TOKYO — Some of the middlemen that cryptocurrencies were designed to cut out are getting into the virtual mining business, anyway.
With Japanese eagerly buying into bitcoin and similar currencies, SBI Holdings, GMO Internet and other online securities companies hope to turn mining into a new revenue source.
Miners have to operate large servers that keep track of all transactions on a digital currency’s blockchain. The servers also have to solve complex mathematical problems before their operators can “win” some cryptogold.
Many miners today are located in China, where relatively cheap electricity allows them to be profitable. Now parts of Japan’s financial industry want in — and a say over how virtual currencies should be regulated. They even want to write the currencies’ rules.
Source/More: Bitcoin could see new rule-maker: Japan’s finance industry- Nikkei Asian Review
