British cryptocurrency mining firm Argo Blockchain is set to start paying its CEO Peter Wall his entire salary in the flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC). The move will see Wall become the first executive of a publicly-traded firm to receive his salary in BTC.
According to Cointelegraph the firm, which trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ARB ticker, revealed the move in an operational update its CEO will take his salary in the cryptocurrency, and that other of the company’s employees can choose to be paid in BTC “for part of or all of their salaries.”
Speaking to the news outlet, Wall said the decision to get paid in bitcoin was an obvious one. The firm currently has 599 BTC on the books, and mined 129 BTC last month. Wall was quoted saying:
I actually woke up in the middle of the night and asked myself, ‘why am I getting paid in fiat?’ Why don’t we just start paying ourselves in Bitcoin?
The CEO reportedly pointed to NFL player Russel Okung as a source of inspiration. Okung has revealed he received a portion of his salary in bitcoin, although he used a service to convert his wages. Argo Blockchain will be paying Wall directly in bitcoin, not in fiat that Wall will have to convert himself.
Per the CEO there was “strong” interest from employees to get paid in bitcoin. The salaries will continue to be denominated in fiat currency, but will be paid in BTC at a conversation rate calculated daily using Satstreet’s exchange rate.
The CEO also revealed shareholders have asked about receiving dividend payments in the cryptocurrency. Paying out crypto to shareholders would be a challenge over regulatory barriers. Shareholders receiving in crypto is not unheard of, however.
As reported, last year Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings gave offered shareholders the option of receiving dividends in XRP. Shareholders with 100 to 1,000 shares in the registry as of March 31, 2020, or shareholders with over 1,000 shares for less than one year will be eligible to choose a benefit of 2,000 yen in XRP ($18) or a selection of health products. Holders who have been on the registry for longer than one year with more than 1,000 shares will be eligible for 8,000 yen in XRP ($74).
Featured image via Pexels.
