Swiss publishing house Netzmedien AG offers wages in Bitcoin

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Even though there are millions around the world that might be aware about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general, the truth is that they might not use crypto on daily basis. For those who work at Netzmedien AG, that is about to change. The Swiss publishing house announced on Monday that all company employees’ wages will be paid in crypto instead of fiat currency.

Interestingly enough, the company has been considering converting half of its total assets into cryptocurrency. Netzmedien AG also didn’t make the decision themselves, as employees voted on whether they would prefer to receive wages in Bitcoin Core (BTC) or the Swiss franc. Most employees have opted to be paid in crypto, according to the company.

Netzmedian is a significant part of Swiss media, as it is home to eight separate technology-related magazines and one website. For those wondering when they can pay for their subscriptions in cryptocurrency, the answer is in several months, or mid-2019.

It might not come as a complete surprise that Netzmedian AG is bullish about cryptocurrency, considering that it is based in Switzerland. Many consider Swiss city Zug to be “Crypto Valley” or the Silicon Valley of blockchain technology, where many companies are flourishing in spite of the bearish cryptocurrency markets. According to data from StartupTicker, Switzerland is the home to some of the “most active” cryptocurrency investors: Zürcher Kantonalbank is second among Europe’s larger corporate investors following France’s BNP Paribas.

The editor-in-chief of Netzmedien, Fabian Poschl, pointed to other companies, SBB and Digitec Galaxus, as an inspiration, stating that they “set a good example.”

While many companies that are not in the cryptocurrency space might be neutral about price action, it is clear that Poschl believes that the only way is up. He believes that employees will be “able to hold or resell at higher prices.” Poschl also seems to believe that cryptocurrency is more convenient, since cryptocurrency can be carried on a mobile phone.