{"id":10174,"date":"2022-07-17T22:53:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-17T19:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alfacash.blog\/?p=10174"},"modified":"2024-02-19T21:50:36","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T18:50:36","slug":"getting-paid-crypto-job-good-bad-ugly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alfacash.blog\/cs\/2022\/07\/17\/getting-paid-crypto-job-good-bad-ugly\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting paid in crypto for my job: the good, the bad, and the ugly"},"content":{"rendered":"

People out there use to think cryptocurrencies are a quickly-getting-rich scheme. Of course, that\u2019s not the case. A lot of workers worldwide are getting paid in crypto for a specific job. Because, you know, crypto is nothing else but money. Real money, available to exchange for goods and services. I can tell that personally since I receive my paycheck in crypto every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is it? You may ask. You surely invest every penny and hold it to earn thousands of dollars later, just speculating! Well, no, my friend. I need to eat and pay my bills. I receive Bitcoin (BTC) and sometimes other coins as a salary since 2016. <\/strong>Back when every BTC was valued at around $580 and there was no DeFi<\/a> nebo NFT<\/a>. And no, due to life-subsisting circumstances, I never could save an entire BTC. So, I never caught the $68,000 All-Time-High (ATH), sadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bitcoin-Axie-Terra-Shiba\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But I keep receiving my coins because they report me more benefits than traditional money (fiat). They also kindly provided me with some headaches, but that was mainly on me. Let me tell you some of my experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Job for crypto: the good<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The advantages are in plain sight. Crypto is immediate and global<\/strong>. So, no matter where I am, if I have a device with Internet, I can receive my payment easily. I don\u2019t need to open a bank account for it, I don\u2019t need to find my passport, I don\u2019t need to wait for days or weeks, I don\u2019t need to pay extra fees or argue with support because they got my data wrong. All I need to do is provide my crypto address to my employer, and that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fees are another advantage, mostly. To make some comparisons, PayPal takes up to 5% per transaction, depending<\/a> on the payment method and currency. Similar services like Payoneer<\/a> can apply up to 3% in fees, and a \u201cpunishment\u201d for inactivity of around $30. International wire transfers are the Nejdra\u017e\u0161\u00ed<\/a>, with fees rising to $50 per transaction. With cryptos, no matter the amount or destiny, the fees are usually less than a whole dollar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"crypto-job-fees-bitcoin\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Not to mention the requirements, by the way.<\/strong> PayPal is (in)famous for blocking accounts for no reason. To make an international wire transfer, you\u2019ll need to provide data like “recipient\u2019s name, address, banks SWIFT BIC, and bank account number, plus the International Payments System Routing Code, for certain countries” [Wells Fargo<\/a>].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a digital nomad or just a common person-who-wants-their-money, standing all of that seems infuriating. It\u2019s your money, after all. You worked for it. It should be easy to receive it. And, once received, if someone blocks your account without explanation, well, that\u2019s even more infuriating. Luckily, that doesn\u2019t happen with crypto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody controls your crypto, only yourself<\/strong>. That\u2019s another BIG advantage. Once in your wallet, nobody will seize it or place spending limits (like most banks do). Decentralizace<\/a>, yeah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some bad or tricky things<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch, they say. Everything has its downsides, and crypto has them too. Especially if you don\u2019t take care. First trick: volatility. That\u2019s no secret, though. You may go to sleep with BTC at $40,000 and wake up the next day<\/a> with BTC at $36,000 \u2014haha, that was me, and no, I didn\u2019t exchange on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"bitcoin-ethereum-b\u00fd\u010d\u00ed<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The other way around is perfectly possible, and I can tell is a trap. I\u2019ve earned money from price peaks, that\u2019s true. I\u2019ve lost the same or even more from price drops, that\u2019s also true. What can I say? I\u2019m not an excellent trader. Even the excellent traders have lost tons of money this way, but we all knew this could happen. There\u2019s no point in blaming cryptocurrencies themselves.<\/strong> It\u2019s our own fault,<\/strong> for not exchanging on time and betting with our coins instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, I\u2019d say volatility isn\u2019t the main issue here, but the temptation. You know it\u2019s volatile. You know you can earn more<\/a>, but you also know you can lose more. Ergo, you never should bet on something you can\u2019t afford to lose. If you receive the salary you need to eat and pay your bills in crypto<\/a>, the wisest thing to do is to pay your debts right away, or exchange most of it for fiat or stablecoins immediately. Don\u2019t play with fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond temptation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Volatility (temptation) isn\u2019t the only issue we might find when receiving crypto for our job. Unfortunately, we still need to use traditional money alongside crypto. There are a lot of businesses and services worldwide accepting crypto<\/a>, but we\u2019re not yet in the going-to-the-small-grocery-store-for-eggs-with-my-coins kind of acceptance. And that\u2019s because of several problems: volatility (not in a tempting way), lack of education, and possible fee variation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Crypto-job-adoption-education\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

