Australia's largest Bitcoin company CoinJar is moving its headquarters to the UK to take advantage of a more favourable regulatory regime.
The Melbourne-originated consumer Bitcoin exchange and digital wallet provider currently claims 32,000 customers and $A50 million in transactions processed since its launch last year.
In a post on its customer support pages, the company says it is relocating its headquarters to the UK as part of a global expansion plan and the opening of its online wallet to international users. Now officially incorporated as a UK company, CoinJar UK Limited has taken up residence at Level39 in London's Canary Wharf district.
Underlying the move is a desire to avoid the 10% Goods and Services Tax levied on customers using its service by Australia's tax authorities. Digital currency trading is exempted from value added tax in the UK.
CoinJar CEO Asher Tan says: “The UK has a very sensible approach to the regulation of new technologies like Bitcoin. There is recognition of its potential within government and regulatory bodies, who are formulating policies to encourage fintech businesses to situate themselves in the UK.”
Tan says the business will not lose touch with its roots in Australia: "We maintain a strong Australian presence, based out of Melbourne, and will continue focusing on the things that have defined us such as facilitating meetup groups, sharing knowledge and highlighting our amazing customers."