I’ve covered Bitcoin payment processor BitPay on many occasions over the past year or so. The pioneering company provides an invaluable service to merchants that want to allow their customers to pay for goods and services in Bitcoin without taking on any currency risk. Well, they have now branched out into what seems to be a perfectly complimentary business, allowing employers that don’t deal with Bitcoin directly to pay their employees in Bitcoin should they so desire.
This will be achieved via the Bitcoin “Payroll API,” which is currently in beta release open to employers in the states of Georgia (where BitPay is based) and South Carolina. All 20 of BitPay’s employees receive some of their compensation in Bitcoin, and the project got kickstarted after many of BitPay’s own employees asked for something similar. CEO of BitPay Tony Gallippi receives 100% of his pay in Bitcoin.
However, this is not the only milestone for the company. A few days ago I pointed out that the company was signing up a staggering 1,000 merchants a week, and now it has been announced they have surpassed the 20,000 merchant threshold.
It’s interesting to think that a currency originally involved primarily in online gaming, which can be accessed at such venues as BitBet.com, has now spread so quickly into the mainstream with retailers such as Overstock accepting it.
This development is truly incredible, and allowing people to receive a small part of their salary in Bitcoin will only further its development as an genuine real world currency people and businesses want to both use and hold on to.
More from Coindesk:
What’s the easiest way to get bitcoins into your wallet? Answer: Get paid in bitcoin. BitPay, the world’s largest digital currency payment processor, now lets employees do that with the beta release of its Bitcoin Payroll API for employers.
American W-2 employees (see below) can elect to have all, or part, of their salary paid in bitcoin for every pay period. It works as a ‘net payroll deduction’, meaning taxes and garnishes are removed from an employee’s gross income first, and the bitcoin portion is deducted from take-home pay.
For now, the beta release is open to employers in Georgia or South Carolina, and other licensed payroll providers nationwide in the US.
In case you were wondering, yes, all 20 BitPay staff receive at least a portion of their salaries in bitcoin. Four of them, including CEO Tony Gallippi, receive 100% of their net pay in bitcoin.
It was after receiving requests from its own employees that BitPay decided to develop the API for others to use as well. The company has already used the system itself for over six months, and discovered workers at other companies were interested too.
Full article here.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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