- Cryptocurrencies are constantly becoming more mainstream.
- With the changing landscape of work and workers, financial systems also need to evolve.
- Cryptocrrencies have a lot to offer workers in this new age, but they still have some hurdles to face before they become the norm.Since 2018, cryptocurrencies are no longer operating just on the fringes of the financial system.Digital currencies have made significant inroads at traditional financial institutions so much that many banks already offer Bitcoin investment options. Several prominent retailers, including Starbucks, Whole Foods, and Nordstrom, are already accepting Bitcoin at checkout. More importantly for the future of the currency, global regulatory oversight has matured since Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies burst on the scene a few years ago.
With cryptocurrencies becoming more mainstream all the time, it only makes sense for them to be affecting other elements of the financial system, which is exactly what we are starting to see in the significant sector of employee wages.
While it’s true that right now those receiving their salaries in crypto are an oddity, this won’t be so in the long run.
The way we view work is changing
There is a shift happening in the very way work and compensation are viewed in the world today. Rather than working traditional 9-5 jobs, many employees, particularly younger ones, are joining the gig economy, choosing to be their own bosses and work for short-term, temporary contracts for everything from freelance work to driving an Uber.
In the U.S. alone, 57 million people participate in the gig economy, where transfers and transaction costs are the norm. This is a landscape in need of secure, fast, and cheap solutions that will improve participants’ lives significantly.
Currently there are many pain points and regularly occurring annoyances in the market.
For example, 58% of freelancers have experienced not getting paid for their work, an issue that can be easily solved with the usage of smart contracts—a blockchain-based technology that enforces contracts without the need of a third party.
posted by f.sheikh
Thinkers' Forum USA
A Site for Intellectual Empowerment and Exchange of Ideas
