Avoid Inflation, Toronto FC Players Receive Salaries In Bitcoin

JAKARTA - The MLS soccer team striker, Toronto FC, reportedly received his salary in Bitcoin (BTC). Ifunanyayachi Achara, the 23-year-old striker from Nigeria, reportedly took part of his Bitcoin salary to send to his family to help with financial problems there.

Achara uses the third-party exchange service Bitwage to send a portion of his earnings. He was one of the first professional athletes to announce his salary in bitcoin to the public.

Like other professional sports players Sean Culkin and Russell Okung, Achara believes that bitcoin is a hedge against conventional currency inflation, especially in his home country, Nigeria. There, naira inflation reached its highest level in four years, above 18 percent in March.

"The inflation rate is killing us", said Achara as quoted by Coindesk, Tuesday, May 4.

“The more the US prints money during Covid-19 to help people, the more devalued our currency will be. So my family, instead of sending money home, (it's better) I send them bitcoins”, said Achara.

The nature of crypto money, including the decentralized BTC, allows its users to avoid high transfer fees. Currently, the Nigerian government itself is reportedly closing the bank accounts of its citizens to avoid a monetary blockade.

"If I wanted to send money to my parents to get away from what I thought was really violent, I couldn't", said Achara.

“I can't send them money to the bank. Only via Bitcoin can I send money to them via the bank. Only through Bitcoin can I send money to my family as easily and efficiently and as quickly as possible".

According to a Bloomberg report, most Nigerians store their wealth in foreign banknotes. The Achara family keeps their wealth in the form of Bitcoin. They are also reportedly exchanging their bitcoins for conventional money. The Nigerian central bank is rumored to have closed bank accounts belonging to crypto traders.

Through Bitwage, Achara managed to receive his salary in Bitcoin. Bitwage CEO Jonathan Chester said that the company is "in dialogue with well-known athletes, musicians, and influencers".

"We've been helping people get paid in Bitcoin for seven years, but this is the first year we've actually seen Bitcoin payroll rise with the mainstream market".