Rakuten CEO at Tokyo Conference: We Will Probably Accept Bitcoin

Hiroshi Mikitani, chief executive at Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten, reaffirmed his company's willingness to accept Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term.

Rakuten's e-commerce operation is the largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world, over the years buying out several e-commerce sites including Buy.com, Priceminister, Ikeda, Tradoria, Play.com, Wuaki.tv and Kobo. Aside from e-commerce, the conglomerate also engages in banking services, media, travel and hotel booking, securities brokerage, professional sports and entertainment.

Last July, Mikitani first raised the possibility of future bitcoin acceptance. About a month later, Rakuten Super Logistics, a subsidiary of Rakuten, began accepting bitcoin for its shipping services.

Speaking today at a panel on digital currencies and alternative payment methods at the Rakuten Financial Conference, Mikitani said:

"We are thinking about it, and we probably will...We would like to be open."

He did not specify when a final decision will be made, saying it was a trade secret.

Should it move forward, Rakuten would become one of the largest companies to accept bitcoin Payments Payments One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl One of the bases of mediums of exchange in the modern world, a payment constitutes the transfer of a legal currency or equivalent from one party in exchange for goods or services to another entity. The payments industry has become a fixture of modern commerce, though the players involved and means of exchange have dramatically shifted over time.In particular, a party making a payment is referred to as a payer, with the payee reflecting the individual or entity receiving the payment. Most commonl Read this Term. The company is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market cap of over $21 billion.