Japan: bitcoin is "not a currency"

Japan has said that Bitcoin is "not a currency".

The virtual currency has taken the world by storm in recent months, with its value rocketing upwards thanks to eager investors. Not all countries have embraced the digital coinage, though: China banned its bank from handling Bitcoins last year, as has Russia, amid associations between the anonymous system of payment and money laundering and other illegal activies.

Now, Japan has said that its banks cannot provide Bitcoins as a product to customers.

Source: BBC