At Bloccpay, we talk a lot about “customer obsession” and “doing the unscalable things.” But sometimes, those aren’t just nice phrases for a pitch deck; they look like a real person with a real problem and a choice about whether to go back to sleep or jump on a Google Meet at 3am.

This is the story of one late-night payroll run that taught us something critical about how teams actually work.

The notification came in late on December 2nd.

A company in our pipeline was getting ready to run their first payroll on Bloccpay. They were excited to move away from manual payroll process to a fully automated, multi-chain, stablecoin-powered system. Everything was configured. They were ready to go.

They needed to process payroll for November, the month that had just ended. And they needed to do it now, because their freelancers were already asking about payment.

Bloccpay, at that moment, only supported payroll for future dates. Our system assumed you'd schedule everything ahead of time.

"We'll just run November manually and start using Bloccpay in December."

From a purely operational standpoint, that was acceptable. But from a customer obsession and product learning perspective, it felt like a missed opportunity.

It was 3am where we were. 8pm in São Paulo, where the customer was based.

If we said "sounds good, see you next month," no one would blame us. We could deal with this edge case later.

But this wasn't really about one month of payroll.

This was their first payroll interaction with us as a product. If we punted on their immediate need, what would that tell them about who we are? More importantly, what would we miss learning about how teams actually use payroll systems?

"Would you be open to jumping on a quick call? We might be able to help you run November tonight."

They replied within minutes: "Absolutely." 

The call started with us asking questions and them walking us through exactly what they needed.

The situation was more urgent than we'd realized:

They had freelancers in Nigeria waiting for November payments

Their previous manual system was a nightmare of spreadsheets and individual transfers that came with headaches

Waiting to do future payroll meant going back to that nightmare for November cycle

November payroll needed to process tonight

So we did what early-stage teams do best: we hacked a solution live. It wasn't pretty, but it worked.

Their November payroll was successfully processed on Bloccpay.

They were set up to run December and beyond in a smooth, automated way.

We had learned something important about how teams run payroll.

That one call surfaced a critical insight:

Some companies don’t run payroll on neat, future-aligned schedules. 

They pay freelancers later than planned.

“Payroll is always scheduled ahead of time, and runs on future dates.”

Teams migrating from one payroll system to another need to process historical payments

Backdated payroll wasn’t an edge case; it was a real need.

That single late-night call turned into three tangible outcomes:

 We saw firsthand how teams were using Bloccpay and where our assumptions about “future-only” payroll scheduling broke down. Instead of guessing needs, we experienced them live with a customer.

 We added support for backdated payroll runs to our product roadmap. Not as a “nice-to-have,” but as part of building a tool that aligns with how teams actually operate.

A cultural reminder of who we want to be:

 That night reaffirmed something deeper about Bloccpay’s identity:

We want to be the team that shows up.

The team that does the hard, unscalable things when it matters for customers.

The team that listens first, then ships.


This was also a reminder of why Bloccpay exists in the first place: to make sure global work isn’t held back by broken payment workflows. We’ll keep showing up in the messy moments, listening closely, and shipping what real teams actually need even if it starts with a single customer and a late-night call.


If you’re paying contractors across borders and wrestling with manual payroll processes, we’d love to talk.

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How a late-night call transformed into a feature: Backdated Payroll.

The Payroll Problem That Couldn't Wait Until Morning

If you’re a freelancer, there’s a good chance you’ve felt the sting of getting underpaid, not because clients shortchanged you, but because fees, conversions, and delays ate into your hard-earned money.

Maybe you’ve sent an invoice, waited two weeks, and then lost 8% of your payment to “processing fees.” Or maybe you’ve watched your local currency lose value faster than your next project confirmation email. Either way, it’s frustrating.

You deliver world-class work, but the global payment system still treats you like you’re stuck in the 90s.

That’s changing, thanks to stablecoins.

Let’s discuss how freelancers are getting smarter about getting paid, why traditional systems are failing them, and how stablecoins (and platforms like Bloccpay) are finally putting control back in the hands of the people doing the work.

The Hidden Cost of Getting Paid as a Freelancer

For freelancers, “getting paid” is supposed to be the best part of the job. But for many, it’s actually the most stressful.

You finish a project and send your invoice via PayPal, Wise, or Payoneer.

Your client pays instantly, but your payout takes 5–7 business days.

By the time the money hits your account, you’ve lost between 5% and 10% in platform and conversion fees.

Then your local bank adds another surprise charge “just because.”

In the end, your $1,000 invoice becomes ₦1,180,000 and before you even touch it, it’s worth ₦1,050,000.

The truth? Traditional payment systems weren’t built for the modern, borderless workforce. They’re built for a world where companies and employees lived in the same country, used the same banks, and got paid once a month.

But that’s not how freelancers work anymore.

You could be in Lagos designing for a client in Lisbon. Or in Nairobi managing social media for a startup in New York. Work has gone global, but somehow, money truly hasn’t caught up.

