Ask HN: Would you guys work for Bitcoin?

[grover_hartmann]

As in receive your salary in BTC.

[MarkCole]

I would definitely not. For many reasons, but the volatility alone is enough to put me off of it. Losing a months income to a flash crash?

Not only that, but I'd have to convert it to fiat anyway to pay for 99% of the things I spend my salary on. With the fees involved in the exchange and fluctuations, I'd end up with less money in the end most likely.

Bitcoin is a fun toy, and spending some of my disposable income on it sounds ok. But my whole salary? not on my life. I sincerely hope there is no one around that is so blindly invested in the idea of Bitcoin they are converting their whole salary to Bitcoin.

[grover_hartmann]

Bitcoin is not a toy, it's a very useful tool for transferring value across borders and very good at that, especially when banks and companies such as Western Union impose unreasonable fees on their users.

Also, Bitcoin is not as volatile as it was once anymore, have you checked the price in the last few months? It has stayed around 200-300-ish USD.

It's fine if you don't want to use Bitcoin, but please stop spreading FUD.

[MalcolmDiggs]

I've heard of some FinTech startups that are offering forward-contracts (think futures, or put-options) on Bitcoin. If I can get my hands on those kind of contracts, I'd totally accept my salary in bitcoin. It seems like that would eliminate any potential downside, as long as those contracts are relatively cheap to buy.

[rahimnathwani]

I can't imagine options would be cheap to buy, as the seller is taking on all the risk, and they will take into account the volatility of the underlying asset when determining the price they would be willing to accept.

Forward contracts are different from options. But what's the point of being paid in BTC every month, if you enter into a set of forward contracts to convert that BTC into USD? It's equivalent to being paid in USD.

[jordsmi]

Sure, but I would transfer most of it out to USD.

I enjoy BTC for sending/receiving payments as it is very easy, but I don't see it as a safe 'investment'.

[grover_hartmann]

Yes, I've just tried bitcoin for the first time for receiving money and I couldn't believe how easy it was.

What options do you suggest for converting to local currency, USD in your case?

[Avalaxy]

I love Bitcoin, but why would I work for Bitcoin? It provides no single benefit. In fact, it only provides risks and more hassle (have to convert it to EUR to be able to use it).

Burned my fingers on freelancing for Bitcoin a couple of times already.

[nyddle]

"Burned my fingers on freelancing for Bitcoin" - can you please elaborate? was the problem with bitcoin or with the counteragent?

[ramon]

I would. Just need to re-quote every 3-6 months due to floating quotation, but ok.

[J_Darnley]

Yes. It would at least be something I can trade for a pittance of real money. That being said I would also work for food and housing.

[patmcc]

Sure - if I can specify the exchange rate.

[GFK_of_xmaspast]

Absolutely not. Real money for real work.

[grover_hartmann]

What's so real about fiat currency? There's nothing fake about Bitcoin.