The gig, Cryptocurrency Payments, economy continues to grow rapidly and more skilled professionals are shifting from the traditional corporate 9-to-5 to self-employment, seeking greater autonomy and control over their work lives. According to a recent study by the International Labour Organization, about 46.5% of the global workforce is now self-employed, indicating the massive scale of this transformation.
With the unprecedented rise in freelancing comes a surge in crypto adoption among freelancers. Freelancers are seeing big changes in how they get paid. Instead of using conventional payment methods, like wire transfers, bank transfers or third-party solutions, they are beginning to embrace cryptocurrencies.
Brief Overview on Cryptocurrency Payments
Cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency that runs and conducts transactions on a decentralized ledger called the blockchain. It serves as an alternative to fiat currencies and provides several benefits such as decentralization, faster transactions, lower fees, greater security, and borderless payments.
Cryptocurrencies are not regulated by any central governing authority and are instead maintained by a distributed network of computers, which collectively validate and record transactions on the blockchain. This lack of central regulation means that users have more autonomy over their financial transactions. Common examples include bitcoin, ether, dogecoin, and many more.
Benefits of Receiving Crypto Payments As a Freelancer
Cryptocurrency provides a wide range of benefits that cater to the specific payment needs of freelancers. Let’s look at some of the key benefits:
Lower Transaction fees
Freelancers who frequently receive cross-border payments from their employers understand the numerous charges banks incur. Traditional cross-border payments (banks) incurred one of the highest transaction charges in the third quarter of 2023, according to a recent survey. With cryptocurrency, freelancers can avert these charges and earn more profits than they used to. In addition, many cryptocurrency payment services explain their service charges to the users and allow them to decline and search for other favorable offers.
Instant global transfers
Slow global transfer remains an impending issue freelancers face. Many even have to wait for days or weeks to confirm their payments and sometimes provide numerous documents to avoid further banking issues. In response to their speed, traditional banks employed faster payment systems like RTP and FedNow. Still, there are connectivity issues as a bank using FedNow conducts transactions with a bank using another payment system. Cryptocurrency allows anyone to receive payment within minutes as long as they have a crypto wallet.
Decentralization
Decentralization is another edge cryptocurrency payments has over traditional payment systems. It serves as a foolproof that prevents complete system failure and provides users with a secure transaction that does not depend on a central server or authority. As a result, users can conduct limitless transactions without filing paperwork.
Widespread adoption
With cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, freelancers no longer have to worry about the acceptance of their coins. With Bitcoin, you can buy anything you so desire as many businesses accept cryptocurrency as a mode of payment.
Better Privacy
Owning a traditional bank account is synonymous with rescinding your financial privacy. Traditional financial infrastructures are known to require every form of identification before one is allowed to own an account and for many, this can be burdensome. Cryptocurrency preserves your anonymity as a freelancer and keeps your details safe from prying eyes. All you need to execute a transaction is a cryptocurrency wallet and receiver address.
Creates Opportunities
As a Freelancer, accepting crypto will expand your client base tremendously as many employers dealing with crypto would prefer to communicate with you over those that do not. Cryptocurrency payments saves your clients from incurring high transaction costs and filing tons of paperwork. It also favors freelancers whose major clientele base resides in different time zones.
Getting Paid in Crypto
Clients are becoming informed everyday on the ease of cryptocurrencies in remittance and cross-border payments. They find it as an avenue for them to swiftly and seamlessly make payments to freelancers. Receiving cryptocurrency is very easy and if you’re a freelancer looking to receive payments, here’s what to do:
Choose a wallet provider
A cryptocurrency wallet is a gateway to executing anything in cryptocurrency. It holds your private keys that are necessary for accepting and sending coins to other wallet holders. The first step to creating a cryptocurrency wallet is to select a reliable wallet provider. We recommend PTPShopy, a reliable global cryptocurrency payment gateway that enables freelancers, entrepreneurs, merchants, and even social media influencers to send and receive payments. When compared to other wallet providers, PTPShopy supports more than 400 currencies and even offers 10+ integration tools for freelancers who receive bookings through their websites.
Download and setup the website or application of your desired provider
Download or access the website, for instance, PTPShopy. Register by providing the necessary details and pick a strong password. Some websites may require verification before you begin transactions and this may require a government-issued identification card and a selfie.
Receive Payments
After creating an account on a crypto wallet, share the crypto wallet address on your invoice and send it to the client. Crypto payments are often complete in a few minutes to an hour.
Use PTPShopy to Receive Freelance Crypto Payments
PTPShopy is a crypto payment gateway platform supporting payments in over 400 cryptocurrencies. With just a few clicks, you can create an account and start receiving funds from clients worldwide. It is suitable for all kinds of freelance work and can receive funds from all over the globe. Read more on PTPShopy here.