Bitnet Technologies Ltd, a bitcoin payments processing firm has announced that it is in the process of selling its intellectual property assets to a Japan-based e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc, Wall Street Journal reported.



A memo related to the deal stated that Rakuten previously invested in Bitnet and is considering using Bitnet’s assets in order to continue blockchain testing and development. In April last year, Rakuten.com announced that it is accepting bitcoin as a payment option.



In 2014, the bitcoin payment processor raised $14.6m in Series A round of funding which was led by Highland Capital Partners.



Other investors of Bitnet include Webb Investment Network; Digital Currency Group, Stephens Investment Management; Commerce Ventures; Buchanan Capital Management among others.



Founded in 1997, Rakuten, Inc. is a Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company based in Tokyo. Its e-commerce platform Rakuten Ichiba is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales.