Bitcoin Daily: Rakuten Plans To Acquire Crypto Exchange, Asia Sees Surge In Blockchain Job Postings

Japanese eCommerce company Rakuten is planning to acquire the cryptocurrency exchange service called everybody’s bitcoin Inc., according to an announcement. The deal could happen through a stock purchase agreement between Rakuten subsidiary Rakuten Card Co., Ltd. and everybody’s bitcoin parent company Traders Investment, Inc.

In a statement, Rakuten said it “decided to acquire everybody’s bitcoin shares so that it can realize the early registration as a cryptocurrency exchange” and combine everybody’s bitcoin “know-how” as a crypto exchange with its own as a company that provides financial services. According to Rakuten, everybody’s bitcoin started as a crypto exchange service in March of 2017.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is thinking of creating a cryptocurrency backed by the rupee, Cryptovest reported. To that end, the bank said in an annual report that an “interdepartmental group” had been gathered “to study and provide guidance on the desirability and feasibility to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC).”

In other news, the number of job postings for blockchain jobs has grown dramatically since last year, CNBC reported. Robert Walters, a recruitment firm, noted a 50 percent jump in the number of jobs within the crypto and blockchain fields in Asia since that time. However, since the area is new, many hires in the field previously worked in other sectors.

“We hardly ever hire from inside of crypto because most people inside of crypto are very inexperienced,” TenX Co-founder Julian Hosp told CNBC. “You have very, very few people who are experienced, who get into the crypto industry.”

Russia’s State Pension Fund (PFR) has its eye on using blockchain technology to help with employment contract information, Cryptovest reported. To that end, the institution wants to use smart contracts for labor agreements that bring employees and employers together. The contracts would be signed with electronic signatures, attainable from centers that offer municipal and state services.