Traveling in this city can use Bitcoin

More than 30 business outlets in Agnes Water and City of 1770 in Central Queensland currently receive cryptocurrency as a payment instrument. The people in the coastal city call themselves the first "digital currency-friendly" tourist city in Australia.

The aim is to attract niche international market travelers, who can pay for various products and services with digital currencies such as bitcoin which can be converted to Australian dollars.

Local real estate agent Gordon Christian said he managed to get support from local entrepreneurs to embrace digital currency technology into their cities to improve the main industry in their region, namely tourism.

Gordon Christian said the strategy aims to attract more tourists to the area and attract alternative tourists.

This week, crypto-currency user groups and tourists from Japan will join local entrepreneurs to launch the city's digital currency campaign, which has been promoted on the visitor's welcome sign board.
Start-up from Queensland, TravelbyBit created a platform that allows consumers to pay for their purchases with digital currency, which is directly converted to Australian dollars

From cafes in Launceston, Tasmania to Burleigh hairdressers on Queensland Gold Coast, brick and cement sellers across Australia are gradually starting to receive digital currencies, which are purchased online and encrypted using data technology known as blockchain.

Digital currency has become the legal instrument of payment in July 2017 and the Australian dollar is currently ranked 18th in the Volume of Bitcoin with the Currency Index - well behind the Japanese Yen, which is at the top of the market that continues to fluctuate.

Last week, Queensland's start-up, TravelbyBit launched its point-of-sale application that facilitates crypto currency payments at Brisbane Airport. This breakthrough made Brisbane airport known as "Australia's first digital currency-friendly airport".

Tracking on the TravelbyBit site shows several airport transactions every day so far, worth between $ 5 and $ 55.

TravelbyBit CEO Caleb Yeoh said it was the earliest days for digital currency, and that there was strong support for digital currencies in the form of "social movements".

"If you travel all over the world you have to deal with a variety of currencies, exchange rates can be confusing, sometimes you have difficulty finding an ATM, and sometimes you are deceived by exchanging money," he said.

"Traveling with a global currency like Bitcoin ... makes sense."

He said blockchain technology is able to protect traders from the cost of credit card fraud