(TDB) - A New Zealand winery has become the first in the southern hemisphere to accept the online currency bitcoin.

Pyramid Valley Vineyards, in North Canrubury, made the decision to ease transaction for the company’s domestic and international customer base, according to coindesk.co.uk.

Elsewhere The Rollingdale winery in Canada’s British Columbia has traded bitcoins for bottles since February – the first in North America to do so.

Last week California’s Mondo Cellars also introduced the bitcoin by selling shares to fund expansion of its operations.

While The Picnic Wine Company in Napa announced it too would be accepting the bitcoin back in April.

Caine Thompson, managing director of Pyramid Valley, said: “We live in exciting times, and bitcoin is a movement that is gaining huge international traction as a currency that is borderless.”

“For a business based in a small and fairly isolated market, that is looking to sell to all parts of the world, a borderless currency has a lot of appeal.

“We’re increasingly getting requests from our international customers to be able to pay with bitcoin, particularly for our exclusive Home Collection wines.

“They don’t want to be worried about exchange rates and costly transaction fees.”