Signs saying “Bitcoins accepted here” are becoming more common place in Las Vegas, but you still won’t find one on a casino floor.
A report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal found the virtual currency is growing in use for Vegas’ retail businesses.
The paper pointed to Julian Tosh, a senior systems engineer, who runs a Bitcoin consulting business on the side as a driving force in the trend.
Tosh regularly holds lunch meetings to talk about Bitcoins and encourage restaurant owners to start accepting the digital currency. Tosh has launched bitcoinsinvegas.com, which lists about three dozen local businesses that accept the virtual currency.
“Our goal is to help people understand Bitcoin and learn how to use it. Share what we know,” Tosh told the Review-Journal. “It’s getting easier because people have heard the word before, and there’s more curiosity about it. If they haven’t accepted the idea, we’ll engage them, give them a way to see that people are interacting with the currency.”
The D and Golden Gate hotels in Las Vegas began accepting Bitcoins in January, though not on casino floors for gambling transactions—which would have to be approved by the state.
Owner Derrick Stevens told the newspaper that Bitcoins are used only in a small percentage of his business, but are bringing in new customers.
“I’m pretty excited how it’s played out,” Stevens told the Review-Journal. “It’s not a technology that can be dismissed that easily.”
Though the Review-Journal report outlined several small businesses accepting Bitcoins—and seeing a growth in its use—regulatory agencies continue to caution against its use.
The Nevada Business and Industry Department now offers information explaining “risk factors associated with transacting or investing in virtual currency.”
Virtual currencies are not issued by any country or backed by any major banks. Making their value volatile, the department said in a news release.
Meanwhile, California has also released warnings about virtual currencies.
Virtual currency exchanges are unregulated and vulnerable to cyber-attacks, said the California of Business Oversight.
The department pointed to a major theft of bitcoins in March from the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange as an example of the risks dabblers in virtual currency take.
“As with many new investment opportunities, fraud potential is high,” the department said in a press release.
