Rise & Circle Team Up: USDC Goes Mainstream in Global Payroll Revolution
Another day, another 'crypto solves payments' play—but this one might actually stick.
Rise just locked arms with Circle to shove USDC into the payroll pipelines of multinationals. No more SWIFT delays, no more FX bloodletting—just stablecoins hitting wallets faster than a trader dumping at resistance.
The pitch? Pay global teams in USDC, let them cash out locally. Neat trick for bypassing banking dinosaurs... though good luck explaining gas fees to your average HR department.
Circle's betting their regulatory mojo makes this more than vaporware. Meanwhile, Rise gets to repackage 1990s payroll outsourcing as 'Web3 innovation.' Everybody wins—except maybe the guys still charging 5% for cross-border wires.

is excited to announce that it has partnered with , the issuer of USDC, through its regulated affiliates to expand Rise’s ongoing efforts to advance global USDC adoption.
Rise will position the widely used transparent stablecoin as a central element within its hybrid payroll infrastructure. As of June 2025, Rise has paid out to global teams, with
Partnering with Circle allows Rise to promote stablecoin adoption on a global scale, as more salaries and invoices are settled in USDC through Rise’s on-chain infrastructure. This shrinks transfer times from days to seconds while giving every transaction a transparent, onchain audit trail.
Paying a global workforce shouldn’t be slowed down by wire delays, FX spreads, or fragmented banking systems.
in our entire product suite, which includes an Agent‑of‑Record, Employer‑of‑Record, Global Contractor Pay, and Direct Payroll service.
Over the coming months, will:
- Roll out educational guides that make USDC usage and wallet security straightforward for finance teams.
- Highlight the benefits of USDC payroll for both companies and their contractors/employees.
- Advocate for clear, forward‑looking digital‑asset payroll standards by joining global policy and industry working groups.
“We’re excited to evolve our relationship with Circle. Building the first truly on-chain payroll system, we wanted to make sure we incorporated stablecoins with the most robust compliance infrastructure and adoption behind them. USDC clearly stood out. The future of payroll is onchain, and we’re proud to lead efforts in this category.” said , CEO of Rise.
is a hybrid payroll and compliance platform that enables businesses to automatically onboard, hire, and pay global teams in local currencies, stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies.
Trusted by hundreds of companies across the world, Rise has processed over $650 million in payroll volume to both independent contractors and full-time employees.
Since the platform is built on-chain, Rise is able to offer transparent, auditable payments in real time while eliminating intermediaries and reducing settlement delays.
Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to harness the power of digital currencies and public blockchains for payments, commerce, and financial applications worldwide. Circle is building the world’s largest, most-widely used, stablecoin network, and issues, through its regulated affiliates, USDC and EURC stablecoins. Circle provides a comprehensive suite of financial and technology services that empower enterprises and developers to integrate stablecoins and blockchains into their products, services and business operations. For more information, users can visit https://circle.com.
Hugo Finkelstein | CEO, Co-founder
Hugo@riseworks.io
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