Listed AI Firm Vida Global Starts Paying Employees in Bitcoin

Vida Global, an AI operating system company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has introduced a unique system to pay part of employee salaries in Bitcoin (BTC). The company uses Voltage's payment infrastructure and the Lightning Network to facilitate these transactions.

The key to this model is that Vida Global does not hold BTC directly or reflect it on its financial statements. Instead, the company pays employee wages on a dollar basis, and Voltage converts the amount into BTC and delivers it to employees. At month-end, Vida Global settles with Voltage in dollars.

This structure allows listed companies like Vida Global to meet employees' demand for BTC without directly buying or holding cryptocurrency. It also keeps financial statements dollar-based, minimizing accounting burdens. The introduction of BTC wages began with requests from overseas employees, particularly those in Argentina who wanted to be paid in BTC due to local currency declines.

Vida Global CEO Lyle Pratt said, 'Voltage handles the BTC payment and the company settles in dollars at month-end.' This structure makes it simple to offer BTC wages for both employees and the finance team. Voltage CEO Graham Krizek also assessed this case as a new model for using a global payroll system.