Recently it was announced that Japan's famous "electric city" Akihabara, would start accepting Bitcoin.
As more and more stores in the area are starting to accept Bitcoin, Akihabara decided it was time they joined the party.
This is very big news.
If you are not familiar with Akihabara, more can be read about it here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara
Basically, Akihabara is a marketplace that is home to a large number of shops that sell all things electronics. From computers, to household appliances, to entertainment centers and gaming systems. If it's some form of electronic entertainment, you can likely find it here.
The area is particularly popular with the younger gaming crowd as well as the tech enthusiasts. It's a major shopping center for many.
Akihabara decided it's time to get with the times.
The market place has been very popular with the locals as well as tourists. As you might expect from a place like this, there has been a major push to integrate the latest high-tech currencies as a form of payment.
Which is where Bitcoin comes in.
So far, Bitcoin acceptance hasn't rolled out into all the stores in the market place, but many are starting to accept Bitcoin and as it gains traction at those stores I would imagine the others will follow suit.
It is no surprise that tech stores would be among the first to accept the latest and most technologically advanced form of payments.
BIC Camera has been one of the earliest adopters of Bitcoin as a form of payments and they just opened a shop in Akihabara. Ark Computer Store as well as Monacoin also accept Bitcoin.
However, it's not just electronic stores...
In fact some of the largest adopters are not technology stores or companies at all.
Recruitment Lifestyle recently announced that they will be accepting Bitcoin in all of their 260,000 stores. They are one of the larger retail stores in the country.
Property management firm Dualtrap also announced that they will accept Bitcoin. Even some restaurants such as Au Tokyoite are also accepting Bitcoin.
Coincheck has been the leader for facilitating many of the Bitcoin transactions from the customers to the stores that are accepting it as a form of payment.
More about Coincheck can be read here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coincheck
Basically, Coincheck is a Bitcoin wallet and exchange service located in Tokyo that can convert Bitcoin/Ether into local fiat currencies.
Bitcoin's use cases are skyrocketing in Japan.
This has been mentioned by myself and many others many times on here (and just about every other place online that talks about cryptocurrency), but real world use cases really are increasing rapidly in Japan. As it gains a footing there I would fully expect it to spill over into the surrounding countries.
It is very possible that their early adopter mindset is what helps nudge many others in the same direction.
Japan could be who we are thanking several years down the line as Bitcoin is trading for many multiples of where it is today.
Stay informed my friends!
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara
https://cointelegraph.com/news/japans-electronics-marketplace-starts-adopting-bitcoin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coincheck
Image Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akihabara
http://coinpedia.net/bitcoin-news/6-ways-spend-bitcoin-around-world/
Follow me: @jrcornel