Japan: company to pay employees in Bitcoin as of February 2018

A Japanese company is set to begin paying part of their employees’ salaries in Bitcoin, as it aims to gain a better understanding of the crypto currency, according to a spokeswoman.

GMO Internet, which operates a range of web-related business, including online advertising, internet infrastructure and finance, will pay their employees up to 100,000 yen (€756) monthly in Bitcoin as of February of next year.

“Employees can receive salaries by Bitcoin if they want to,” company spokeswoman Harumi Ishii said. “We hope to improve our own literacy of virtual currency by actually using it.”

The offer will be open to around 4,000 employees of the GMO group in Japan, she said.

The company started a Bitcoin trading and exchange business in May. And next month, it will join the so-called “Bitcoin mining” business – gaining the right to receive new Bitcoins as a reward for helping keep the network secure by approving transactions.

World Bitcoin prices have surged on a global scale this year, soaring from less than $1,000 in January to $17,000 this week.