How Inflation Impacts Freelancers in Developing Markets

Let’s be real: even if you do get paid, inflation can quietly eat away at your income before you’ve spent a naira.

If you’re a freelancer in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, or Argentina, you already know this pain. You earn in USD, convert to your local currency, and within a few weeks, prices have jumped, again!

In 2024 alone, emerging market currencies lost an average of 12–20% of their value against the dollar. For freelancers, that’s a silent tax on every job.

And when your clients are abroad, every conversion from USD to your local currency becomes a gamble. You either lose to inflation, lose to fees, or lose to delays.

Freelancers need more than fast payments; they need payment systems that hold value.

Today’s freelancers don’t belong to one country; they belong to the internet. Their clients, teams, and collaborators are scattered across time zones, and yet the payment systems tying them together are painfully outdated.

Traditional banking relies on SWIFT codes, correspondent banks, and middlemen, all of which take time and charge fees.

They move like crypto (fast, digital, global), but stay stable because they’re pegged 1:1 to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. With stablecoins, a designer in Ghana can receive payment from a client in Germany in seconds, with near-zero fees and no middlemen. 

This is the magic of borderless money where you earn globally, and you keep all of what you earn.

82% of skilled freelancers say their work opportunities have grown since last year, versus just 63% of full-time employees. (

, Upwork, April 23, 2025) so the freelance/ gig economy is growing and the demand for better payment options are growing too. 

Platforms like Bloccpay are building the new financial infrastructure for freelancers and global teams, making it easy to get paid, spend, and live globally.

Right now with Bloccpay, freelancers can:

1. Create & send professional invoices to clients globally

2. Receive payments instantly in USDC or USDT (stablecoins pegged to USD)

3. Skip unnecessary conversions and avoid losing money to inflation

It’s not just about getting paid faster; it’s about having more control over your money. That’s what financial freedom looks like for freelancers.

The best part? You don’t need to be a crypto expert to receive payments in stablecoins.

1. Create your account — no complex setup, no crypto buzz words and your wallet will be created instantly.

2. Generate an invoice that comes with a payment link — send it to your client anywhere in the world.

3. Get paid instantly in stablecoins — no banks, no middlemen, no waiting. It’s fast, secure, and built to fit how freelancers already work.

If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be a better way to get paid,”  this is it.

This is the promise of the new global economy, and Bloccpay is the bridge making it real. 

 to learn how Bloccpay helps freelancers earn, spend, and live globally. 

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Learn how freelancers are using Bloccpay to earn and live without borders.

The Smartest Way To Get Paid as a Freelancer

The way the world works and gets paid is changing. The pandemic proved that talents do not need to sit in one office or even one country to create value. From teams in Lagos working for startups in London to developers in Nairobi coding for DAOs in New York, global work has become the norm.

But while work has gone global, payments are still playing catch up.

Traditional payroll systems still rely on banks, SWIFT codes, and multi-day wire transfers. High fees, conversion losses, and delays make cross-border payroll expensive and inefficient.

That’s where stablecoins, digital currencies pegged 1:1 to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar are swooping in to change the future of payroll.

With stablecoin payroll, businesses can now pay remote teams instantly, securely, and at a fraction of the traditional cost.

2. The New Workforce Driving Stablecoin Adoption

3. How Stablecoins Are Leveling the Global Playing Field

4. Regulation, Mainstream Adoption, and the Road to Higher Stablecoin Payroll Adoption

As remote work scales across continents, global payroll needs a modern infrastructure, and that’s where stablecoins come in.

The appeal of stablecoins lies in three things: speed, cost, and control.

Traditional banking rails depend on intermediaries, compliance layers, and banks. This means sending money from Lisbon to Lagos can require 3–5 steps and take several business days. With stablecoins, that transaction is instantaneous, happening on-chain and verifiable in real-time.

For businesses, this really changes the game.

1. Speed: Payments settle in seconds, not days, allowing real-time compensation for remote teams and contractors.

2. Cost Efficiency: Instead of 5–10% in banking or wire fees, companies pay less than 1% in network fees on average.

3. Transparency: Every transaction is traceable on the blockchain, simplifying accounting and audits.

4. Automation: Platforms like Bloccpay enable automated USDC/USDT payroll, making it easy to set up recurring payments and track them in one dashboard.

For talents, freelancers, creatives, and remote teams, the advantages are even more personal.

They can receive their income directly, in full, and spend it globally without restrictions. Stablecoins protect against currency instability and inflation, particularly in emerging economies where local currencies lose value rapidly.

Stablecoins give both sides of the equation; businesses and talents, a shared, frictionless financial language. 

The New Workforce Driving Stablecoin Adoption

This shift isn’t being led by big corporations; it’s powered by people.

Freelancers, digital nomads, decentralized organizations, and remote teams are the ones pushing stablecoin payroll into the mainstream.

