Benefits of Cryptocurrency: Pros and Cons of Cryptocurrency Wages

Pros of Cryptocurrency as Wages

Buying items with cryptocurrency as a consumer is one thing, but how about getting paid with it? Receiving your weekly or monthly wage is arguably the most basic financial event of your professional life. Many sites, specifically those targeting freelancers are turning to wages available in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum

As a result of the uplifting demand for Bitcoin payments during the initial bull run in 2017 and 2018, thousands of freelancers have placed crypto payments into their basket of incentives during a job hunt. But what are the benefits of cryptocurrency as wages?

Here are a few to get your gears moving:

1. Incentive to invest
2. A growing range of services accepting cryptocurrencies as payment
3. Near instant payments, regardless of location
4. Anonymity and privacy

1. Incentive to Invest

Getting paid in cryptocurrency works towards a self-fulfilling prophecy we all want - profits. If more people receive cryptocurrency as payment for their work, then the chances are they will invest in other cryptocurrencies and become part of the growing community. Alternatively, workers will become more investment minded and instead of instantly spending their paycheck’s on Amazon products, perhaps they will save and hold their BItcoin for their future.
 

2. New Services

Along with the notion of a growing community, comes more services. Some websites offer discounts to users who purchase goods using cryptocurrency, or services (which are generally crypto specific) that accept ONLY cryptocurrency and not fiat as payment. If cryptocurrency continues to be used by merchants across the globe, especially on the internet, then it is very likely that those with cryptocurrency will have an advantage, since they are generally faster and cheaper to use than alternative methods.

3. Instant Payments

Well renowned crypto thought-leader Andreas Antonopoulos, and others, have spoken at length about their vision for the future of payroll using cryptocurrencies. Since cryptocurrencies transactions are nearly instantly, it is agreed upon that we will one day see a time where employees are paid by the second, in real time, for their work. This way money is never owed to the employee and everything is settled in real time.

4. Personal Privacy

Cryptocurrencies are meant to emulate digital cash. Cash is physical and anonymous, but when trying to replicate the advantages of physical cash to the digital world, we have learned it is not so easy, which is partially why cryptocurrencies seem so valuable. For example, freelancers can work for various projects at a time, get paid in crypto, and report their earnings with their accountant to pay as little in taxes as they can, while of course keeping things legal. People do this in the cash business, reporting income and using business write-offs to save on taxes. Lastly, at a higher level, your income should be your income and not visible by government or other employers - it is always in your best interest to keep your income private from these entities.

While there are many upsides to getting paid with Bitcoin, I promised I wasn’t going to sugarcoat this, here are a few cons.