Our media's reaction to bitcoin is predictable. News Corp (The Australian) runs this very positive article, but Fairfax takes a more negative tack on the same news. It harps on the Mt Gox debacle, much like it harped on Andrew Forrest's previous history with Anaconda.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/technology/agency-adopts-bitcoin-in-bid-to-lure-chinese/story-e6frgakx-1226866846522
The 115-year-old Sydney agency said that accepting bitcoin would help it attract more overseas buyers, especially Chinese ones who could convert yuan to bitcoin for making overseas payments.
“We’ve taken on bitcoin due to the influx of lots of prospective buyers from overseas on the Sydney market,” a Forsyth spokeswoman said. “We want to make it as easy as possible especially for Chinese investors.”
Forsyth chose CoinJar.com to convert incoming bitcoins to dollars. CoinJar.com is a start-up of 10 full-time staff which began offering to exchange bitcoin and Australian dollars 11 months ago.
The Forsyth deal is letting CoinJar.com tap into an international deposits income stream traditionally belonging to banks.
CoinJar chief executive Asher Tan said that, for a 0.5 per cent fee, CoinJar would accept merchants’ revenue in bitcoins and pay out the agreed dollar amounts to them, thereby reducing their exposure to fluctuating bitcoin exchange rates.
Mr Tan said CoinJar so far had transacted more than $30 million of exchange business. This calculated roughly to $600,000 of income.
China last year issued strict guidelines on its banks trading in bitcoin but this hasn’t stopped widespread enthusiasm for virtual currencies there with China exchange Huobi.com a major player.
Forsyth managing director James Snodgrass said his agency was a strong supporter of the bitcoin economy as it let people from overseas transact with fewer fees and exchange rate fluctuations.
Forsyth also believes bitcoin will suit Australian expats seeking to buy back into the local market. Forsyth insisted that GST would be paid as usual.
Forsyth said the agency was in no way promoting a tax avoidance system and GST would be paid as usual. But transactions through CoinJar would avoid costly overseas bank transaction charges. Vendors also could pay their property advertising with bitcoin.
The agency is organising property ads in China to include a bitcoin payment option and bitcoin logo, as well as payment options in hard currencies. These ads appear on Chinese online property websites
Just in case for anyone who has not heard of Mt Gox and are of negative bitcoin persuasion, this is for you;
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/sydney-real-estate-agency-begins-accepting-bitcoin-20140327-35lrb.html
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