Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_61f95dad5c463" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>NYDIG survey found 54% of bitcoin holders want a portion of their salary paid in the digital asset</li>
 <li>Financial services companies Q2, MVB Bank and Vantage Bank are among the firms offering the option</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>





There’s a new means for employees to get paid in bitcoin, thanks to <a href="https://nydig.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NYDIG</a>.



The bitcoin-focused financial services firm has partnered with a number of companies that will for the first time give their employees the option to receive a percentage of their post-tax earnings in bitcoin.&nbsp;



More than one-third of workers between the ages of 18 and 29 expressed an interest in getting some of their salary in bitcoin, according to a recent <a href="https://nydig.com/research/bitcoin-benefits-2022-survey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">survey</a> by the New York company. There’s a sharp dropoff when it comes to older employees, with just 11% of workers over 60 saying they would consider doing so.



Fifty-four percent of bitcoin holders overall want a portion of their salary paid in the digital asset, the survey found.



Though not a novel concept, it is another example of a major crypto company allowing employers to pay their workers using cryptocurrency. Other companies offering this service include Coinbase, BitWage and BitPay, and payments processor Strike allows employees to convert paychecks to crypto themselves.



A NYDIG spokesperson did not immediately return Blockworks’ request for comment on how its new offering differs from others.



Patrick Sells, NYDIG’s chief innovation officer, called the service an “easy-to-adopt” perk for employers that helps businesses “stand out from the pack while providing their employees with a critical tool for protecting their financial futures.”&nbsp;



NYDIG delivers technology and financial services to businesses through its full-stack bitcoin platform. NYDIG completed a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nydig-closes-1b-funding-round-raising-valuation-above-7b/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$1 billion growth equity funding round</a> led by WestCap in December, bringing its valuation to more than $7 billion.



The offering allows employees to choose what percentage of their after-tax pay they would like to convert to bitcoin, which is held in cold storage by NYDIG. There are no transaction or storage fees on the bitcoin traded and held by the workers, according to the company.&nbsp;



NYDIG employees can also use the service. Other companies using the savings plan include financial services companies Q2, MVB Bank and Vantage Bank, as well as crypto companies like bitcoin miner Iris Energy and crypto data company The TIE.



Companies owned by former NFL quarterback Drew Brees are also in on the offering.



Fertitta Entertainment will share the benefit with workers of the Houston Rockets — the NBA team <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/houston-rockets-partner-with-nydig-through-bitcoin-paid-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NYDIG recently partnered with</a> — and to corporate employees of restaurant company Landry&#8217;s.



New York City Mayor Eric Adams said<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nyc-mayor-receives-first-paycheck-in-converted-eth-btc/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> on Jan. 20</a> that his first paycheck would be converted into bitcoin and ether through Coinbase. The crypto exchange <a href="https://blog.coinbase.com/now-get-your-paycheck-deposited-into-coinbase-116fe1d073ce" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">began</a> accepting paycheck deposits last year.



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Workers Can Get Paid in Bitcoin Via New NYDIG Offering

Morgan Chittum

<div id="highlights-block_60ec9a2d526bc" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>90% of bitcoin hasn’t changed hands in around 12 months </li>
 <li>Daily payment activity in El Salvador could represent around 4% of on-chain transaction volume</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



El Salvador’s recent approval of bitcoin as a legal tender could create issues for the Central American nation’s economy and the digital asset, a recent report by JPMorgan said.



JPMorgan cited illiquidity, high volatility, and U.S. dollar conversion as obstacles for bitcoin as a medium of exchange, according to the document, which was first reported by <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-11/jpmorgan-says-el-salvador-move-could-strain-bitcoin-blockchain?sref=3REHEaVI">Bloomberg</a>.&nbsp;



The El Salvadoran Congress said it would adopt bitcoin as a standardized currency back in June, becoming the first country to ever do so. The “Bitcoin Law” was <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/el-salvador-approves-bitcoin-as-legal-tender-in-supermajority/">passed</a> in a super majority and will come into effect on September 7.



The report questioned the illiquidities tied to the digital currency, citing that 90% of bitcoin has not changed hands in around 12 months.&nbsp;



“Daily payment activity in El Salvador would represent ~4% of recent on-chain transaction volume and more than 1% of the total value of tokens which have been transferred between wallets in the past year,” the report indicated.



Bitcoin’s conversion to the dollar could also “cannibalize onshore dollar liquidity” and threaten fiscal stability, the report said.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/big-salvadoran-majority-skeptical-bitcoin-standard-currency-2021-07-08/">survey</a> by Disruptiva suggests that many residents of the country are wary of the move. Out of the 1,233 respondents, around 65% of those polled would not want to be paid in bitcoin and 46% said they knew “nothing” about the digital asset.&nbsp;



&#8220;This is a risky bet on digital transformation,&#8221; said Oscar Picardo, head of Disruptiva&#8217;s institute of science, technology and innovation, when results of the survey were <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/big-salvadoran-majority-skeptical-bitcoin-standard-currency-2021-07-08/">announced</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">In defense of El Salvador&#8217;s bitcoin plans</h3>



Kevin Kang, founding principal of BKCoin Capital, said that El Salvador chose bitcoin because of its size and decentralized, public nature.&nbsp;



“As the Fed created 25% of all M2 supply in 2020 alone, the dollar is going to devalue,” Kang said in a note to Blockworks. “It&#8217;s a question of when, not if. Since El Salvador isn&#8217;t getting the economic benefits of piggybacking off of the US growth anymore, Bitcoin alternative truly gives them the power when exchanging value that doesn&#8217;t involve having to rely on another nation or currency.”



The Lightning Network could make micropayments more efficient, easing concerns over liquidity, Kang said.&nbsp;



“Bitcoin at its current form does not make it [a] practical form of retail payments as a single Bitcoin transaction fee alone would be 1% of a Salvadoran&#8217;s average annual income,” Kang added. “However, Lightning network makes micropayments more efficient, which is designed to speed up transaction processing times as well as decreasing the transaction costs.”

bitcoin payments