Stablecoins are moving beyond cryptocurrency trading and into the infrastructure of global employment, as freelancers, contractors and remote workers increasingly receive income in digital dollars before converting it into local currency.
Data released by payments infrastructure provider Mercuryo on August 13 showed that USD Coin (USDC) and Tether’s USDT accounted for 57% of accepted off-ramp transactions on its platform during the first half of 2026. That was more than double their 25% share during the same period a year earlier.
Their share of total off-ramp turnover also increased from 30% to 56%, according to the company.
The figures suggest that stablecoins are developing a practical role in cross-border payroll, particularly for workers who face slow international transfers, high remittance costs or unstable domestic currencies. Rather than functioning only as a temporary store of value within crypto markets, dollar-backed tokens are increasingly being used as an intermediate settlement layer between employers and workers in different jurisdictions.
Mercuryo said the number of stablecoin off-ramp transactions processed through its platform rose 446% year on year in the first half of 2026. Transactions involving other digital assets increased by 38% over the same period.
Stablecoins accounted for approximately 80% of the overall increase in off-ramp transactions, the company added. The findings are based on activity processed through Mercuryo’s platform and therefore reflect its customer base rather than the global stablecoin market as a whole.
From Crypto Asset to Payroll Rail
The expansion of remote and platform-based work is creating demand for payment systems that operate across borders and outside conventional banking hours. For workers paid by overseas companies, stablecoins can shorten settlement times, although users must still consider conversion costs, custody risks, local tax obligations and regulatory requirements.
Mercuryo’s data showed that weekend stablecoin cash-out volumes averaged approximately 86% of weekday levels. The relatively narrow difference points to demand for continuous access to funds, in contrast with banking systems that remain constrained by business hours and intermediary processing schedules.
“Stablecoins provide a low-cost, high-speed means of transferring value, and their growing use for salary payments reflects increasing awareness of the advantages that crypto payroll services offer over traditional payroll,” said Arthur Firstov, Chief Business Officer at Mercuryo.
Firstov said workers in economies experiencing high inflation may use dollar-backed stablecoins to preserve purchasing power, while others use them to transfer money across borders at lower cost.
Large payment and workforce-management companies are also testing or expanding stablecoin-based services. Visa announced a pilot allowing businesses and platforms to fund payouts in fiat currency while recipients receive USD-backed stablecoins such as USDC. The programme is aimed at creators, freelancers and gig workers, with a broader rollout planned for the second half of 2026.
Global payroll provider Deel also offers infrastructure through which companies can fund payroll and workers can receive or withdraw money in fiat currencies or stablecoins.
Regulation Becomes Part of the Infrastructure
The expansion of stablecoin payroll will depend not only on transaction speed and cost but also on regulation, reserve transparency, anti-money-laundering controls and the availability of reliable conversion channels.
In the United States, the GENIUS Act was signed into law in July 2025, establishing a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins. The legislation introduced requirements covering reserve backing, public disclosure and consumer protection, while bringing issuers within applicable anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance obligations.
Greater regulatory clarity could encourage more financial institutions and payment companies to integrate regulated stablecoins into cross-border settlement services. It does not, however, eliminate risks related to issuers, wallets, intermediaries or differences among national regulatory regimes.
The broader shift is therefore not simply about employees choosing to be paid in cryptocurrency. It reflects the emergence of a new payment architecture in which stablecoins operate behind the transaction, linking employers, payroll platforms, digital wallets and local-currency off-ramps.
If that architecture continues to mature, the next stage of digital payroll may be defined less by whether workers identify themselves as crypto users and more by whether stablecoins can become a compliant, reliable and largely invisible component of global payment infrastructure.
