A 200 year old institution in Australia is fueling Bitcoin adoption for its huge customer base of more than eleven million people.
The country’s post office is offering a new digital identity service called Digital iD that can legally be used to make the process of signing up to local Bitcoin exchanges quick and painless. Users no longer have to upload selfies and wait days for verification.
As first reported by the local news outlet Mickey, Australians can use Digital iD to get onto an exchange within minutes.
“Digital iD gives people more control over the personal data they share with organizations,” says Digital iD general manager Cameron Gough. “For example, most people hand over their driver’s license to prove they can legally go to a bar, but all that is needed is a name and birth date – not that information plus your full residential address.”
The first Bitcoin business to adopt Digital iD is the Brisbane-based Bitcoin exchange Digital Surge, which told us that the service is currently up and running. It also works with Australian companies Coinjar and Coinloft.
This is one of many advances Australia has made in the blockchain space.
Whether it’s the influx of Bitcoin ATMs, experiments with smart city technology, or the $750 million partnership with IBM to accelerate emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain, it’s clear Australia aims to be a leader in the cryptosphere.