Australians Can Now Get Paid in Bitcoin as New Service Launches

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Australians Can Now Get Paid in Bitcoin as New Service Launches

Wages-to-bitcoin provider Get Paid in Bitcoin has launched in Australia, finally giving locals the option to receive their pay directly in bitcoin. It aims to “make bitcoin a regular currency that can be used in day-to-day situations.”

It’s the first time Australian workers could access such a service. Bitwage, a similar service that has offered individual payroll services since 2014, is only available in the U.S., E.U. (and now U.K.)

Get Paid in Bitcoin

Employees can opt to receive all or part of their wages in bitcoin. This saves the hassle of using an exchange, and takes the decision-making out of when to acquire BTC. Investing on a dollar-cost average basis (i.e.: exchanging regular dollar amounts at regular intervals) is often more beneficial than trying to guess the market.

Staff can receive as little as $5 in BTC per time if they wish. However the company charges $1 per deposit, which it removes from the total before exchanging for BTC. There are no additional fees.

First Customer Paying Everyone 100% in Bitcoin

To mark the launch, Get Paid in Bitcoin (GPIB) has also signed on its first customer — Melbourne-based Blockchain Global. Blockchain Global’s 22 local staff will all receive 100% of their pay in bitcoin exclusively through GPIB. The firm is also preparing to onboard its 40 China-based employees when possible.

As the name implies, Blockchain Global is a blockchain technology company that also develops the Australian Crypto Exchange (ACX).

Get Paid in Bitcoin CEO Adam Poulton said the service removes a major barrier to entry into the bitcoin world.

“A quarter of our clients have received their first ever bitcoin transaction from our platform. This is very encouraging as we set out to be an easy and accessible interface for people to start to use bitcoin in a simple and low risk way.”

Employees don’t need to wait for their employers to sign up, either. They can register as individuals on GPIB’s website and receive instructions to share with their employer.

As the first customer, Blockchain Global also helped GPIB test its system. Although the company is obviously already Bitcoin-aware, CEO Sam Lee said it would still save hassle.

“This will make our payroll work flow more closely resemble a traditional SME workflow and will free our staff to work on more critical parts of the business.”

Thousands Around the World Get Paid in BTC Already

On the other side of the world, bitcoin wages are already a booming business. Bitwage may work only with employers in the US, UK and EU, but it targets the service at those with large remote workforces located anywhere.

Its website claims it has processed over $19.2 million USD in bitcoin wages to date. It has over 11,100 registered users and those receiving bitcoin work for some of the world’s best known employers, like Google, Facebook and the World Health Organization.

Australia may be a much smaller market than that. But as a local company, GPIB thinks it knows the market well and can design features to suit its needs.

Read more : Australians Can Now Get Paid in Bitcoin as New Service Launches

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