Bitcoin, the world's foremost digital currency, is a hot topic in Japanese FinTech circles right now. Until recently, Japan has been seen to lag behind its Asian counterparts when it comes to virtual currency initiatives. Whereas China and South Korea are moving fast toward becoming cashless societies, with over 50% of payments processed electronically, Japan has been comparatively slow to respond, with an adoption rate currently pegged at around 19%.
Credibility has long been regarded as a stumbling block to wider adoption of digital payment services, but as the blockchain technology underpinning bitcoin gains credence in the business community, the concept of a cashless society becomes a viable prospect. Its distributed ledger system offers a number of compelling advantages over a paper-backed currency in terms of cost, flexibility, and security.
More sectors than ever are tooling up for what the future holds, and it is a measure of increasing business confidence that even sectors defined by the need for overarching financial security are now integrating digital currency alternatives alongside more traditional payment options. Recently, BitCasino.io became the first casino site to exclusively accept bitcoin for in-house transactions, and it is likely that many more sectors will follow suit as the cryptocurrency shifts from niche activity to mainstream acceptance in the wider retail economy. And plans are afoot to make bitcoin as ubiquitous a payment option as PayPal has become.
Moves this year by the Japanese government are likely to accelerate this process. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in April a raft of policies that aim to set out a regulatory framework for the digital frontier, paving the way for Japanese companies to engage in productive partnerships with bitcoin startups in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. By then it is hoped, Japan will be at parity with the United States in achieving a respectable adoption rate of 40% cashless payments.
It is often said that a rising tide lifts all boats, but it is rarely that simple when it comes to the field of technology. Technological progress is a jaggedly incremental affair. First adopters take the initial risks, while more cautious heads track their progress before following through with a wider implementation. For something to become mainstream, it has to survive every step of the adoption process and prove a worthy successor to what has come before.
Adoption curves are rarely clean and tidy lines, and even the best of ideas cannot flourish in isolation. The judicious application of government bootstrapping could be of immense help when it comes to bringing something as transformative as a virtual currency into a tangible and everyday reality. Come Tokyo 2020, we shall know for sure.
