Crypto dominates as payment method for remote workers in LATAM
A Deal Lab for Global Employment report suggests that, in LATAM, most remote workers prefer to be paid in cryptocurrencies, further cementing the popularity of this payment system among freelancers in the region. The region sees the use of cryptocurrencies for payment systems to grow from 61% to 64% during 2022 and more than double the use of these instruments, with another region, EMEA, seeing 27%.
According to the report, the reason behind this preference sector of cryptocurrencies is to show usage in other markets and characteristics with other sectors and to demonstrate how these workers use their resources to reduce their economic status. Despite the recent drop in prices in the cryptocurrency market, receiving payments in cryptocurrency allows workers in LATAM to more easily transfer this liquidity to non-fiat-based savings assets or even more profitable alternatives. Natalia Jimenez, regional manager at Deal, states that the presented phenomena such as inflation, depreciation of local currencies, among others, have created a need for workers and urge them to diversify their income and take care of their choices Is. Receiving his salary or his share in cryptocurrency and using the exchange rate allows him to invest and have more flexibility in his finances, shielding himself from fluctuations. Furthermore, the report finds that bitcoin is the preferred cryptocurrency for receiving salaries, accounting for 64 percent of all transactions. USDC, Circle’s dollar-pegged stable coin, ranked second with 26%, and Ethereum ranked third with 7%, while cryptocurrencies grew as dominant positions in LATAM and other markets responded to the decline of the cryptocurrency market. The reason this hasn’t followed suit is that using fiat currencies is prevalent in regions with more developed depository infrastructure that don’t rely heavily on crypto for remittances and savings. The report also acknowledges the fact that given the state of the crypto markets, workers have lost interest in receiving payments in crypto currency, and this may be related to the use of crypto latum. The simple speculation of investing crypto in other markets is more focused on real-world applications, according to a report released in August by Kaiko.
