CEO JP Richardson revealed that since the launch of Exodus’ software wallet in 2015, the company has paid its entire workforce in Bitcoin.
Despite the continuing bear market, Exodus continues to pay its staff in Bitcoin (BTC), despite the whole market cap falling below $1 trillion on Monday.
Exodus has paid its employees entirely in Bitcoin since the introduction of its software crypto wallet in 2015, according to Exodus co-founder and CEO JP Richardson.
Even during big market downturns, the company continued to pay all of its 300 employees in BTC by giving monthly payments based on their salaries in US dollars.
“For example, if Bitcoin is $30,000 per token and someone earns $15,000 per month, they will receive half a Bitcoin on the first of the month,” Richardson explained.
Exodus not only converts each wage to BTC once a month, but it also adds a little proportion to each “paycheck” to allow for volatility. “This has helped us recruit those who are still committed to DeFi’s cause, while also accommodating folks with financial commitments who want to convert whatever percentage of their wage to fiat currency,” Richardson added.
Exodus employees are free to change their BTC income to fiat or stablecoins, which the CEO describes as a “personal investment option that is not driven by Exodus.”
When it comes to a wage received in Bitcoin, the most common concern among employees is the tax consequences. According to Richardson:
“The most popular question we get from new employees is how their crypto salary impacts their taxes. That’s why we offer everyone a tax consultation with an accountant to properly give them the education on how to use Bitcoin and make sure they’re appropriately paying their taxes.”
According to the CEO, one-third of Exodus’ team members are based in the United States, with the remainder distributed across the globe. Exodus explains on its official website that some jurisdictions are more restricted than others when it comes to Bitcoin payments, requiring workers to double-check if it’s allowed to accept Bitcoin as payment in some U.S. states.
Bitcoin salaries are part of Exodus’ plan to allow individuals to “witness the financial revolution from the front seats.” Such payments not only allow employees to effortlessly build sats on their investment accounts, but they also aim to increase compensation transparency. According to the firm, everyone on Exodus’ remote team, including the CEO, understands what their peers make.
Richardson declined to comment on whether the recent market sell-off affected the company’s employees directly. “While we, like the rest of the market, have been impacted by crypto volatility, we remain focused on doubling down to deliver value through a one-stop destination for Web3 with our multichain browser extension,” he concluded.
