leader by maintaining an open and progressive stance in the field. As a result, billions of dollars of capital have flowed into the Japanese economy and have played a key role in Abe's stimulus attempts.
So what does all this have to do with Bitcoin?
Well, over the past 12 months, but primarily across the last few weeks, a number of important developments have come out of Japan that indicate policymakers' willingness to be as open and as progressive with cryptocurrency as they are with potentially controversial areas of medical research like stem cell therapy.
The latest news is that a company called Remixpoint, an energy company that does both creates and sells energy to customers all over Japan, is offering Bitcoin as a payment method. Not only that, but it's actually offering a discount to any customers who pays in Bitcoin.
The company has a subsidiary called BITPoint, which is a cryptocurrency exchange and payment service provider, and any payments in Bitcoin will be processed by BITPoint on receipt.
Utility bill payments in Bitcoin aren’t something totally new, but that a company the size of Remixpoint is attempting to incentivize its customers to pay in Bitcoin is exactly the sort of thing that's going to drive long-term acceptance and adoption.