The APA Government Relations Task Force (GRTF) Electronic Payments Subcommittee has released its report, “Roadblocks to the Blockchain: An Analysis of Regulatory Hurdles for the Payment of Wages With Cryptocurrency.”
The report is organized into two sections:
- The first section provides a definition of cryptocurrency in comparison to forms of U.S. currency. U.S. currency is managed centrally by the federal government with financial institutions, like banks, acting as intermediaries. Conversely, cryptocurrency is money that is digital or virtual and is decentralized as no single entity manages it.
- The second section focuses on cryptocurrency in the employment context. Currently, employees can arrange direct deposit to accounts in their name in which a third party converts the pay to cryptocurrency. These accounts have become more popular among professional athletes and high earners. For employers, there are regulatory hurdles to paying workers directly in cryptocurrency.
The report can be downloaded for free and is available on the APA’s new Cryptocurrency Compliance Hot Topic page. This page incudes links to APA resources and federal agency guidance related to cryptocurrency.
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Alice P. Jacobsohn, Esq., is Director of Government Relations for the APA.