Japan and Bitcoins

Japan is one of the freakiest countries in the world that has always been at the forefront of technology. In Japan we have seen many strange sociological anomalies as consequences of the modern, but also many improvements to life that the rest of the world has adopted. Did you know that sometimes the crime rates are so low in Japan that the police has virtually nothing to do?

Anyway, as the Bitcoin evolved and became more accepted and more popular thanks to its price boom, so did innovative countries like Japan evolve together with it. As a result, now it’s literally better to use bitcoins in Japan to buy everything, from a cup of coffee to chips to play Live blackjack, than use standard currencies.

Retailers with a Vision

The acceptance of Bitcoin is not dependent on whether the government of a country will make official steps towards accepting it. The beauty in the Bitcoin is that it’s an independent currency which can be implemented in a society without further ceremonies needed. The only thing that a government can do is to monitor the process and facilitate it where needed like in Japan where all taxes on digital currencies have been eliminated.

While retailers all over the world are hesitant whether to implement the Bitcoin currency in their sales, over quarter of a million retailers in Japan are already installing the needed Point of Sale software that will allow customers to buy stuff using bitcoins and a simple scan of the barcode. With this, the Bitcoin has officially become a day to day currency that you don’t have to use on the internet only.

This is very important because up until now, there was no practical retail use of bitcoins in the offline world, where our real lives happen. You can buy lots of things on the internet, which is nice, but now people in Japan can buy the simpler and more important things using bitcoins that sustain our lives like bread, milk, coffee, water, pharmaceuticals and other retail products.

Will Other’s Follow the Example?

The retail aspect of the Bitcoin is exciting for non-Japanese as much as it is for the Japanese. There are many tourists coming to Japan that own bitcoins in their digital Bitcoin wallets. But, instead of using them, they have to exchange their native currency for Japanese Yens, which can be impractical considering the effort to do that and considering that sometimes money are lost due to different exchange rates.

Instead, now tourists will be able to come with just a fistful of dollars, and a fat Bitcoin wallet. Instead of walking around with big amounts of money, they can simply take out their smartphone, turn on the app and buy some traditional Japanese meal with bitcoins or souvenirs.

But is there enough will among retailers in the other tourist hotspots like Europe or North America to follow the example of Japan? When will we be able to buy a Disneyland ticket in Florida or an espresso in Rome with bitcoins?