Tuesday September 2, 2014 – 11am
Posted Sep 2, 2014 02:45:31 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
11:00- Shrad Rao, CEO of Wagepoint
A small but growing – and surprising – number of workers are rejecting Canadian dollar salaries for Bitcoin, according to a Waterloo payroll firm. Wagepoint CEO Shrad Rao said his firm came up with the crypto-currency payment option in November last year as a side project and did not expect any take-up. But as the online currency gained popularity this year, he said, employees from 10 firms have signed up for the Bitcoin option, and many more are asking about it. “When we started off, we didn’t even think we’ll get one,” he said over the phone from New York, where Wagepoint has another office. “What’s interesting is that we’ve actually had customers come to us because of the (Bitcoin) integration, which we were not expecting at all.” Rao said the firms are overwhelmingly technology companies, whose workers have higher interest in new innovations and tend to dabble more. Bitcoin, a decentralized currency, was launched in 2009 by a still unknown person or group. It gained mainstream attention in 2013, and subsequent adoption caused one bitcoin to rise to a high of $1,000. But most brick-and-mortar shops still do not recognize Bitcoin as currency, and neither does the Canadian government, which in June ruled Bitcoin is property. Canada Revenue Agency spokesperson Noel Carisse said paying employees in Bitcoin means paying them in goods – “a barter transaction.”
11:30- Todd Cowan, Mayor of the Township of Woolwich
A local landmark that drew tourists from around the province and around the globe burned down on this day one year ago. The wooden beam structure that housed vendors at the St. Jacobs Farmers Market, many who had served the community for over 20 years, burned to the ground in the early hours of September 2nd, 2013. Soon after news of the fire, people began arriving at the site and others immediately jumped into action looking for ways to help those who lost their business and their jobs. Woolwich Township Mayor Todd Cowan tells 570 News the camaraderie and support that was given to market vendors and the community was something that could not go unnoticed.
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