Airbnb: No Bitcoin Plans After Industry Startup Acqui-Hire

Travel accommodation giant Airbnb has indicated it does not have any plans to incorporate bitcoin into its payment offerings following the acquisition of an unknown number of employees at social tipping startup ChangeCoin.

Airbnb said the employees will be working on the company’s engineering team, with a focus on infrastructure, though it offered no further details. The statements come in the wake of speculation that the purchase is perhaps an indication of the startup's interest in blockchain technology.

However, the firm confirmed it did not acquire assets or intellectual property owned by the startup.

A spokesperson told CoinDesk:

"We are not acquiring the assets of the company, nor do we have any plans to incorporate bitcoin into the Airbnb ecosystem."

The company did not comment on whether the employees would be working on applications for blockchain in the wake of comments by Airbnb that hinted at its interest in the emerging technology. Sources said the company acquired mostly employees focused on general product development and based in the San Francisco area.

Representatives from Pantera Capital and Blockchain Capital, two of the company’s investors, reported that an auction is ongoing for the firm’s remaining assets.

No details as to the potential participants in the negotiations were provided.

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