Rise CEO Hugo Finklestein shares how stablecoins are reshaping global payments and payroll, as U.S. leadership and on-chain innovation drive institutional adoption worldwide.
Interview with Hugo Finkelstein, CEO of Rise
As stablecoins continue to dominate headlines and reshape cross-border finance, one company sits squarely at the intersection of fintech, blockchain, and the future of work: RiseWorks.io.
In a recent conversation with Chiara from Stablecoin Insider, Hugo Finkelstein, co-founder and CEO of Rise, shared his perspective on the global shift toward on-chain payments and why stablecoins are becoming indispensable to modern businesses.
“The U.S. is dominating the stablecoin market right now,” Finklestein explained, pointing to the GENIUS Act as a “huge signal to institutions” that the sector is maturing.
The Act’s focus on clear regulatory standards has opened the door for more institutional participation, a trend Finkelstein expects to accelerate as global regulations solidify.
At the same time, Europe’s financial institutions are starting to take note. “European banks are waking up,” he said.
“In the future, every country will have its own fiat currency represented as a stablecoin. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.”
“In the next few years, large parts of the global economy will be on-chain,” Finkelstein predicted confidently.
He sees stablecoins as the connective tissue linking traditional finance and blockchain infrastructure, a bridge between old systems and new efficiencies.
The key drivers? Cost and speed.
“The biggest friction for companies trying to send payments around the world is still cost and speed,” Finkelstein said. “Stablecoins solve both.”
This pain point is why institutions, once cautious, are now diving in.
“They’re realizing it’s not about crypto speculation,” he added. “It’s about solving real, operational problems.”
Beyond speculation and trading, the practical applications of stablecoins are multiplying rapidly.
“Global treasury management, payroll, remittances, there are so many use cases,” Finkelstein explained. “We’re seeing a huge wave of on-chain treasuries forming right now.”
He also noted that COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for one of the most transformative stablecoin use cases: global payroll.
“Remote work created global teams overnight,” he said. “Stablecoin payroll became the obvious solution as it's fast, borderless, and transparent.”
Every month, Rise sees steady growth in both payment volume and customer count, as companies from Web3 startups to traditional firms look for the fastest and cheapest way to pay remote workers.
In fact, they recently just reached $900M in total volume paid out to remote teams.
“Education and better UX/UI have made it easier to convince companies to integrate stablecoin payments,” Finkelstein said.
“Most modern platforms are now building stablecoin infrastructure under the hood so their users can benefit, often without even realizing they’re using crypto.”
That’s exactly where Rise comes in.
The platform allows businesses to onboard and pay remote talent through Contractor Pay, Agent of Record (AOR), or Employer of Record (EOR) models, while also enabling bill pay directly from the Rise balance.
“The beauty of Rise,” he explained, “is that we dissociate deposits from withdrawals.
A company can fund in any currency, and contractors can withdraw in whatever currency they want, fiat or stablecoin.”
Currently, Rise users withdraw about 55% in fiat and 45% in stablecoins.
Rise’s success has been closely tied to its partnership with Circle, the issuer of USDC.
“Rise has been working with Circle since Day 1, but we officially announced the partnership a few months ago,” Finkelstein said.
“It just made sense as both companies are U.S.-based and have a heavy focus on compliance.”
That shared compliance-first philosophy gives Rise an edge with corporate clients that demand regulatory certainty while exploring on-chain finance.
Looking ahead, Finkelstein expects an explosion of new stablecoins followed by inevitable consolidation.
“Over the next few years, we’ll see a lot of stablecoins launched,” he said.
“But many will die off because they won’t have enough liquidity. In the end, users will simply choose whichever stablecoin they trust and find easiest to use.”
Stablecoins are no longer a crypto niche, they’re becoming the financial infrastructure for the global economy.
With companies like Rise simplifying compliance, onboarding, and payments for distributed teams, the transition to on-chain finance is already well underway.
As Finklestein summed it up:
“In the next few years, large parts of the global economy will be on-chain, and Rise is helping build that future.”
Over the next week, Stablecoin Insider will release the entire video interview between Chiara Munaretto and Hugo Finkelstein so make sure to check our socials in the coming days.
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