And finally…working for virtual pennies

A spokeswoman for GMO Internet, which operates a range of web-related businesses including finance, online advertising and internet infrastructure and started a Bitcoin trading and exchange business in May, said the firm 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.

Next month the company said it intends to 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.

GMO’s decision to pay wages in Bitcoin comes as world prices in the currency soared from less than $1,000 in January to $17,000 this week.