Day 22: Pay Me in Bitcoin!

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling day 22…

Congratulations! You’ve made it past all 21 days and now you’re ready to orange-pill the world. Well, what’s left to talk about? We’ve covered everything from how to invest in bitcoin and how to properly store it, to what Bitcoin can do for the world. Now that you understand why Bitcoin matters, let’s talk about how you can utilize it further. From accepting bitcoin in your businesses to getting your salary paid in bitcoin (yes, even if you don’t work at a Bitcoin company), here are a few ways you can integrate bitcoin into your life.

Getting Paid In Bitcoin

Perhaps you’ve heard the many recent stories detailing how major athletes and politicians are taking part of their salaries in bitcoin. For the average person, does this make sense to do? And if so, how do you do it? If you’re someone who doesn’t need immediate cash to spend every time your paycheck comes around, perhaps it might make sense to get paid in bitcoin. However, depending on how you invest (whether it’s by lump-sums or daily dollar-cost averages), getting your salary paid in bitcoin might be nothing more than just a novelty. Admittedly, it’s pretty cool to tell people you get paid in bitcoin!

For most people, automated dollar-cost averaging (DCA) is the safest way to invest in any asset. By taking your entire salary in bitcoin though, you can’t set your own DCA schedule. But if convenient lump-sum investing is something you would rather do, here’s how you can take a portion of or your entire salary in bitcoin.

First, set up your Strike account (available in over 200 countries). This is also an app where you can buy bitcoin, track its price, and send funds back and forth between friends. In the profile section of the app, you’ll see a button labeled “Direct Deposit.” At the bottom of that page is a tab for “Pay Me in Bitcoin,” where you can set up a custom percentage of your salary to be paid in either your country’s currency or $BTC. Then, just share your account and routing number with your employer just like you’d set up any other bank account for direct deposit. That’s it!

Anyone with access to a Strike account can easily set up this service. Have friends who are interested in getting paid in bitcoin? Now you can teach them how!

Accepting Bitcoin Payments

As a business, you can also accept payments in bitcoin! Whether it’s via your ecommerce store on Shopify or street vendors in El Salvador, accepting bitcoin payments is easier than ever. To do so, check out both OpenNode and BTCPayServer if you’re interested in learning how to set it up.

While many people are worried about scaling bitcoin payments (since on-chain transactions are not immediate and transaction fees can be costly), this is where the Lightning Network comes in. By setting up payments via bitcoin, you are setting up payments via Lightning. This means that transactions will settle instantly with very nominal fees. Cool, right?

You can test out the process of paying in bitcoin at the Bitcoin Magazine store. 

Furthering Your Bitcoin Studies

You’ve got the lessons in your head now and you know what the next steps in your bitcoin journey are. Whether you’re still waiting to buy bitcoin for the first time or you’re already contributing to the community in some way (go you!), there is an exciting, infinite bitcoin rabbit hole waiting for you out there.

If you’re still taking baby steps and you’re scared to take that leap towards self-custodying your bitcoin (via cold storage), we’re here to help you through that. Are you interested in live workshops to walk you through setting up your first hardware wallet? Let us know on Twitter with the hashtag #21DaysofBitcoin! And don’t forget: the more people you refer, the more rewards you earn. Good luck!