Why are only the American versions of sites accepting BTC?

[spooderman]

So when I heard about gyft, I thought 'yay' and bought a little item for my laptop, only when I checked out I discovered that on their UK site I couldn't use BTC. Same with newegg.

Why is this the case?

[RodeoX]

Regulation. No company is going to sell stuff that might turn out to be illegal. The U.S. has provided some direction for retailers. That would be my guess.

[leezay]

Probably have something to do with UK law.

Newegg is headquartered in California, and California just declared bitcoin a legal currency.

[Dogtanian]

There are plenty of UK stores and businesses that accept or deal with bitcoin so I can't understand why UK law would prohibit them. Overstock is looking to implement worldwide bitcoin adoption but for now it's just America I think.

[ArticMine]

Because these sites are US based and they will implement something new first in the "home" market. Ironically for a company like Overstock it is for the international sales where Bitcoin has the most potential.

[Lethn]

Probably have something to do with UK law.

Newegg is headquartered in California, and California just declared bitcoin a legal currency.

Yep, it's all to do with the law situation regarding Bitcoin and other countries so they've probably cleared the law side of things on the U.S but not in the UK.

If you're looking for computer components http://www.scan.co.uk accepts Bitcoins I plan on using them to buy stuff when I get enough money

[TrillionBTC]

Does CoinBase and or BitPay handle the British Pound?

I think the reason is both legal and the ability to convert the currency to the company's country fiat. Make no mistake these companies accepting BTC are not holding BTC.

[IanFoxley]

So when I heard about gyft, I thought 'yay' and bought a little item for my laptop, only when I checked out I discovered that on their UK site I couldn't use BTC. Same with newegg.

Why is this the case?

I did the same thing, would be great if something like this went Europe wide.

[franky1]

So when I heard about gyft, I thought 'yay' and bought a little item for my laptop, only when I checked out I discovered that on their UK site I couldn't use BTC. Same with newegg.

Why is this the case?

1. gyft is an american company, so accept their cards to only work on american sites
2. new egg US branch is expanding bitcoin becaus that is where the demand is,

you will find that UK is about a year or 2 behind america when it comes to bitcoin adoption, not many UK bitcoin users are pushing UK merchants to adopt bitcoin. they just sit on their sofa watching coronation street waiting for others to do the work for them

if your looking for sites in the UK that accept bitcoin(nationally)
aria.co.uk
scan.co.uk
takeaway.com

thats 3 pulled straight from my head.
i think even overstocks UK division has bitcoin payments at the shopping cart end

the list is getting bigger for national coverage sites, and the list of local places is large too.. but the qustion shouldnt be, why hasnt merchants in UK adopted bitcoin.. but instead ask why havnt you asked THEM?

[kgo]

Does CoinBase and or BitPay handle the British Pound?

I think the reason is both legal and the ability to convert the currency to the company's country fiat. Make no mistake these companies accepting BTC are not holding BTC.

This.  Although there are a bunch of exchanges that let you use a wide variety of currencies, there aren't many (if any) mature payment processors that convert to something other than USD.  There needs to be a pound/euro/etc payment processor that plugs in just like visa/mastercard/paypal that is mature enough for a big company to trust.

[spooderman]

Thank you Franky1. I didn't know about those sites, well I knew scan, but didn't know they took btc, which is great!

Takeaway is great too, hopefully someone will take my 10,000 btc and give me a pizza (or two).

[davidgdg]

Does CoinBase and or BitPay handle the British Pound?

I think the reason is both legal and the ability to convert the currency to the company's country fiat. Make no mistake these companies accepting BTC are not holding BTC.

Bitpay certainly does

[Skele]

Maybe the way each country manage it's economy and so the rules or laws they have make Bitcoins a little hard to implement, i believe it is just a

matter of time when Bitcoin is accepted increasingly all over the world.

[pening]

Probably have something to do with UK law.

Newegg is headquartered in California, and California just declared bitcoin a legal currency.

Yep, it's all to do with the law situation regarding Bitcoin and other countries so they've probably cleared the law side of things on the U.S but not in the UK.

If you're looking for computer components http://www.scan.co.uk accepts Bitcoins I plan on using them to buy stuff when I get enough money

An odd point of view considering the UK gave explicit guidance back in March (Bitcoin to be treated as foreign currency, taxes on sales due at sterling at time of transaction), while the US hasn't given such clear guidance, California only repealed law that previously made them technically illegal there, and federal agency sale implicitly recognising they are an asset with value.

I'd say its more because large US based companies do stuff in their home market first, then roll out globally later.  

