Software Company Sequoia Offers Salary Payments in Bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies’ entry into the mainstream continues to get more impressive with each passing day. Now, companies are allowing their staff to get paid in crypto too. Earlier this week, Sequioa Holdings LLC., a software development company, confirmed that it would allow employees to get paid in cryptocurrencies.

Answering Workers’ Clamor

According to a press release, the Reston, Virginia-based company explained that it would allow partial salary payments in Bitcoin, Ether, and Bitcoin Cash.

T. Richard Stroupe, Jr., the company’s co-founder and chief executive, explained that many of its staff have recently become more enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies. Sensing this rise in appreciation for the new asset class, the company is hoping to provide an easy avenue for employees to gain exposure to them.

SEQUOIA TO PAY INTERESTED EMPLOYEES IN BITCOIN

— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) January 21, 2021

The new program will enable employees at the software development firm to defer a portion of their salary into any of the cryptocurrencies mentioned above.

Sequoia Holdings is partnering with a third-party payment processing firm to withhold all applicable taxes and make the necessary crypto conversions too. All crypto payments will be held in a digital wallet controlled by Sequoia’s payroll administrator.

The Slow Climb

While cryptocurrencies have gained mainstream attention, salary payment is one area where they’ve not particularly been able to crack. Most people who get to earn their payments in Bitcoin usually have to go around conventions and find ways to convert their fiat salaries to crypto instead.

Last October Kengo “Ken” Suzuki, a famous player of the crossover action fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, signed a contract with SBI e-sports, the gaming arm of Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings. Per an official announcement, Ken will now be a part of SBI e-sports’ SSBU division.

The e-sports arm was established in June 2020, and in September, it announced that it would pay its players in XRP. The move appears to have been part of SBI’s mission to promote cryptocurrencies in Japan, which includes a separate partnership with Ripple Labs. By signing one of the country’s most famous gamers, SBI was hoping to move forward with its pro-crypto agenda.

Along with SBI e-sports and Suzuki, NFL player Russell Okung made headlines last month after allegedly getting paid in Bitcoin. The offensive lineman, who plays for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, revealed that he had been paid in Bitcoin, fulfilling a year-long demand.

Paid in Bitcoin. https://t.co/Ey6oOcmLjA

— russ (@RussellOkung) December 29, 2020

Sportrac eventually confirmed that Okung was only paid half of his $13.25 million yearly salary in Bitcoin. Even at that, The Verge reported that Okung merely converted half of his salary into Bitcoin. Citing an NFL spokesperson, the news source explained that Okung’s camp had made the conversion after he, like every other player, got paid in dollars.