Cryptocurrency payments are becoming more popular on a daily basis. As more businesses and vendors start accepting cryptocurrencies as a payment method on a global scale, and as cryptocurrencies are becoming the dominant form of donations, it is clear that they have cemented themselves as part of our everyday lives. As such, it is no surprise that there are companies out there that give their employees salaries in the form of cryptocurrencies, even if this is just a smaller portion of the whole pie.
Today, we will be jumping deeper into what crypto salaries are and why in most cases, they are much more appealing than just fiat salaries for employees. Let’s dive in.
Key Points:
- Companies, as well as projects that aim to attract the best and brightest when it comes to young talent, need to offer salaries in the form of cryptocurrencies.
- There have been numerous surveys out there where a majority of cryptocurrency enthusiasts have indicated that they would prefer to have their wages paid in the form of cryptocurrencies.
- Cryptocurrency salaries are beneficial due to the fact that the cryptos received could potentially increase in value if the employee holds the tokens, and they can be used anywhere in the world due to their decentralized nature.
- Cryptocurrency payments are also much more secure due to the underlying blockchain technology, which is yet another solid reason why they are a point of appeal for many crypto enthusiasts.
Crypto salaries vs. fiat salaries
There are numerous benefits as to why cryptocurrencies are a point of appeal for a wide audience of people, and they have several advantages when compared to traditional fiat currencies.
Fees
As many people have turned from working remotely from the comfort of their homes, they have gathered clients on a global scale. There is an issue with FIAT currencies, where the exchange rates can eat a lot into the earnings of these workers. As such, cryptocurrencies as a point of comparison have far less expensive fees when compared to traditional payment systems, and cryptocurrencies can easily be converted into USD afterward if the employee wishes to do so.
Speed
When you conduct payments on a global scale, they have to be processed by one intermediary, get sent to another intermediary, such as a bank or a payments processor, and then be delivered to the other person. Cryptocurrency transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, for example, typically take around 10 minutes to complete and work on the weekends as well, or in other words, the blockchain is active 24/7/365. That said, there are even quicker cryptocurrencies when compared to Bitcoin now, which enables payments to be facilitated even quicker.
Transparency
Another key reason why cryptocurrencies are the preferred option when compared to fiat currencies is the level of transparency they provide. The blockchain essentially allows for an immutable, transparent record of the salary payments which have taken place, which protects both parties in the event of a dispute. If an employee ends up deciding to hold on to their BTC tokens, they could also see the value of their wages increase over time, specifically within a bull run of the token they have received as a payment method.
Volatility
This is a somewhat mixed reason as to why cryptocurrencies can either be better or worse in some cases. The volatility of any cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), or example, means that these assets can either dramatically increase or decrease in value based on the conditions of the market.
So, let’s say that an employee receives a monthly wage of $2,000 in BTC on Monday. They wake up on Tuesday, and they might discover that those exact same BTC tokens are now worth $1,000, or optimistically, they are worth $3,000 instead. This is why many companies typically offer a portion of an employee’s salary in the form of a cryptocurrency, a percentage they would feel more comfortable putting at risk, as cryptocurrencies do have risks associated with them.
Which companies pay crypto
There are numerous companies that have adopted the principle of paying their employees through the utilization of cryptocurrencies.
- Microsoft
This company is an early adopter of Bitcoin when in 2014, it began accepting the cryptocurrency as a payment method for games, apps, and other digital content, and it is a company that pays cryptocurrencies. - PayPal
PayPal also introduced Bitcoin payments as a means of attracting new businesses to its platform, and the fact that Bitcoin’s transaction fees were lower ended up giving PayPal the edge they needed, and they succeeded in doing so. - Overstock.com
Overstock is an early adopter of Bitcoin as well, and it currently partners with Coinbase as a means of accepting BTC payments on its site. Additionally, this retailer also launched a blockchain-focused investment company known as Medici Ventures. - Travala.com
This is an online travel company that accepts as well as pays in a number of cryptocurrency payments, and to facilitate this, it has partnered up with Binance Pay and Crypto.com Pay so that all of its customers can benefit through those exchanges. - AT&T
This was the first mobile carrier to accept and utilize cryptocurrency payments, something they announced in 2019. However, to facilitate this, they utilize BitPay, which is a third-party payments processor.
Each of these companies pays in crypto and allows their customers to pay in crypto for their services as well. Through NOWPayments, you can also enable your business to accept cryptocurrencies as well as pay salaries in crypto.
Final words
Hopefully, now you have a heightened level of understanding as to why crypto salaries are much cooler than FIAT salaries. There are numerous advantages to employees being able to receive payments in the form of cryptocurrencies, and given the fact that more and more businesses are starting to accept crypto as a payment method, these currencies could be used for just about everything in the near future. Remember to check out NOWPayments and discover how you can utilize crypto payments.