Fold (NASDAQ: FLD), a publicly traded Bitcoin financial services provider listed on Nasdaq, has launched its Bitcoin Bonus Program for employers, the first product of the company’s new business-to-business (B2B) program called ‘Fold Business’. The new program allows employers to designate USD bonus amounts on their regular payroll schedule while Fold takes care of converting these amounts into Bitcoin, including custodial duties, vesting administration, and delivery of Bitcoin to employees through the Fold app.
How the Bitcoin Bonus Program Works
Employers will input USD amounts, and Fold will convert to Bitcoin and manage the vesting/delivery schedule and custody. Employees will receive their Bitcoin that they can view, store and grow through the Fold app. No Bitcoin knowledge is needed upfront by either the employer or the employee.
The innovative program is designed to be a ‘retention tool’, not just a one-time reward. By pairing bonuses with a vesting structure, employers create an incentive for their employees to stay longer. Will Reeves, CEO and Co-Founder of Fold, commented: “We created a recruiting story that didn’t exist before.”
Why Consider This?
While cash bonuses are often lost in everyday spending, the Bitcoin Bonus Program taps into Bitcoin as a long term appreciation of value for employees to watch grow. For companies with a large hourly workforce (e.g., quick-service restaurants, retail, and service industries), this program provides an alternate benefit. For technology focused employers, the program provides an alternative method for providing incentives to salaried employees (equity and cash).
Steak ‘n Shake, the flagship partner company, has offered the program to thousands of hourly employees nationwide in America. Simple Mining provides 1% of each employee’s base pay each pay period to be converted into BTC at the end of the year as a Bitcoin bonus. Matt Garland, the Head of Revenue of Simple Mining, states, “The bonus grows with time, and so does the reason to stick around.”
“What Steak ‘n Shake and Simple Mining show is that this isn’t a niche product for one type of company. A 10,000-person hourly workforce and a specialized mining operation are using the same program, configured for how they actually work. That’s what we built Fold Business to do. The employer sets the terms in dollars. Fold handles everything else.” – Will Reeves, CEO and Co-Founder of Fold.
What Comes Next For Fold?
Fold plans on expanding its Fold Business platform to include other enterprise tools for payroll, managing a corporate Bitcoin treasury, using corporate cards, and other financial-related tools built on Bitcoin. Bonuses are just the beginning.
