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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Japanese company to start paying employees in bitcoin | Japanese company to start paying employees in bitcoin |
| (17 days later) | |
| GMO Internet will pay portion of salaries in the cryptocurrency – whose prices have recently surged – from February | |
| Agence France-Presse | |
| Fri 15 Dec 2017 04.52 GMT | |
| Last modified on Thu 28 Dec 2017 17.56 GMT | |
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| A Japanese company will start paying part of its employees’ salaries in Bitcoin, as it aims to gain better understanding of the virtual currency, a spokeswoman has said. | A Japanese company will start paying part of its employees’ salaries in Bitcoin, as it aims to gain better understanding of the virtual currency, a spokeswoman has said. |
| GMO Internet, which operates a range of web-related businesses including finance, online advertising and internet infrastructure, will start paying up to 100,000 yen (£660/$890) monthly by Bitcoin to its employees in Japan from February next year. | GMO Internet, which operates a range of web-related businesses including finance, online advertising and internet infrastructure, will start paying up to 100,000 yen (£660/$890) monthly by Bitcoin to its employees in Japan from February next year. |
| Bitcoin is the first, and the biggest, "cryptocurrency" – a decentralised tradable digital asset. Whether it is a bad investment is the big question. Bitcoin can only be used as a medium of exchange and in practice has been far more important for the dark economy than it has for most legitimate uses. The lack of any central authority makes bitcoin remarkably resilient to censorship, corruption – or regulation. That means it has attracted a range of backers, from libertarian monetarists who enjoy the idea of a currency with no inflation and no central bank, to drug dealers who like the fact that it is hard (but not impossible) to trace a bitcoin transaction back to a physical person. | Bitcoin is the first, and the biggest, "cryptocurrency" – a decentralised tradable digital asset. Whether it is a bad investment is the big question. Bitcoin can only be used as a medium of exchange and in practice has been far more important for the dark economy than it has for most legitimate uses. The lack of any central authority makes bitcoin remarkably resilient to censorship, corruption – or regulation. That means it has attracted a range of backers, from libertarian monetarists who enjoy the idea of a currency with no inflation and no central bank, to drug dealers who like the fact that it is hard (but not impossible) to trace a bitcoin transaction back to a physical person. |
| “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.” | “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 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. | 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 globally this year, soaring from less than $1,000 in January to $17,000 this week. | World Bitcoin prices have surged globally this year, soaring from less than $1,000 in January to $17,000 this week. |
| Bitcoin | |
| Japan | |
| Cryptocurrencies | |
| Asia Pacific | |
| E-commerce | |
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