The push for the next spike in Bitcoin price could come from Japan very soon. More exchange traders are joining the bandwagon and the market outlook says there has been a rise in the value amount of Bitcoin traded after the first half of this year.
Following a market research in July, BitFlyer says its virtual currency exchange has the largest Bitcoin trading volume in the first half of 2016 across Japan as it made a 200,000 registered users breakthrough in June.
It says about 7.8 million bitcoins (worth about 430 billion yen) was traded within the January and June period in Japan and touts itself as the holder of the number one spot having accounted for 37% share of the market.
Future uptake imminent
Market research firm Seed Planning estimates the Bitcoin's annual trading volume will soar to 2 trillion yen this year.
"We have noticed a trend where investors who previously traded foreign currencies on margin take up bitcoin trading," a company official said.
CEO of bitFlyer, Yuzo Kano, was quoted as saying that the trading volume has been growing at a pace that has not been seen before since this spring.
Kano, a former Goldman Sachs trader, is one of the 38 figures from past and present - including Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System - who have helped to shape the financial services sector to be celebrated this year 38th edition of Sibos.
He supports the new digital economy, but also recognises the importance of regulation, for which he is a vocal advocate.
Regulation more Bitcoin-friendly
The introduction of regulatory measures seems to have been instrumental in the recovery process from the Mt. Gox scandal which has given Bitcoin a bad name in Japan.
In May, Japan passed a bill that mandated the regulation of Bitcoin and virtual currency exchanges by the Financial Services Agency (FSA).
About $4.25 billion (about 430 billion yen) in bitcoins was reported traded in Japan in the January-June half - an increase of about 50 times from the same period in the previous year.
However, in July alone, more than 200 billion yen in bitcoins reportedly changed hands. That’s almost half of the recorded trading for six months.
There are indications that trading may take off as the regulatory framework catches up with more users to give more legitimacy in the public eye.
Japan has risen to become the second Bitcoin market in the world after China, toppling the United States. Earlier, Japanese government officially recognized Bitcoin as a currency.