Are crypto-based payments the next big thing?

Highlights

• Several large corporations, like AT&T and Tesla, have begun accepting cryptocurrency as a mode of payment.
• An increasing number of countries are considering creating their own cryptocurrencies, with El Salvador becoming the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
• Brazil could be the next country to adopt Bitcoin, with politician Luizo Goulart proposing legislation to allow cryptocurrencies to be used as a form of remuneration for employees.

Imagine sipping a cup of tea one wonderful morning and getting Bitcoins credited to your wallet.

May be in future, you will get paid in Bitcoins instead of cash? Or you will receive Bitcoins as bonuses and incentives.

While there is no end to imagination and innovations, let’s see if cryptocurrencies will change the practice of making payments in currencies.

Bitcoin gains mainstream acceptances regionally

Payments with cryptocurrencies are not far off in the future. An increasing number of countries are considering creating their own cryptocurrencies, with El Salvador becoming the first to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

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Moreover, Brazil could be the next country to adopt Bitcoin, with politician Luizo Goulart proposing legislation to allow cryptocurrencies to be used as a form of remuneration for employees.

Salary in Bitcoin

With two recent breakthroughs, the hype surrounding requesting salary in crypto is growing fast. First, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez declared that he wanted his following paycheque to be fully in Bitcoin.

Are crypto-based payments the next big thing?

Then another New York politician, Eric Adams, stated his desire to get his first three salary cheques in Bitcoin when he takes office as the Mayor of New York in January 2022.

Miami lends support to its own cryptocurrency

Mayor Francis Suarez took to Twitter to declare that the city would split a portion of crypto revenues with all of the city's inhabitants. Hence, Miami residents might soon receive free cryptocurrency "MiamiCoin" in their crypto wallets.

MiamiCoin made its debut in August via CityCoins. It is built on Bitcoin technology, which is an open-source platform that gives cities 30% of the profit when their coins are mined or purchased. MiamiCoin brought more than US$21 million for the city in just three months.

The mayor pointed out that if that amount was annualised, it would be nearly one-fifth of Miami's total annual tax collection of US$400 million.

The mayor also aims to pay city officials in cryptocurrencies and is a strong backer of the "salary in crypto" demand.

Related Article: Will CBA's move be impetus to crypto investment in Australia?

Purchasing goods with cryptocurrency

Tesla

Tesla recently signalled in its quarterly filing that it could start receiving crypto payments again. It has shown an affinity towards digital currency by explaining that it believed digital assets had long-term potential as investments or as alternatives to cash. The EV maker bought US$1.5 billion worth BTC in the last nine months.

Tesla had earlier accepted Bitcoin while selling its cars to customers. However, over concern on a huge amount of energy required to mine Bitcoins, Musk suspended accepting the coin as a mode of payment.

AT&T

In 2019, telecommunications giant AT&T declared accepting Bitcoins as payments through a third-party service called BitPay. For the transaction, BitPay used to charge a small fee as a small cut of this payment.

Twitch

Twitch, a streaming service provider, encourages users to pay in crypto coins by offering a 10% discount on crypto-based payments. Coins including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, Ether, and others can be used for payments on Twitch.

Many retail chains and supermarkets also accept Bitcoin against purchases.

In 2019, Home Depot started to accept Bitcoin as payment. Starbucks began accepting crypto payments as a pilot payment system in a few locations in March 2020. 

Outlook

Many people harbour a secret desire to get compensated in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. And many businesses have developed a knack to attain cryptos as payments against purchases. Thus, the current crypto trend implies that cryptos are well placed to become one of the accepted payment modes in the future.

Hence, we can safely say there is a fair chance that employers may give cryptocurrency as salary, incentives, and bonuses. As a result, salary payment in cryptocurrency may be the next big thing.

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