Gusto and ZeroHash Partner to Launch Instant Stablecoin Payouts

Under the new beta rollout, eligible contractors using Gusto can choose to receive their earnings in stablecoins, allowing funds to settle in minutes rather than days. For businesses that regularly pay overseas workers, this addresses one of the most persistent pain points in global payroll: long settlement times driven by legacy banking systems, intermediary fees, and time-zone constraints.

International payments have traditionally been slow by design. Transfers often pass through multiple banks, require currency conversions, and rely on batch processing that only runs during business hours. For contractors, this can mean waiting several days for funds to arrive, even after work has been completed. Gusto’s stablecoin option aims to remove much of that friction by using blockchain-based settlement rails that operate continuously.

Importantly, the company is not positioning this as a wholesale replacement for existing payroll methods. Instead, the stablecoin payout feature sits alongside traditional options and is entirely opt-in. From the employer’s perspective, nothing fundamentally changes in how payroll is processed. Payments are still initiated through Gusto’s platform, with the blockchain component handled behind the scenes.

That behind-the-scenes element is where ZeroHash plays its role. The firm provides the regulated infrastructure that allows stablecoin transactions to be executed while meeting compliance and operational requirements. For businesses using Gusto, this means they don’t need to manage wallets, interact directly with blockchain networks, or build crypto capabilities internally. The digital asset layer is embedded into the existing payroll workflow, largely invisible to end users.

The scale of on-chain settlement activity also underscores the depth of infrastructure available for these kinds of use cases. One of the largest fiat-pegged stablecoins has processed nearly $10 trillion in on-chain transactions over the past year, representing a sharp increase compared with the prior period. That growth points to a maturing digital payments ecosystem where liquidity and settlement capacity are expanding rapidly, conditions that help make initiatives like instant payroll payouts technically viable at scale.

The rollout comes at a time when global hiring has become normal rather than exceptional. Remote work and contract-based employment have expanded access to international talent, but payment systems have been slower to adapt. Many payroll platforms were built for domestic workforces and struggle when compensation needs to move across borders quickly and predictably. Stablecoins, which are typically pegged to fiat currencies, offer a way to move value globally without introducing exchange-rate volatility.

Recent industry data points to stablecoins gaining real traction in everyday payments beyond niche crypto applications. Stablecoin-linked card spending and other payment activity is approaching $18 billion annually, highlighting that consumers and businesses are increasingly willing to use fiat-pegged digital tokens for routine transactions. That broader uptake suggests a growing familiarity with stablecoin rails, a trend that operators like Gusto are tapping into as they look to make global payroll both faster and more accessible.

The pilot reflects a broader focus on supporting small and midsize businesses as they navigate increasingly complex workforces. By targeting contractor payments first, the approach addresses a segment where speed and flexibility matter most, while avoiding some of the added regulatory complexity that comes with employee payroll. It also allows real-world demand for stablecoin payouts to be tested before the model is expanded further.

The announcement also highlights how the role of stablecoins is evolving. Once closely associated with crypto trading and on-chain finance, they are increasingly being explored for practical, operational uses. Payments, remittances, and treasury flows are emerging as areas where the speed and programmability of blockchain networks offer tangible benefits, even when users are not particularly interested in crypto itself.

At the same time, payroll is not an area where experimentation is taken lightly. Wage payments sit at the intersection of tax reporting, labor law, and financial compliance, and any disruption can have serious consequences for workers and employers alike. That makes reliability, transparency, and regulatory alignment critical. By partnering with a regulated infrastructure provider, Gusto appears to be taking a cautious approach, positioning the initiative as an incremental improvement rather than a disruptive overhaul.

The partnership reinforces a focus on enterprise use cases rather than consumer-facing crypto products. Supporting payroll payouts places stablecoins squarely within everyday business operations, helping normalize their use as infrastructure rather than speculative assets. It also reflects a broader trend among crypto infrastructure firms to work behind the scenes with established fintech platforms.

Whether stablecoin-based payroll becomes widespread remains an open question. Adoption will likely depend on regulatory clarity, contractor demand, and how easily such payments integrate into existing financial lives. Not every worker is comfortable receiving compensation in digital assets, even stable ones, and education will play a role in determining uptake.

Still, the direction of travel is clear. With businesses continuing to hire globally and expectations rising for faster cross-border settlement, pressure is building on payroll providers to modernize their payment rails. Gusto’s stablecoin pilot is an early sign of how that evolution might unfold, not through dramatic shifts in user behavior, but through quiet infrastructure changes that make global payments faster, simpler, and more predictable.