BitPay, the world's largest Bitcoin payment service provider, has moved its entire workforce remote. The shift came after the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies across industries to abandon offices in
BitPay, the world's largest Bitcoin payment service provider, has moved its entire workforce remote. The shift came after the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies across industries to abandon offices in early 2020. For BitPay, the pivot stuck.
CEO Stephen Pair describes how they responded: "We were closely following the coronavirus and immediately recognized its significance. As a result, the executive team implemented a virtual plan to continue business as usual for the well-being of our employees. The work from home policy worked out well, so we turned to cyberspace for continued work."
The shift isn't permanent. Bill Zielke, BitPay's CMO, said workers have flexibility to remain home. "Then, employees will have the option to use our offices or remain remote. We plan to have office space for meetups, training, customer events, and company gatherings and events," he said.
BitPay isn't alone. Binance and other crypto firms adopted remote work during the same period. The crypto industry operates across distributed infrastructure. Since engineers and developers at these firms work across time zones and continents, remote work fit their standard operations.
Employees backed the change. A Business Wire survey found 85% of workers prefer remote arrangements, citing higher productivity. Andrew Kelin, BitPay's marketing director, acknowledged the adjustment: "It took a bit of adjusting to working from home because I am an outgoing and social person. I am grateful to have this flexibility and my team is able to collaborate and work together as if we were side-by-side."
Teams across BitPay's offices responded differently. Workers in Argentina preferred remote work and reported gains in output. In the U.S., 86% of employees favored the arrangement. Amsterdam's office reported 75% in favor.
