Public AI Company VIDA Now Pays Staff in Bitcoin

Vida Global, a company listed on the NYSE American exchange, has started paying its international employees in Bitcoin. The Austin based firm is using the Lightning Network to handle these transactions, which allows for instant payments across borders.

This move comes after team members in Argentina requested payments in crypto to avoid the instability of their local currency. The company works with an infrastructure provider called Voltage to process the pay. Vida sends the equivalent cash amount in dollars, and the platform delivers the payment to the employee in Bitcoin.

Critically, the company does not hold any cryptocurrency on its own balance sheet. Vida settles the costs in dollars at the end of each month, similar to paying a standard vendor invoice. This setup allows the firm to support its global team without creating complex accounting or tax hurdles for its finance department.

This approach shows a practical way for traditional public companies to use Bitcoin rails for payroll. By keeping their accounting in dollars while offering workers the choice of Bitcoin, companies can solve payment issues for global talent while avoiding the volatility risks associated with holding digital assets.