Argentina’s National Deputy for Mendoza, Jose Luis Ramon, has announced a new bill that would see employees in certain sectors receive salaries in cryptocurrency.
Workers in a dependency relationship and those who explore services can opt to receive their salaries either partially or fully in crypto.
Ramon presented the bill, saying that the idea was to “strengthen their autonomy and conserve the purchasing power of their remuneration.” He continued, saying that it was largely motivated by the need to promote greater autonomy and governance of wages, without loss of rights or exposure to situations of abuse. The bill itself describes the proposal as focusing on retaining the purchasing power of self-employed workers.
Employees will be allowed to select which cryptocurrency they wish to be paid and the choice of advance directives. This includes obtaining the salary in pesos which is payable in the equivalent cryptocurrency amount on the day of payment, or direct payment in cryptocurrencies.
Should the bill pass, the region would join the likes of El Salvador in considering having employees receive their salaries in cryptocurrencies. It would be one of the few places in the world that have made this transition, and will undoubtedly serve as an interesting experiment.
Crypto salary payments becoming commonplace
For the most part, crypto salary payments have been limited to those working within the crypto sphere — before El Salvador shook that up with its recognition of bitcoin as legal tender. Since then, there has been some discussion on whether the asset class would function well for remuneration. Fringe experiments like the Canadian Elite Basketball League offering payments in bitcoin is another noteworthy development.
The key issue here is volatility. The crypto market is undoubtedly volatile, and prices can fluctuate heavily on a day-to-day basis. This can spark real trouble for those who live month to month, and this is what has been one major stalling point in said discussions.
This is why there has been some resistance to the idea in El Salvador. Officials in the nation have spoken of the challenges that accompany this new change, such as volatility, which can result in employees receiving less should the market drop.
That said, countries do seem to be opening up to the idea of integrating cryptocurrencies more into the economy. It appears that the market needs a little more adoption and overall stability before it can go to the lengths of becoming an accepted form of remuneration. But experiments such as those mentioned above are a sign that things may be heading in the right direction.
