Is Getting Paid in Crypto a Good Idea? My Real Experience

Jan 29, 2023 by Efim

Short answer to the question: Is Getting Paid in Crypto a Good Idea? - Yes, this is definitely a good idea. A little more detailed, I will tell you below.

Hey! I want to tell you about my experience of receiving wages in cryptocurrency. Share my story, the difficulties that I encountered and, conversely, what I enjoyed getting paid in cryptocurrency. My story will be accompanied by some photos, I will try to make sure that you do not get bored.

Foreword

About six months ago, I decided that office work was not for me. If I work in IT, then I can do my work from home, and therefore in any corner of the world. At that moment, I decided to start my great journey, which continues to this day. I would not say that I am an experienced traveler. If the locals recognize that I am a tourist, they will easily swindle me for money. At least that was the case at the beginning of my travels.

Since I started my journey almost as soon as I found my first job after university, my salary was $1.5k per month. I won't say it's a lot or a little. Everyone has their own limits and assessments. Let me just say that for me, it was quite enough. On my trips, I practically did not deny myself anything and even had funds to save.

Friend I Met First Day

But as soon as I moved to my first country of residence, the question arose before me - how will I receive money from the employer. The fact is that at that time I worked for a company from Shanghai and due to some technical, banking difficulties, I could not receive a regular SWIFT transfer to my bank card. And while I open a bank account in the first host country, I will not receive money. Therefore, I spoke with the HR of my company and came to the conclusion that until I open a bank account, I will receive wages in cryptocurrency. And so the experience began.

Attitude to Cryptocurrency

I'm great with cryptocurrencies. It's fast, simple, affordable and convenient, at least for me. Now, of course, I'm talking about stablecoins. It just so happened that I am a person who does not like to take risks, and stablecoins for me are something between the usual currency and cryptocurrency.

As soon as the topic of receiving salaries in cryptocurrency was raised with the employer, I became terribly interested in how all this is regulated in the legal field. It turns out that there are absolutely no problems with this and the employer can afford this. The only inconvenience and disadvantage here is that wages will not be reflected in any way in the banking history (in the column of receipt of funds). This may not be very convenient when you are applying for a visa or residence permit and dealing with other bureaucracy.

Crypto Meme

The thought that I would receive a salary in cryptocurrency (in Tether USDT) warmed my soul. At some point, I didn’t want to make myself a classic bank account at all, but, unfortunately, the infrastructure for regular, everyday payments now does not provide for paying with cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, I cannot come to the market and buy myself a suitcase by scanning the QR code of the seller's crypto wallet. Cryptocurrency integration is not so developed yet, but I hope this will change in the future.

What's Next

As soon as I received my USDT on Trust Wallet (I also use other crypto wallets, but this one is the most convenient for me), the question arose before me - how can I get this money now with minimal losses. The ideal option would be p2p sale, for example, through binance, but since I did not have a bank account in the host country, this method seemed pointless, and I went looking for crypto ATMs.

As soon as I started working remotely, I left to travel, and Georgia became my first country of residence. I don't know what is the reason for this choice. I heard a lot about Georgian cuisine and that was enough for me to pack my things, my passport and take the next flight.

In this country, the attitude towards cryptocurrency is very positive. There are crypto ATMs at every step. One of them was right next to the house where I rented an apartment on Airbnb. Unfortunately, there is a very high commission on such ATMs, and from the amount that I wanted to cash out, I lost about $20, which is a lot. So I turned to local crypto exchangers. This is absolutely the same as the classic currency exchange, but instead of yuan for dollars, Tether USDT is exchanged for classic dollars with a commission of $10 for any withdrawal amount, which is much more profitable. They also usually have 4 employees, of which only one works. The rest just sit and drink coffee (just an observation).

Crypto Exchanger in Tbilisi

As a result, I exchanged USDT for cash dollars without any problems and life became a little easier.

I received a salary in cryptocurrency for several months. Even when I opened a local bank account and the employer could send me classic SWIFT transfers, I still preferred cryptocurrency. In a sense, I was lucky that my first country was a place where the attitude towards cryptocurrency is very positive and positive, both from the point of view of the law and from the point of view of the local population. Getting paid in cryptocurrencies is the future that I hope we are heading towards.

Simpsons Crypto Meme

The global banking infrastructure has just begun to understand this and integrate it into everyday life. For example, now it is already possible to buy air tickets with cryptocurrency with some airlines. But so far this is not enough. I would like to say - get your salary and money only in cryptocurrency, but I can’t say that, because at the moment paying for goods and services with a classic bank card is easier and more convenient for many and not all employers are ready to pay salaries in this way.

Conclusion

My opinion is that if you have the opportunity to receive money for your services in cryptocurrency, if your customer or employer has experience with this financial instrument and will not lose this money during a transaction, then receiving a salary in cryptocurrency is a great alternative in case of any banking complexity and bureaucracy. I am not calling for anything. Your money is your choice. But the purpose of this post was simply to say that there is nothing wrong with that, and now almost everywhere you can cash out cryptocurrency in one way or another and get money in their classic sense.

Do not be afraid of this - this is our future. I believe that in 5–7 years the banking infrastructure and the most important understanding of people will reach the point that receiving funds in this way puts everyone in the same conditions, reduces bureaucracy and increases the convenience of paying for services and exchanging funds.