Japanese business to start paying workers in bitcoin
A Japanese business will begin paying its workers partially in bitcoin, in a bid to gain a better understanding of how the digital currency works, Agence France-Presse reports.
Tech firm GMO Internet said it will pay up to 100,000 yen (£660) a month to approximately 4,000 employees via bitcoin from February next year, according to the agency.
Company spokeswoman Harum Ishii told AFP that employees are free to choose whether or not they want a part of their salary to be paid in bitcoin.
“We hope to improve our own literacy of virtual currency by actually using it”, she said.
The Tokyo-listed company announced in September that it plans to spend more than $3m on mining bitcoin in the first six months of 2018.
GMO said at the time that it believes bitcoin will be part of future “universal currencies” and that the virtual currency will create a “borderless economic zone”.
The company was not immediately available for additional comment when contacted by The Independent on Friday.
The value of bitcoin has been sent on a rollercoaster ride of rises and slumps in recent months.
Source | independent
