Bitcoin payment will be legalized in Japan from tomorrow, and the price of Bitcoin rebounds slightly

China Securities Network News (Reporter Wang Zhoujie) The Payment Services Amendment Act signed by the Japanese Cabinet will officially take effect on April 1, which also means that the legality of virtual currency payment methods such as Bitcoin is recognized in the country. Boosted by this, the price of Bitcoin rebounded slightly.

Last year, Japan's financial regulator, the FSA, studied a proposed legislative amendment to treat digital currencies such as Bitcoin as equivalent to conventional currencies. Earlier this year, the Japanese cabinet passed a series of bills recognizing that virtual currencies such as Bitcoin have "quasi-property value" and can be used for payments and digital transactions.

Analysts at OKCoin believe that, basically, the legal status of Bitcoin and other digital currencies will be implemented, and their functions will be similar to legal tender. The inclusion of digital currencies in the payment system in the Payment Services Act Amendment is closely related to a legislative bill enacted in Japan in May 2016, which stipulates that the Japanese Financial Services Authority has the right to regulate digital currency exchanges.

The above analyst's view on the Japanese government's recognition of Bitcoin as a legal means of payment is: "The government's recognition of Bitcoin is a major step forward in the development of Bitcoin. In the long run, Bitcoin will enter a new stage in Japan.

Boosted by the news, the price of Bitcoin rebounded slightly. According to data from OKCoin, the price of Bitcoin denominated in RMB has been hovering around 7,000 yuan recently, rebounding from the low period on Monday. It rose from the lowest price of 6,500 yuan to 7,100 yuan, an increase of 600 yuan. The price of Bitcoin denominated in US dollars also rebounded from about 890 US dollars to nearly 1,050 US dollars. At 8:33 am on the 31st Beijing time, the two were quoted at 6,765 yuan and 1,042.49 US dollars respectively.

However, according to Japanese media reports, the corresponding accounting framework will not be launched until six months later. According to Japanese accounting standards, virtual currency holders can list virtual currencies as inventory, while issuers can identify them as liabilities. This is the most likely scenario when a company or individual considers digital currency on the balance sheet.