Ana Maria Pasare

London accepting Bitcoin friendly is not a surprise for the businesses

Here’s why

London accepting Bitcoin friendly is not a surprise for the businesses. Nor the Bitcoin, neither the other cryptocurrencies, haven’t been seen very well at the beginning.  If you have already Bitcoin in your wallet, now you can spend them. For example, London is one the five top cities that accepts the payment with Bitcoin. The question is why London is so friendly with  Bitcoin as a method of payment?!

London accepting Bitcoin

With Bitcoin in the top of cryptocurrencies, it’s not a surprise that most of the businesses accept the payment with Bitcoin. Only in London, there are around 93 businesses that agree with Bitcoin. These businesses include CeX (a marketplace for games, DVDs, CDs, Electricals and more), Overhang (a rock climbing facility), a selection of pubs and restaurants and even London Speech Therapy so there truly is a range of places that are accepting of cryptocurrencies.

There are thousands of businesses within London, but only Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, New York City and San Francisco have more accepting businesses than London.

What is the FCA’s stance?

The FCA do not have any set regulation regarding the investment in, or use of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies.

However, despite this warning, back in 2014, they launched Project Innovate. This initiative was designed to encourage the financial sector to take on further innovative technologies, and that includes Blockchain – the distributed ledger that most cryptocurrencies use as software.

What other cities should you watch?

Even if London is in the top cities that accept Bitcoin, there are more cities that joined this concept. San Francisco/San Jose are high up, with the Silicon Valley between them. There are over 194 businesses here that accept Bitcoin. New York City isn’t far at all with its 160 businesses that accept Bitcoin. The financial capital of the world, New York City has always been at the forefront of the Bitcoin innovation battle, with Wall Street exploring blockchain deeper than most other cities dare.

The principle aim of London is to expand even more. The capital is a hub of activity, especially for financial services and so only the future will tell us just how far the expansion could go.