Should bitcoin be accepted as a form of salary? Know these factors first

trading Bitcoin Started in 2009 without any source from its management or owner. Who invented this digital coin is not known to this day, however, many speculations and names have emerged. ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ is believed to be a person pseudonymous as the inventor of bitcoin, or a person claiming to be based in Japan. However, they have not been confirmed yet. But that hasn’t stopped the bitcoin craze in the world of markets.

Bitcoin gained popularity in early 2017, and it became the first cryptocurrency to be in actual use. Bitcoin is decentralized and readily available. Although the idea of ​​adopting bitcoin as a means of purchasing goods and services is still not widely accepted, there are many companies, retailers and platforms that use bitcoin as a means of exchanging services and payments. Have a broad mindset to use as

According to CoinMarketCap data, today bitcoin is priced at $46,644.46 USD and has a 24-hour trading volume of $32,264,225,286. Bitcoin has gained 1.49% in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has a supply limit of 21 million BTC coins, while currently, the circulating supply exceeds 19 million BTC coins.

Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency in the market even after correcting from its all-time high of $64,863.10 on April 14, 2021. The digital coin has crossed the market cap of $1 trillion in April last year. However, experts remain optimistic about bitcoin going forward.

But should bitcoin be used as a means of earning a salary?

Specifically, bitcoins are created for a process known as mining. They are allowed to be exchanged for other currencies, products and services, however, the digital coin is also criticized for its illegal transactions. Not only that, bitcoin has also been criticized for the large amount of electricity used for mining, price volatility and theft on exchanges.

Many well-known experts have referred to bitcoin as a speculative bubble that will eventually burst. This simply means, that the price of bitcoin has a high volatility frequency, and can quickly burst, just like a soap bubble. However, some experts see bitcoin as a game-changer for the cryptocurrency market and the beginning of a new era in the business world with the expansion of the blockchain industry.

Some local and national governments have officially started using bitcoin in some capacity, most notably a country called El Salvador that has adopted BTC as legal tender.

After a wild ride in 2017, the performance of bitcoin prompted many to choose the coin as a form of payment for goods and services, but the idea was soon rejected as regulators around the world raised concerns around cryptocurrency trading. Decided to tighten the bolt.

Last month, the Indian government issued stringent tax rules on crypto trading. The Lok Sabha approved the taxation rules on Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) or “Crypto Tax”, which was proposed in the Budget 2022-23 by approving the Finance Bill 2022. These new tax rules have come into effect from April 01, 2022.

Under the new tax rules, 30% capital gains tax is levied on crypto transactions in India. Further, the loss arising during transfer of virtual asset will no longer be allowed to be set-off against any income computed under the “others” provision of the IT Act as the word “others” has been omitted. Also, 1% tax deduction is levied at source (TDS) on Indians buying or selling crypto along with taxes on crypto gifts.

On India’s tax regulations, Probir Roy Chowdhury, Partner, J Sagar Associates (JSA), said, “While many in the cryptocurrency industry initially urged the inclusion of ‘virtual digital assets’ in the Finance Bill, 2022 (“Finance Bill”), Declared as the government’s implicit acceptance of cryptocurrencies, a closer look at the Finance Bill shows the government’s reluctance to stimulate growth in the sector.”

Also, let’s not forget that no major economy has accepted bitcoin as legal tender. Many countries, including India, are exploring their own mechanisms to launch Central Bank Backed Digital Coins (CBDCs). RBI will introduce India’s digital currency in the financial year FY23.

Furthermore, even though many services are using bitcoin as an exchange. But, broadly speaking, it is not used. There are many services like buying groceries, or other items at local stores where bitcoin is still a stranger. Bitcoin is not widely used among locals, and chances are you will still have to rely on your country’s currency for such services.

However, many companies especially e-commerce platforms globally have become hot for using bitcoin as a payment method. However, widespread acceptance is still a far cry.

Also, many banks have banned the use of bitcoin or crypto as a means of payment in major countries. Indian banks have also been cautious about crypto transactions due to their secrecy nature.

Bitcoin can be used to purchase NFTs, purchase assets in virtual worlds, play games, and products on e-commerce platforms that have allowed bitcoin as a payment method.

Bitcoin is open source, publicly available without the backing of any central bank or regulator. So no one controls bitcoin and everyone can participate in it.