Foreign workers in South Korea are increasingly requesting to receive their wages in cryptocurrency

Foreign workers across South Korea are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency to receive their wages.

Foreign workers in South Korea are increasingly requesting to receive their wages in cryptocurrency, particularly stablecoins, instead of the local currency.

In Eumseong, Chungcheongbuk-do (province), a factory owner in his 50s, identified only as Mr. A, who has operated an auto parts manufacturing plant for over two decades, encountered this shift firsthand.

In January, he installed a digital wallet on his smartphone after more than 30 foreign employees insisted on being paid in cryptocurrency rather than South Korean won.

“Our employees can’t go to the bank easily, and I couldn't keep ignoring their requests,” he said.

Foreign workers across South Korea are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency to receive their wages. Many of them work in factories or on farms and had traditionally been paid in cash. But as word spreads that it’s easier and safer to get paid in digital coins, more employers are being drawn into the shift—some willingly, others reluctantly.

According to people in the crypto industry, cryptocurrency is rapidly becoming a form of “official currency” among undocumented foreign workers, who are often unable to open local bank accounts.

“We’re seeing coins used as a default payment method in those communities,” one industry source said. Previously, workers would hold onto large amounts of cash, waiting until weekends or holidays to send money home via banks or remittance centers. That came with risk.

Late last year, a Nepalese worker in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, reported 10 million won ($7,165) stolen from his dorm room. Afterward, fears of theft spread quickly, especially among workers who live together in shared shipping container-style accommodations.

Trust among roommates deteriorated, and workers from India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal came together to propose a solution to their employer: pay us in crypto. Sending cash home also comes with time delays and transaction fees.

For undocumented workers who can’t open bank accounts, the process often involved asking acquaintances to transfer money on their behalf—a workaround that added its own risks. Using cryptocurrency removes many of these barriers.

“For someone like me without a bank account, it’s a huge relief to have my salary stored safely on my phone,” said a Nepalese worker identified by his surname Bista.

Among the many cryptocurrencies available, foreign workers tend to prefer stablecoins—particularly Tether (USDT), which is the most widely circulated with more than 80 billion tokens in existence. Its value remains pegged at $1 per token, making it a trusted option amid volatile foreign exchange markets. With the Korean won fluctuating due to geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing trade conflict between the United States and China, many see dollar-pegged coins as a safe haven.

Workers have begun referring to Tether as “digital dollars.” D, a worker from Myanmar who works at a moving company in Seoul, said they once lost more than $140 due to a sudden dip in the exchange rate during a remittance transfer. “Now that I’m paid in crypto, I don’t worry about exchange rates anymore,” they said. Myanmar’s currency has grown highly unstable since the country entered a prolonged civil conflict in 2021.

The shift toward cryptocurrency isn’t being driven solely by workers. Some employers, worn down by severe labor shortages, are offering it as an incentive.

In Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, a staffing agency official said many business owners now suggest crypto payments upfront when trying to recruit workers. According to the Ministry of Justice, about 2.65 million foreign nationals were residing in South Korea as of 2024, accounting for 5.2% of the total population.

Among them, an estimated 400,000 are undocumented. A staffing agency official in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, said the use of crypto wages has extended beyond factory workers.

“For several years now, sex workers from countries like Thailand and the Philippines have also been receiving their daily pay in cryptocurrency,” the official said. From the government’s perspective, the growing volume of cryptocurrency remittances sent abroad by foreign workers raises concerns. A sharp increase could affect the country’s foreign exchange supply and put pressure on exchange rate volatility.

Under S, Korean labor law, wages must be paid in legal tender—meaning cryptocurrency-based payments are technically illegal. However, with the country facing chronic labor shortages across industries and agriculture due to its aging population and low birthrate, enforcing that regulation has proven difficult. Authorities appear reluctant to crack down aggressively, given the risk of further destabilizing already strained labor supply chains.