Queensland-based gold and silver bullion dealer Paul Engeman has started trading Bitcoin, following the move by the federal government of Australia to authorize it as a legal currency.

The goods and services tax (GST) from the purchase of virtual currencies was eliminated in Australia on July 1, 2017.

According to Engeman, who serves as director of the Ainslie Bullion and Reserve Vault, he began buying and selling Bitcoin in August and his business is experiencing solid demand from both new and existing customers.

“We've sold gold and silver for 43 years now and those buyers are attuned to monetary assets and can see similar properties in Bitcoin. The fundamentals for what constitutes a monetary asset are the same – it must have intrinsic value and have a medium of exchange. Gold and silver have been the champions of the space for 5000 years, but Bitcoin has the same properties in that there's only 21 million of them and it's a slow process to digitally mine new ones."

Bitcoin in Australia

The Bitcoin price has surpassed the A$6000 ($4,800) level on Sept. 1, with predictions of it likely hitting $6000 soon. The increase was mainly driven by the overall upward trend in digital currency prices that’s resulted in the growth of the cryptocurrency market capitalization by more than $170 bln.

Moreover, there is also a growing acceptance and usage of Bitcoin in Australia. Businesses like cafes, real estate agencies, vehicle manufacturers, and bookshops are already accepting the virtual currency as a form of payment.

Meanwhile, Brisbane high school teacher Chris Tippler claimed that he started to teach his business and economics students about digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ripple, along with bullion, as well as how to trade them.