Rakuten buys struggling bitcoin startup Bitnet to create a ‘blockchain research lab’

Rakuten has confirmed that it has acquired the assets of Bitnet, a bitcoin wallet startup it invested in, which will be used to create a ‘bitcoin lab’ for the Japanese retail giant.
The transaction is undisclosed but it follows a Wall Street Journal report in July which speculated that a deal was in the works. Rakuten took part in a $14.5 million investment round for Bitnet nearly two years ago, which was led by Highland Capital Partners.
Rakuten integrated Belfast-based Bitnet’s payment option into some of its online commerce sites last summer. Bitnet was supposed to rival bitcoin payment heavyweights Coinbase and Bitpay, but after a spate of executives left and the startup reportedly laid off half of its staff to cut costs, it struggled to grow its business. That led to this strategic asset-stripping move from Rakuten.

This post was published at Tech Crunch on August 19, 2016.