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Financial commentator and market analyst, Peter Schiff, recently said in an interview that nobody would want to be paid in Bitcoin (BTC).
However, contrary to what Schiff said, US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken stated that they pay most of their employee’s in Bitcoin. In fact, the exchange tweeted out that they recently paid 250 of their employee’s salaries in Bitcoin in April.
We respect the quest for sound money but @PeterSchiff is wrong when he says "there is no way that people are going to work for salaries paid in bitcoin". Kraken paid 250 salaries in bitcoin in April and more employees are opting for crypto every month. https://t.co/OZuh4gcbfw
— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) May 23, 2019
Why Getting Paid in BTC is Better
Peter Schiff proclaimed that nobody wants to be paid in Bitcoin because of how volatile it is. While he has a point, this volatility doesn’t really matter if the employee getting paid in Bitcoin sells it upon payment. If an employee is worried that Bitcoin will drop in price, they can simply exchange it for fiat currency or a stablecoin.
On the other hand, employees who can hold their Bitcoin through the ups and downs can even benefit from their salaries appreciating and sell it when it goes up.
Karken noted that one of their employees who opted to be fully paid in Bitcoin in 2012 has since retired in 2013:
By the way, the employee who took 100% bitcoin in 2012 retired in 2013.
— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) May 23, 2019
Another reason for getting paid in Bitcoin is the cheaper fees and fast payments. In comparison with PayPal or other popular online money transfer services, Bitcoin’s fees are far less and result in massive savings over the long term.
Also, for international employees that get paid in another currency, they must pay hefty conversion fees through the payment processor or their bank. With Bitcoin, the employee simply sells it on their exchange of choice for whichever currency they choose and benefit from a better exchange rate.
All in all, getting paid in Bitcoin really isn’t so bad and many freelancers who are paid online actually prefer getting paid in Bitcoin over traditional means of payment.
Have you ever been paid in Bitcoin? Which payment method do you prefer? Let us know in the comment section below.