Nomura analysts Yoshiyuki Suimon and Kazuki Miyamoto estimate the wealth effect of bitcoin could boost consumer spending in Japan to as much as 96 billion yen ($855.4 million).
The concentration of bitcoin's price surge in the fourth quarter of 2017 could result in a potential boost to real GDP growth in the first quarter of up to about 0.3 percentage point on an annualized quarter-on-quarter basis, the analysts said.
The Nomura analysts did point out that Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said in late December that the bitcoin price surge was the result of speculation.