[DannyElfman]

Does CoinBase and or BitPay handle the British Pound?

I think the reason is both legal and the ability to convert the currency to the company's country fiat. Make no mistake these companies accepting BTC are not holding BTC.

This.  Although there are a bunch of exchanges that let you use a wide variety of currencies, there aren't many (if any) mature payment processors that convert to something other than USD.  There needs to be a pound/euro/etc payment processor that plugs in just like visa/mastercard/paypal that is mature enough for a big company to trust.

It would not be difficult for a european merchant to convert their dollars to euros if they were to utilize coinbase for bitcoin payment processing. Even if they were not able to do so, there are many international companies that have a legitimate need for dollars.

[Lethn]

Probably have something to do with UK law.

Newegg is headquartered in California, and California just declared bitcoin a legal currency.

Yep, it's all to do with the law situation regarding Bitcoin and other countries so they've probably cleared the law side of things on the U.S but not in the UK.

If you're looking for computer components http://www.scan.co.uk accepts Bitcoins I plan on using them to buy stuff when I get enough money

An odd point of view considering the UK gave explicit guidance back in March (Bitcoin to be treated as foreign currency, taxes on sales due at sterling at time of transaction), while the US hasn't given such clear guidance, California only repealed law that previously made them technically illegal there, and federal agency sale implicitly recognising they are an asset with value.

I'd say its more because large US based companies do stuff in their home market first, then roll out globally later.  

Well it's precisely because the U.S hasn't given clear guidance on how to interact with foreign countries regarding Bitcoin and so on because the U.S has the IRS which is notoriously difficult when it comes to moving money in and out of the country internationally which is why I take that view. If they were based in the UK things would be much simpler, I'm based in the UK of course as well and a UK citizen so I don't have to worry about the IRS until I exchange my Bitcoin for dollars.

For those who don't know here's the official guidance on Bitcoin regarding HMRC.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/briefs/vat/brief0914.htm

 Income Tax: The profits and losses of a non-incorporated business on Bitcoin transactions must be reflected in their accounts and will be taxable on normal income tax rules.

Chargeable gains - Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax: If a profit or loss on a currency contract is not within trading profits or otherwise within the loan relationship rules, it would normally be taxable as a chargeable gain or allowable as a loss for Corporation Tax or Capital Gains Tax purposes. Gains and losses incurred on Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are chargeable or allowable for Capital Gains Tax if they accrue to an individual or, for Corporation Tax on chargeable gains if they accrue to a company.

Bitcoin is also exempt from VAT contrary to what was ruled before and all over the news, mainly because there is no way they could enforce it rofl

[bluemeanie1]

Probably have something to do with UK law.

Newegg is headquartered in California, and California just declared bitcoin a legal currency.

Yep, it's all to do with the law situation regarding Bitcoin and other countries so they've probably cleared the law side of things on the U.S but not in the UK.

If you're looking for computer components http://www.scan.co.uk accepts Bitcoins I plan on using them to buy stuff when I get enough money

An odd point of view considering the UK gave explicit guidance back in March (Bitcoin to be treated as foreign currency, taxes on sales due at sterling at time of transaction), while the US hasn't given such clear guidance, California only repealed law that previously made them technically illegal there, and federal agency sale implicitly recognising they are an asset with value.

I'd say its more because large US based companies do stuff in their home market first, then roll out globally later.  

yes, I've worked in European E-Commerce and generally the laws in Europe are far more constraining than the US.  Some states in the US have virtually no restrictions on BTC(Nevada).

-bm

[WoopDeBoop]

it's really hard to find companies that ship a lot of things to Asia where I live. btc would be perfect for me, but they still don't ship here even when they accept btc

[Yakamoto]

There are Canadian sites accepting BTC too.

Tigerdirect.ca just started, for example. And I've seen a few websites and companies based in Canada that accept BTC, often for large orders in excess of $2,500.

Then again, however, there's a lot of things that factor into the use of bitcoin as a monetary unit. The USA has a lot of people who create websites too, and a lot of the rest of the world isn't obsessed with having a website of their own. America has a lot of tech-based people, and 10x the amount of Canada.

Regulations... I have no idea. Canada has some vauge regulations, but nothing has really been confirmed, nor have I been able to find the original bill of some things that are claimed to exist.

But America has lots of people, and lots of tech-based people, and that's why it's more common to see American sites accepting Bitcoin.

[Ron~Popeil]

It is probably a combination of things. Regulatory environment and the fact that many of these companies are US based means it is easier to roll it out there first.