Increase in Number of LATAM Workers Choosing to Get Paid in Crypto

More Latin American (LATAM) workers than ever are choosing to get paid in crypto, a new report has found – with suggestions that crypto winter has done little to dampen adoption in the region.

Bloomberg Linea reported that, per the Deel Lab for Global Employment’s Global Recruitment Report, between January and December 2022, the number of remote workers choosing to get paid in crypto rose from 61% to 64%.

The report also found that no part of the world had more workers choosing to receive payments in crypto in the same time period. The report also found that the decline in crypto prices had not significantly discouraged workers from choosing crypto pay.

Paid in Crypto: Why LATAM Workers Prefer Tokens to Fiat

Natalia Jiménez, the regional manager for Spanish-speaking Latin America at Deel, told the media outlet that “phenomena such as inflation” and “the depreciation of local fiats” was driving crypto pay adoption.

On Jan 26, I measured Colombia's inflation at 23%/yr. My measurement is almost 2x the "official" rate released by DANE, Colombia's national statistical agency. DANE's official rate is rubbish. pic.twitter.com/VXjC2J7d89

— Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) February 1, 2023

She added that workers wanted to “diversify their income and take care of their savings.” And Jiménez said that this was leading them toward crypto, rather than fiat.

Jiménez said:

“Receiving their salaries, or part of their pay, in cryptocurrencies allows workers to protect themselves from fluctuating exchange rates. [It also lets them] invest and enjoy greater financial flexibility.”

Last month, the CEO of the crypto-powered payments platform Bitwage claimed there had been a significant rise in Argentinians choosing to work for companies that pay them in crypto rather than fiat.

The CEO stated that, in the past year, the number of Argentines using the platform to collect their pay in crypto had increased by 250%.

The report’s authors also noted that Latin American workers’ preferred token was bitcoin (BTC). Some 64% of surveyed individuals chose BTC pay over other crypto alternatives.

But over a quarter said they preferred the United States dollar-pegged stablecoin USD coin (USDC).

Only 7% chose ethereum (ETH), with the remainder stating they preferred altcoins.

Argentina Annual Inflation Hits 99%, Surpassing Expectations – Bloomberg

Consumer prices increased 98.8% y/y; 6% m/m in January. pic.twitter.com/vnXqOKXoot

— Dylan LeClair 🟠 (@DylanLeClair_) February 14, 2023

Hyperinflation continues to dog LATAM fiats, with inflation rates in Argentina thought to be close to the 100% mark.