Bakkt, the cryptocurrency arm of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), released a study that unveiled that almost 50% of gig workers are open to getting paid a portion in crypto.
According to the report, in the study taken between mid-June and early July, 38% of respondents indicated they were open to getting paid in crypto, and the number jumped to nearly 50% when asked if they were open to receiving a portion of their payment in crypto.
With this demographic of workers, crypto adoption is well underway, and 20% claim they have already been paid in crypto. There was a high prevalence of crypto payments among freelance writers, designers, developers, grocery shoppers, social influencers and renters. Gig workers selected 20-40% of their income as the most prominent percentage they would be interested in taking in crypto (34% overall), including rideshare drivers (42%), handymen (40%) and market sellers (40%).
“The increasing appeal and the existing usage of cryptocurrency among gig workers came through clearly in our study. While this group could benefit from increased understanding of how crypto can be used, rideshare drivers, food delivery drivers and other gig workers cite crypto as the next generation of currency and are drawn to the potential increase in the value of their pay,” Nicolas Cabrera, the Chief Product Officer of Payments at Bakkt, commented.
As opposed to ‘nice to have’ income, more than half of gig workers consider their income necessary to fulfil basic living needs. The report noted that more than 30% of gig workers work three or more gigs.
American Bank and Bakkt
Bakkt announced in April that American Bank had picked the Bakkt crypto connect solution to enable its bank customers to buy, sell and hold bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). Bakkt crypto connect is expected to launch in Q2 of 2022. Allentown-based American Bank strives to provide its customers in all 50 states with the best and most secure digital banking services.
