As the world’s first and most well-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has had a lot of firsts. It was the first digital asset to be used as a means of exchange, and it’s also the first (and currently only) decentralized currency.

Bitcoin is also the first asset to be traded on a peer-to-peer basis without the need for a third party. And now, it appears that Bitcoin may be the first asset to be paid as salaries by some companies.

The idea of paying salaries in Bitcoin is not a new one. In fact, there are already a handful of companies around the world that have been doing just that for years.

One such company is Bitwage, a payroll and international wage payment service that has been allowing companies to pay their employees in Bitcoin since 2014.

While paying salaries in Bitcoin is still relatively rare, it does seem to be gaining some traction. In 2018, Japanese internet company GMO Internet announced that it would start paying part of its employees’ salaries in Bitcoin.

GMO Internet is not the only Japanese company to offer this option; DMM Group, another Japanese internet company, started paying salaries in Bitcoin back in 2017.

The reasons for why companies would want to pay salaries in Bitcoin are varied. For some, it’s simply a way to attract talent; after all, there are many people who are passionate about cryptocurrency and would jump at the chance to be paid in Bitcoin.

For others, paying salaries in Bitcoin is seen as a way to reduce costs associated with traditional banking methods; after all, there are no bank fees when sending or receiving Bitcoin payments.

Of course, there are also some risks associated with paying salaries in Bitcoin. The most obvious one is volatility; because the price of Bitcoin can fluctuate so dramatically from day to day (or even hour to hour), there’s always the potential for employees to end up being paid less (or more) than they expected in fiat currency terms.

There’s also the risk that employees will simply choose to hold onto their salary payments in Bitcoin rather than spend them, which could create problems for companies if they need those funds in fiat currency form sooner rather than later.

Despite these risks, it seems likely that we will see more and more companies start to pay salaries in Bitcoin. For some companies, it will simply be a way to attract and retain talent.

For others, it will be about reducing costs associated with traditional banking methods. Either way, it’s an exciting development for the world of cryptocurrency – and one that could have a big impact on how we think about money in the years to come.