Coinbase Global on Monday unveiled a new feature that will allow users to deposit their paychecks directly into their accounts on the cryptocurrency exchange, further integrating digital assets into the realm of traditional banking.
The feature, which will roll out in the next weeks, will also allow the largest US crypto exchange to convert paychecks into any of the more than one hundred cryptocurrencies it has with no transaction fees. A limit applies, and users can also opt to keep their funds in US dollars.
“The future of payroll is coming,” Prakash Hariramani, senior director of product at Coinbase, said in a Monday blog post. “Get paid in crypto or in US dollars and deposit as much or as little of your paycheck as you want.”
Hariramani noted many reasons for the launch – from users wanting to make short- or long-term investments to their desire to earning interest on yield-generating assets. But the main goal is to make transferring funds easier and more convenient.
“Now, you’ll save time on the extra steps it takes to move money so you can immediately earn interest on your income,” he said in the blog post.
In setting up this feature, users do not have to leave the Coinbase app, he said. All they need to do is tap “direct deposit” in the settings, follow the instructions, and find their current payroll company or employer. Coinbase will then automatically update the paycheck allocation.
The company has partnered with Fortress Investment Group, M31 Capital, Nansen, and SuperRare Labs so their employees can use this feature.
Coinbase, which went public in April, has been launching new offerings to disrupt the traditional way finance is done.
This led to its recent tussle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which has threatened to sue the cryptocurrency exchange over one of its products called Lend, a cryptocurrency lending program.
The exchange has since abandoned its lending plans but not before its founder and CEO Brian Armstrong in series of tweets described the SEC’s decision as “sketchy behavior.”
