Introduced in 2009, bitcoin has become one of the most widely used digital currencies, with about 20 million users worldwide as of March, according to bitFlyer.
One has to admire the progress which Japan is making since officially started using bitcoin, even thought the usage of bitcoin begun in December 2016, where payment by bitcoin was accepted at 4,500 domestic outlets, including bars, cafes and even sushi restaurants, according to Coincheck Inc.
This move has even more importance knowing of the collapse of the Tokyo-based virtual currency exchange Mt. Gox in February 2014, he said.
The company, the largest virtual currency exchange at the time, which once boasted handling around 80 percent of global bitcoin transactions, went bankrupt, wiping out the holdings of its customers.
About $390 million worth of the virtual money disappeared from its computer system, and the firm’s CEO was arrested in 2015.
But since then the government has also been working to facilitate the wider use of digital currencies. Lawmakers revised a law on fund settlements, which set rules on virtual currencies after recognizing they have “asset-like values” and can be used in making digital payments.
The use of the virtual currency in Japan is expected to increase this year.
Some 52,000 virtual currency payments were recorded during a 13-day period between Jan. 24 and Feb. 5 at 30 percent of all Lawson stores, mainly in popular sightseeing destinations such as Hokkaido, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Okinawa.
Using digital currency is convenient for many tourists as they can avoid the expensive costs with ex changers over fiat money and at the same time other domestic retailers have embraced the electronic payment option to attract more tourists.
This is only a small part of what a government and a group of professional business companies have done for bitcoin in this short period of time and now we have to see how native consumers and tourists react.