Monex To Gift Its Shareholders Bitcoins As Mid-Term Benefit

Monex Group, Inc. will be making some of its shareholders happy after announcing that it would be giving out Bitcoins as a mid-term shareholder benefit.

The Japanese financial services company made the announcement on Tuesday. It previously gifted shareholders with only Monex points, but with their acquisition of CoinCheck Inc. for $33 million in April 2018, it has amended the process of paying dividends to shareholders. While granting cryptocurrencies as gifts is nothing new, providing shareholders with an additional incentive like this underpins the popularity of such digital assets.

The number of Bitcoins equivalent to 500-yen (about $4.60) will go out to shareholders who own shares of the company as of September 30, 2019, but only those with Coincheck accounts will be entitled to receive the reward. The company will also continue to offer Monex points to eligible shareholders. One Monex point is equivalent to one yen.

The future of this shareholder benefit, however, is undetermined after March 31, 2020.

Monex is adapting crypto rewards with an aim of "responding to increasing aspiration for building assets in cryptocurrencies."

This change is also accompanied by changes to Monex Group Inc.'s leadership team with Yuya Asamura taking over as Executive Directors at the start of October. Naoyuki Kainuma will also take on the Executive Director role and the General Manager of the CEO Office at Monex Group.

Cryptocurrencies continue to etch its mark in the mainstream currency industry. Companies like Microsoft, Starbucks, and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) owner Intercontinental Exchange are pushing to make Bitcoin. However, Bitcoin's price remains to be very volatile.

Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Litecoin, took quite a nosedive on Tuesday posting double-digit declines. From hanging around price levels of $9,487 to as high as $10,691 in much of September, Bitcoin fell below $8,000 within a few minutes of trading.