Best Practices For Freelancers Getting Paid In Crypto

Last year, we saw major players like VISA, Worldpay, Checkout.com and Stripe add the ability to settle USDC transactions. And, JPMorgan completed its first live cross-border transaction on Polygon in November. 

As more companies adopt crypto payment options for cheaper, faster, and secure transactions, it’s clear that crypto payments are going mainstream. 

If you’re a freelancer looking to stay ahead of the game and offer your clients more payment options, it’s a good time to consider accepting payment in crypto. 

Here are some of the best practices to protect yourself and your assets, and you’ll be well on your way to get paid in a safe and secure manner in the world of crypto payments. 

1. Avoid Using On/Off Ramps To Hold Most Assets

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As a freelancer, it’s important to minimize your risk when getting paid in crypto. One way to do this is to practice holding and managing most of your crypto in a self-custodied wallet.

Custodial financial institutions have been a constant source of fragility in financial markets. We saw how over $400 billion in terms of market capitalization was wiped out by the Terra crash, bankrupting many investors including Hodlnaut, Celsius, and FTX.  

On/off ramp wallets, especially third-party custodial ones, should never be abused as treasury wallets. When you entrust your assets to a third-party custodian such as a centralized exchange, you are effectively giving up control of your private keys. This can put your assets at risk of being lost, stolen, or seized in the event of a hack, security breach, or other issue. 

By using a self-custody wallet and holding your own private keys, you can ensure that your assets are safe and secure, and that you have full control over them. This helps to minimize your exposure to counterparty risk from custodians. 

It’s worth noting that you should always backup your private key in multiple secure locations to ensure that you can always access your assets. 

To further protect your private key from hacking or theft, it’s recommended to store it offline on a hardware wallet. This will prevent it from being accessed remotely. 

Get Paid In Stablecoins

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If you’re a freelancer who isn’t familiar with the crypto world, you can consider getting paid in stablecoins for a start.

Stablecoins, as their name suggests, are designed to maintain a stable value and are typically pegged to a fiat currency or other stable asset, such as gold. This makes them less volatile than other types of crypto like Bitcoin or Ethereum, which fluctuates in price.

In today’s economic climate, more businesses are turning to stablecoins to protect their assets from the effects of inflation. This shift towards stablecoins makes stablecoins an increasingly widely accepted form of payment. 

At Request Finance, USD-denominated stablecoins account for over 60% of the crypto payments being paid by enterprises. 

Stablecoins are resilient to price volatility yet cheaper and faster than traditional fiat payments. They are especially handy if you work with clients from different countries who want to pay you quickly and affordably.