While Bitcoin is an appealing investment vehicle its other use cases are less popular. Fewer people spend it to buy goods and services as of right now. When it comes to salaries, Bitcoin has not made too many inroads yet either. If it is up to GMO Internet Group, that plan will come to change fairly soon.
GMO Reaffirms Bitcoin Interest
It is not the first time GMO Internet Group has taken a closer look at Bitcoin. The company made it clear they want to work with the leading cryptocurrency in an official capacity. For now, the main focus lies on incorporating a Bitcoin-related payroll for all staffers. That means the Japanese internet giant will allow employees to receive a chunk of their salary in cryptocurrency.
Such a business venture will carry a bit of risk. Given Bitcoin’s price volatility, dealing with salary payments in BTC can become dicey. Even so, there appears to be a genuine interest in this latest option. GMO has made it clear they expect big things of Bitcoin, although the current market trend is not all that positive.
With employees determining the salary cut they want to receive in Bitcoin, interesting options become apparent. The minimum is 10,000 Yen, whereas the maximum is 100,000 Yen. These amounts are still relatively low compared to what GMO Internet Group employees earn, but this is the initial stage of rolling out this feature. There is also an incentive for employees exploring this option, as they receive a bonus of up to 10%.
Will Other Companies offer a Similar Option?
There’s a good reason as to why this option launches in Japan first and foremost. The country has made Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies legal tender some time ago. As such, incorporating BTC into a company’s payroll is far less complicated than one might think. It seems to indicate other Japanese companies may follow this lead by example, assuming GMO Internet Group is successful in this regard.
For GMO, the belief in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is very strong. They consider it to become universal currencies which far transcend the boundaries of fiat currencies. That in itself is a pretty interesting stance, although one not everyone shares. After all, cryptocurrencies remain extremely volatile and have little use outside of speculative measures.
It is evident the opinions on cryptocurrency will always remain divided. With GMO Internet Group bringing positive attention to the ecosystem, good things are bound to happen eventually. Making Bitcoin more useful is a major undertaking given the overall negative public image this currency has. Stories like these show there’s a lot more to cryptocurrency than just using it for criminal purposes.
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