Global payroll platform Deel will begin offering stablecoin salary payouts through a partnership with MoonPay, starting with workers in the UK and EU next month. The integration allows employees to receive wages directly in stablecoins to non-custodial crypto wallets, with a US rollout planned in a later phase.
Deel processes $22 billion in payroll annually worldwide, to more than 150 million workers, the company said in October. It will use MoonPay to handle stablecoin conversion and onchain wallet delivery, effectively adding crypto settlement rails to its existing payroll infrastructure, according to Tuesday’s announcement.
Under the arrangement, workers will be able to opt in to receive part or all of their salary in stablecoins, instead of local fiat currencies. MoonPay will manage the conversion and settlement process, while Deel continues to operate the payroll and compliance layer.
JP Richardson, co-founder and CEO of Exodus, said the partnership signals a broader shift toward everyday crypto use. “You don’t bring the world into crypto with whitepapers. You do it with paychecks,” Richardson wrote on X, arguing that stablecoin payroll will reduce cross-border payment delays and intermediary fees for workers globally.
Source: JP Richardson
The partnership expands Deel’s existing crypto payout options and adds another enterprise distribution channel for MoonPay, which holds a New York BitLicense and money transmitter licenses across the US, as well as authorization under the EU’s MiCA framework.
The companies did not disclose which stablecoins will be supported or how many users are expected to opt in at launch. They also did not provide a specific time line for the US expansion or details on regulatory approvals tied to the second phase.
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Stablecoin space is becoming increasingly crowded
While MoonPay and Deel’s rollout targets workers in the UK and EU, the partnership comes amid rapid expansion in the US dollar–pegged token market. Since the US Congress established a federal framework for payment stablecoins in July 2025 with the GENIUS Act, a growing number of companies have moved to launch regulated stablecoins in the US.
In March, World Liberty Financial, a DeFi platform linked to the Trump family, launched its USD1 stablecoin, and in January, Wyoming became the first US state to issue its own stablecoin, the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT).
The same month, Tether, issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDt (USDT), confirmed the launch of USAt, a US dollar–pegged token issued through Anchorage Digital Bank and positioned as a federally regulated payment stablecoin for use within the US.
Some traditional US banks are also preparing to enter the stablecoin market after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposed a framework outlining how subsidiaries of FDIC-supervised banks could apply to issue payment stablecoins in December.
Despite the wave of new entrants, the market remains heavily concentrated. According to DefiLlama data, Tether’s USDt accounts for about 60% of total stablecoin market capitalization, while Circle’s $USDC ($USDC) represents about 24%.
Stablecoin market cap. Source: DefiLlama
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