Whether or not you want to engage with cryptocurrency may no longer be solely up to you or your personal investment philosophy. More and more employers are increasingly paying their employees in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. 

While on the surface this may seem impractical — after all, fiat currency is still more widely accepted, so being paid in U.S. dollars seems to trump any other form of payment — there are surprising benefits to being paid in Bitcoin. 

If you’re getting paid in Bitcoin, or hope to be paid in Bitcoin, read on to learn everything from legality to taxes to safety when you get paid in Bitcoin. 

How Do You Get Paid in Bitcoin? 

If you want to get paid in Bitcoin, your best option is to use OnJuno. While your employer may not be on board to pay you in cryptocurrency just yet, you can use an online platform like OnJuno to convert part or all of your paycheck into cryptocurrency and be paid in both fiat currency and cryptocurrency, if you wish. 

While you can choose to get paid in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or a basket of currencies, the best part is that OnJuno works with your employer’s direct deposit to make direct, scheduled payments so that you don’t have to worry about setting up this payment system more than once. 

It’s simple, seamless, and the best part is that you can begin receiving your wages in Bitcoin as soon as you want!

Getting Paid in Bitcoin: The Basics

Essentially, all you need to get paid in Bitcoin is a decentralized digital wallet. While some cryptocurrency payroll agencies exist, like Bitwage, which helps companies to pay their employees in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, your employer can also simply send you your wage in Bitcoin through your digital wallet. 

Ideally, this will be accompanied by an invoice — multiple services and platforms offer cryptocurrency invoices now — so that you and your employer can have a record of your paychecks. 

Fortunately or unfortunately, however, there is no clear answer regarding the legality of being paid in Bitcoin. Most central banks in the world have not currently approved Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies as an established form of payment, making it difficult for payroll systems to rely on Bitcoin as a wage. Moreover, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not regulated worldwide. As such, while it is not prohibited, it straddles the line of legality. 

And finally, just as with a typical paycheck, you do have to pay taxes on your cryptocurrency wages. If you thought regular taxes were tough, think again! You can read in more detail about how to pay cryptocurrency taxes here. 

Getting Paid in Bitcoin: Pros and Cons

The Pros

There are a number of unexpected benefits of being paid in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. For instance, a major pro of being paid in Bitcoin is cutting out the middleman, or the bank, and receiving your payment instantly. You additionally avoid chargebacks and other overhead fees and often don’t need to pay a third-party to handle your paychecks. Finally, getting paid in Bitcoin is more safe and secure than traditional paychecks once your digital wallet is set up, making it a preferred method of payment for some. 

The Cons

However, there are also a number of drawbacks to being paid in Bitcoin. First and foremost, the value of your wages can change without warning. While you may have been paid $1,000 in Bitcoin, a week later the value of Bitcoin could have slumped drastically, leaving you with just the equivalent of $5.

While the opposite is also possible, when paid in local currency, people are able to maintain the value of their cash as inflation doesn’t act nearly as quickly as the cryptocurrency market does. 

Ultimately, being paid in Bitcoin has its upsides, mainly because of the ability of your $1,000 paycheck to balloon to $5,000 in just a few days. That being said, critics of cryptocurrency payments argue that getting paid in Bitcoin encourages gambling and can lead to a loss of wages and a risk to changing regulatory environments, too. Whether you consider it a risk or not, it remains true that the world is changing and being paid in cryptocurrency is likely to become an increasingly common option available to employees going forward.