About the first thing, we can use exchange rates based on the USD (for instance, that\u2019s how I receive my payment), and the merchants can use crypto payment processors for the matter. But again, there\u2019s a lack of education on this topic. Not everyone knows<\/a> how to use cryptos, and not everyone feels comfortable using them. The fee variation is another bad factor when it appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, Bitcoin<\/a> (and other coins) can be so crowded, that the commonly cheap fees quickly skyrocket.<\/strong> So, if you want to make a transaction in that network, you\u2019ll have to pay it at that price or just forget it. There was a time, in December 2017, when I paid $50 for a single transaction. It\u2019s not even the average-fees ATH<\/a> (which was around $62 in 2021), but it hurts anyway. At least, we can say is a rare occurrence, and it can be solved with Lightning Network<\/a> now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ugly stuff in the job for crypto<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ugly here will be the stuff that\u2019s not exactly bad, but it\u2019s\u2026 kind of, well, ugly. Like taxes. Yes, we also have taxes \u2014depending on the country. The U.S. Internal Service Revenue (IRS), for example<\/a>, taxes crypto as property. The taxes only apply if the investor decides to get rid of the crypto and sell it for fiat with an income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"crypto-job-taxes-us\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the short term (less than a year), the top rate would be around 37%. In the long term (more than a year), the top rate would be around 20%. And you\u2019ll probably need to take note of every coin you receive and every transaction you make, including the value at that specific time. This way, profits or losses can be calculated.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your wallet and other tools can help you with it, at least. Apps like Exodus show you the past value and the current value of every transaction. On the other hand, software and platforms like Koinly, Bitcoin Taxes, Crypto Tax Calculator, and TokenTax can help you in the task as well. Hiring a professional accountant, at least for the first declaration, isn\u2019t out of order either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t live in the U.S., so, I don\u2019t have first-handed experience with that. So far, I\u2019ve just lived in countries with no regulations about it or no specific taxes for crypto. That\u2019s another option, of course: pick crypto-friendly jurisdictions, if you can<\/strong>. El Salvador<\/a> (Central America) and N\u011bmecko<\/a> (Europe) are good alternatives. You could get a job paid with crypto inside their jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More ugly things<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are two more ugly things I wanted to mention: scams and self-indulgence. Given the lack of regulations and\/or consumer protection around crypto in so many countries, it\u2019s easier for scammers and hackers to thrive here. The scams abound<\/a>, especially because of that na\u00efve belief that cryptos can make you rich. If you believe that, someone will take advantage of it, promising magical platforms to make money and taking YOUR money instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Deepfake-cryptos-scam-BitVex\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There are other types of scams and specialized malware<\/a> designed by hackers. When you\u2019re handling crypto all the time, you MUST learn about these things.<\/strong> If you don\u2019t, they\u2019ll know, because they\u2019ll steal your coins easily. That\u2019s what I mean by self-indulgence. Your cryptos are yours without limits, and that\u2019s an advantage. But your cryptos are also yours to protect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you get scammed or hacked, it\u2019s highly improbable that the authorities can track the criminals. Even if they do, like we already saw with Bitfinex<\/a>, recovering your coins is very, very complicated. Also, there\u2019s no \u201cI forgot my password\u201d here. You need to take precious care of your soukrom\u00e9 kl\u00ed\u010de<\/a>. If you\u2019re not learning constantly and taking security measures or if you lose your private keys, then your money will be gone for good. It\u2019s ugly, but it\u2019s true. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some personal takes and tips<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s sum it up a bit. According to my own experience, my friends’ experience, and pure common sense, we can apply some measures to safely get paid with crypto on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"crypto-jobs-security-digital\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n