Stablecoins Move Into Global Payroll as Mercuryo Off-Ramp Share Reaches 57%
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
Stablecoins are increasingly being adopted in global payroll systems, according to data from payments provider Mercuryo, with USD Coin (USDC) and Tether's USDT comprising 57% of off-ramp transactions during the first half of 2026. This represents a significant increase from 25% in the same period a year prior, indicating a growing role for stablecoins in cross-border payroll, particularly for workers facing issues with traditional international transfers, high remittance costs, or unstable domestic currencies.
The company reported that stablecoin off-ramp transactions on its platform surged by 446% compared to the previous year, while transactions involving other digital assets grew by 38%. Mercuryo's data suggests that stablecoins are developing into an intermediate settlement layer for payroll, addressing the need for efficient, borderless, and cost-effective payment solutions in the evolving landscape of remote and platform-based work.
Arthur Firstov, Chief Business Officer at Mercuryo, highlighted the benefits of stablecoins for salary payments, noting their low-cost, high-speed nature and growing awareness among workers in economies with high inflation. Large payment and workforce-management companies are also exploring stablecoin-based services, with Visa piloting a program allowing businesses to fund payouts in fiat currency while recipients receive USD-backed stablecoins.
However, the expansion of stablecoin payroll hinges not only on transaction speed and cost but also on factors such as regulatory clarity, reserve transparency, anti-money-laundering controls, and the availability of reliable conversion channels. The GENIUS Act, signed into law in July 2025, establishes a federal regulatory framework for payment stablecoins in the United States, addressing reserve backing, public disclosure, consumer protection, and applicable anti-money-laundering and sanctions-compliance obligations.
As the payment landscape evolves, stablecoins are becoming increasingly integral to the infrastructure of global payroll, operating behind the transaction to connect employers, payroll platforms, digital wallets, and local-currency off-ramps.
Written by urgent.news from Korea IT Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
