Rakuten starts accepting bitcoin

Rakuten.com, a Japan-based e-commerce giant, has announced that it is now accepting bitcoin as a payment option. The company first hinted the likelihood of accepting bitcoin last year and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani reiterated Rakuten's willingness at the Rakuten Financial Conference.

On the latest integration, Rakuten.com President Fumio Kobayashi said, "Bitcoin turned the Internet into a secure, seamless global payment network. By integrating with Bitnet we are now offering consumers the industry standard in secure payments, and our merchants will benefit by receiving guaranteed payments. Both consumers and merchants will have peace of mind when participating in the Rakuten.com online marketplace."

The company's e-commerce operation is the largest in Japan and one of the largest in the world.  It has bought a number of e-commerce sites including Buy.com, Priceminister, Ikeda, Tradoria, Play.com, Wuaki.tv and Kobo. Rakuten is still growing and helped by its acquisitions, it has gradually expanded into the U.S. and other global markets.