A Japanese company has stated that they will start paying part of its employees' salaries in form of Virtual currency Bitcoin, as it aims to get better understanding of the virtual currency.
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 ($890) monthly by Bitcoin to its employees in Japan from February next year.
"Employees can receive salaries by Bitcoin if they want to," company spokeswoman Harumi Ishii told AFP.
"We hope to improve our own literacy of virtual currency by actually using it," 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.
World Bitcoin prices have surged globally this year, soaring from less than USD 1,000 in January to USD 17,000 this week.
Bitcoin (BTC) is the world's coolest 'currency' that nobody uses that much. According to an Outlook report, the value of Bitcoins has jumped 15 times in less than 12 months.
Earlier this week, South Korea banned its financial institutions from dealing in virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency soars in a bubble fuelled by retail speculators, many of them from the country.
AFP
