GMO Internet will pay portion of salaries in the cryptocurrency – whose prices have recently surged – from FebruaryA 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. “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. World Bitcoin prices have surged globally this year, soaring from less than $1,000 in January to $17,000 this week.

Source: The Guardian December 15, 2017 04:52 UTC