Japanese company to start paying employees in bitcoin

GMO Internet will pay portion of salaries in the cryptocurrency - whose prices have recently surged - from February

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.