Number of Japanese Bitcoin Spenders Slowly but Steadily Increasing Says Bic Cam

[felixesteban]

A year after the Japanese government recognized cryptocurrency as a legal form of money, bitcoin payments are steadily going mainstream. Bic Camera is one of the most profitable electronic, cosmetic and duty-free goods stores in Japan. It has now revealed that even though less than 1% of payments have been made in BTC since it started accepting bitcoin last year, the number of Japanese bitcoin spenders is slowly and steadily increasing, it observed.

Also read: Media Frenzy in Japan as Bic Camera Starts Accepting Bitcoin
Bic Camera’s Year-Long Relationship with BTC

Bic Camera started taking bitcoin in a limited capacity shortly after the Japanese government came up with new regulations around digital currencies and the exchanges that are handling them in April 2017. In an interview with news.Bitcoin.com, Masanari Matsumoto, Bic Camera’s PR and IR Chief, revealed that the average bitcoin spenders were younger Japanese males.

“When Bic Camera first installed the Bitcoin payment system in its stores, we expected that the customers paying in Bitcoin would mostly be foreigners,” he said. But it turned out to be quite different. “We noticed that Bitcoin was becoming very popular. Then the government announced that Bitcoin was officially legal, so we finally felt more comfortable introducing Bitcoin as a method of payment in our stores,” Matsumoto explained. “Bic Camera always aims at responding to its customers’ demands, and there was a huge demand at the time.”

When Bic Camera started taking BTC in April of 2017 at two of its largest stores in central Tokyo, they noticed an increase in demand from customers. They later expanded the option in their entire 40 stores nationwide and conducted a test overall to study who was using bitcoin. The results of this research showed that the Japanese sales were higher than foreign customers’ tax-free sales, Matsumoto explained. “We also asked our cashier staff to look out when they processed a Bitcoin payment, and we found out that the majority of Bitcoin users were Japanese males in their 30s.” They mostly bought computer tablets, digital cameras, small items, and alcohol, he added.

Read more:
https://news.bitcoin.com/number-of-japanese-bitcoin-spenders-slowly-but-steadily-increasing-says-bic-camera/

[btyco]

This is a good sign, Japan is a one of the top economies in the world so if bitcoin can be integrated there others will follow. America, China, and Germany will be next

[sugarchrisp]

Not surprising, but it's volatile price will prevent it from being used as a currency long term.  In minutes you can go from being able to afford something to not at all, I don't know how vendors will deal with that issue.