May 24, 2022

That appealed to Appleman, and she started accepting her paychecks in crypto in 2020 — just as COVID descended upon the world and cryptocurrencies crashed. At the time, she was able to purchase shares of Ethereum for less than $200; today, they have climbed to around $3,000, and she and her husband have purchased a home in New Orleans (where Gilded is based), and her husband has returned to school as a full-time student. Appleman and her husband, who have altered their financial future by embracing cryptocurrency. Courtesy of Farrah Appleman “I tell my friends not to do what I did — which was put everything into crypto and hope for the best,” Appleman says, recognizing that her experience was not the norm. “But if they’re curious, I teach them the fundamental values rather than just evangelizing. My mom’s friend, for example, put in $1,500 a few years ago, and now she has $12,000. That’s not a huge nest egg, but that’s a nice return.” Appleman is part of a fast-growing community of employees who are turning to employers to help them invest in this space, looking to gain greater control and autonomy over their money . At Gilded, payday comes in the form of USD Coin, a stablecoin that’s pegged 1:1 to the value of the U.S. dollar, therefore eliminating exposure to volatility, unlike the Bitcoins and Ethereums of the world. With each paycheck, Appleman converts only what she needs into U.S. dollars to pay her bills, and uses the rest to invest in those more volatile currencies. According to a recent survey by NYDIG, a bitcoin company and platform that provides a suite of financial products and services, 36% of employees ages 30 and under would be interested in putting a portion of their salary toward bitcoin; nearly a third of respondents would choose an employer that offers that kind of benefit over one that does not. To capitalize on that interest, NYDIG introduced a Bitcoin Savings Plan in early 2022, which employers can offer to their workforces as a company benefit. The program is bank- ing on adoption through simplicity: Getting an employee set up on the digital platform takes just about 15 minutes, and from there, each worker can choose how much of their check to convert into Bitcoin and start building their savings in digital assets. “We’re trying to make Bitcoin available to as many people as possible,” says Kelly Brewster, chief marketing officer at NYDIG. “Doing it in a form factor that makes it easy and simple is purpose-built for long-term savings.” Vantage Bank, a San Antonio-based community bank, started working with NYDIG this spring, offering the Bitcoin Savings Account program to its 464 employees. So far, about 70 have signed on, a swift sign of appeal and impact, accord- ing to the bank’s CHRO. “We’ve gone through the same challenges every other organization is facing when it comes to finding talent,” says Eric Thompson, EVP and CHRO at Vantage. “We’ve been thinking about how to bring in attractive candidates and retain our current team, and crypto has been a hot topic for a lot of our younger associates.” Beyond simplicity, Thompson says that NYDIG provides ongoing education and resources to help educate Vantage’s employees about the program, in addition to company webi- nars and town halls. That’s helped attract interest from a wide range of Vantage associates, some of whom may designate just $5 or $10 a paycheck to be diverted into this savings plan. As more employers and employees alike dabble in cryptocurrencies, continuing education will be vital to their success. “This is a fast-growing space, with a lot of terminology and hype that can confuse people,” says Tony Dhanjal, the head of tax at Koinly, a crypto tax consultancy that serve a global community of clients. “Education is key, but it’s got to be education from a credible source. For normal employ- ees and employers, you must first understand how market volatility can work, and you must also understand the tax implications. Empirical evidence suggests that a lot of CPAs and accountants are not up to speed with the cryptoverse, so look for the expertise.” Despite the infancy of the space, employees like Apple- man will never look back. She understands the risks, but feels more confident in this futuristic wave of assets and banking than she does in the status quo. “Inflation is so troubling for our generation, so if you put money in a bank account, it’s like you really are losing,” Apple- man says. “There’s a dystopian quality to life right now, and crypto is a way for my generation to not only build wealth, but change our understanding of currency. Crypto is about having power over your own wallet, and being able to transact without a middleman. I look forward to seeing what avenues of empowerment are possible with this technology.”