Netzmedian, A Swiss Publishing House To Pay Wages In Crypto

By Rishma Banerjee

In a first, a Switzerland based publishing house is on its way to using cryptocurrency instead of fiat currency to pay their employees’ wages. The company in question, Netzmedien AG announced today that it would be using bitcoin to do so. The company had been planning to convert half of its assets to cryptocurrencies and reports have it that the top executives when deploying their fiat-to-crypto plan, also offered their employees a choice to choose between Bitcoin and Swiss Franc. A voting round ensued, and bitcoin emerged as the winner.

Heinrich Meyer, the chief executive officer of Netzmedien, said that they will begin accepting bitcoins by mid-2019 for their media publications, which include eight technology-related magazines and one full-fledged website. He seemed to be very enthusiastic about cryptocurrencies, affirming that their employees would end up receiving more than what they asked for via their payrolls. He said,

“They will be able to hold or resell bitcoins at a higher price.”

It seems that the team at Netzmedien has not been affected by the prolonged bearish market and their crypto aspirations are stronger than ever.

Marc Landis, the publication’s editor-in-chief, bitcoin is on its way to becoming a relevant mode of payment thanks to its acceptance at some of the biggest Switzerland firms. He said:

“The SBB and Digitec Galaxus set a good example. They already accept Bitcoin today. Also, the Grand Hotel Dolder announced last week that it would accept payments in Bitcoin. I believe that thousands of companies will follow suit.”

“Why to carry Swiss francs with me if I can have my money as a cryptocurrency digitally on my mobile phone,” he added.

Netzmedien confirmed that it is planning to diversify its crypto investment portfolio which means that its employees would be able to pick their favourite crypto-assets when it comes to accepting wagers.

Rishma Banerjee

Rishma is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and has a special place in her life for sifting through all sorts of random trivia, thank you very much.