Political and economic tensions around the world have made some more willing to accept compensation in cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, human resources industry executives say.
Cryptocurrencies and stablecoins have been on the rise as a percentage of wages over the past few years. Michael Brooks, co-founder and CEO of goLance, said the trend is driven not only by famous athletes and politicians who are paid in cryptocurrencies, but also by ordinary people who want to hedge against all kinds of instability .
In an interview with Cointelegraph, Brooks said several factors have triggered the spike in cryptocurrency salaries, including growing acceptance as a legal payment method, growing education and the development of new technologies.
Economic conditions around the world have also affected the surge in crypto payments, he said, adding:
“Some regions experiencing political instability, hyperinflation, or financial system constraints have seen an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies as an alternative way of conducting transactions.”
In 2021, goLance spends less than 5 percent of its spending in cryptocurrencies, a proportion that will grow to nearly 10 percent by 2022 and is expected to reach 17 percent by 2023, Brooks said. “Among goLance freelancers who chose to be paid in cryptocurrency, an average of 17.5% of payments were in cryptocurrency and 82.5% were in fiat currency,” the executive noted.
Dan Westgarth, chief operating officer of human resources and payroll platform Deel, said that many employees around the world have begun to receive salaries in cryptocurrency in response to political and economic instability that has exacerbated local fiat. Wide fluctuations in currencies make possible stablecoins such as USD Coin. USDC) is more attractive:
“We’re seeing countries facing more political and currency turmoil continue to use cryptocurrencies, especially withdrawing USDC, to deal with the volatility.”
He stated that the Caribbean offers a use case for crypto wages due to its outdated banking system, through which long waiting periods, payment delays, and bank withdrawal fees can be avoided.
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Among the regions where Deel supports cryptocurrency wages, Latin America has the largest share of withdrawals, accounting for 54% of cryptocurrency withdrawals on the platform from January to May 2023.
Cryptocurrencies accounted for 38% of salaries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa during the same period. Westgarth noted that the Asia-Pacific region and NAM countries together accounted for less than 10 percent of all cryptocurrency withdrawals.
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