For many young professionals especially Gen Z and Millennials, crypto isn’t some wild new idea. It’s just a smarter, faster way to move money around the world. Stablecoins, in particular, make this possible because they hold their value and don’t fluctuate like other cryptocurrencies.

 believe that 5% to 10% of cross-border payments will be made using stablecoins by 2030, equating to $2.1t to $4.2t, per EY-Parthenon estimates. The main reasons? Speed, control, and easy global access.

The good news? Platforms like Bloccpay are built around this new reality. They make it simple for businesses to pay remote teams globally, for people to send invoices, receive payments instantly, and more; all using stablecoins.

This new generation of workers is also changing how companies think. “Payment delays” and “banking restrictions” no longer sound acceptable when there are tools that let you pay anyone, anywhere, in minutes.

Decentralized organizations (DAOs) were among the first to make the switch. With contributors spread across dozens of countries, they needed a payment system that was transparent, fast, and reliable, something traditional banks have not been able to provide. Stablecoin payroll is becoming the standard, proving that borderless work is not only possible but very practical.

How Stablecoin Is Leveling the Global Playing Field

Stablecoins are quietly leveling the playing field for global workers and businesses.

For years, where you lived determined how much you could earn, or how much of your earnings you actually got to keep. If you lived in a country with high inflation, weak banking systems, or expensive international transfers, getting paid was often slow, costly, and unpredictable.

It makes it possible for a designer in Accra, a developer in Buenos Aires, and a marketer in Manila to all receive payments instantly and in a currency that holds its value. No middlemen. No 7-day transfer waits. No 10% eaten up by conversion fees.

, stablecoin transactions accounted for over 50% of all crypto value transferred in 2024. What we can see is that this shift doesn’t just help individuals, it helps companies too. Businesses can now hire global talent without worrying about payment bottlenecks. A startup in London can pay its team across Africa or Asia in minutes, with full transparency and traceability.

Stablecoins don’t just move money faster; they move opportunities faster.

Regulation, Mainstream Adoption, and the Road to Higher Stablecoin Payroll Adoption

Like every major shift in finance, stablecoins are moving from curiosity to credibility, and regulation is leading the way.

Across the world, governments are starting to recognize stablecoins not as threats but as tools for faster, safer digital payments. The European Union’s MiCA regulation, for instance, sets clear standards for how stablecoins should be issued and managed. In the U.S., the passage of the GENIUS Act has provided a critical framework for regulatory clarity.

Why does this matter? Because clear rules build trust. When both businesses and talents know that stablecoin transactions are regulated, transparent, and tax-compliant, adoption naturally grows.

We’re already seeing it happen. Global brands, fintech startups, and even nonprofits are quietly experimenting with stablecoin payroll for remote teams. In markets like Africa and LATAM where currency swings and high remittance fees are the norm, stablecoins have become a lifeline.

Still, the road to full adoption isn’t just about laws; it’s about education and usability. The next big leap will come from platforms that make crypto payroll feel as simple as clicking “Send.” The goal isn’t to make everyone “go crypto.” It’s to make global payments feel seamless, compliant, and easy.

In many ways, stablecoin payroll is following the same path as email once did. At first, only a few early adopters used it. Soon, it will be impossible to imagine finance without it.

As remote work continues to shape the next decade, borderless payments will be the foundation of how we collaborate. And for those who adopt early, the advantages will be undeniable: cost savings, efficiency, and access to a broader, more empowered workforce.

Stablecoins are not just changing how we pay, they’re redefining what it means to work globally and with this, platforms like Bloccpay are not just tools; they’re the infrastructure powering the global and borderless workforce of the future.

 automates global payroll and enables talents to earn, spend, and live globally; all powered by stablecoins.

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Here’s how stablecoin is making global work better for everyone.

How Stablecoins Are Changing Global Work

, we knew this wasn’t just about joining a program, it was about being seen. Being seen as African founders building something important for the world. 

Meet Jennifer and Ajoke, the founders of Bloccpay, a borderless payroll platform redefining how the world works and gets paid.

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Bloccpay makes it easy for global businesses to pay teams anywhere, instantly, in stablecoins, while empowering freelancers to get paid without borders and truly enjoy the value of their money, wherever they live.

But Bloccpay didn’t start as a grand idea; it began with frustration; the pain of experiencing talented people struggle to get paid for honest work, just because of where they live.

That’s why this milestone with Techstars feels so special. The Techstars Founder Catalyst is a ten-week virtual program for early-stage founders building chain-agnostic solutions or integrating with the Cardano blockchain; helping founders like us create solutions that promote interoperability, speed, efficiency, and better user experiences across Web3.

In 2021, Jennifer was working remotely with international clients, and every payday was a battle. Her earnings would bounce between wallets, exchanges, and banks, and somehow, she’d always end up losing money along the way.

“If I wanted to send money to my Nigerian account, I’d lose nearly half of it to conversion rates,” Jennifer recalls. “I’d have to send my salary to a friend abroad with a USD account, who would then convert it to stablecoins and send it to my exchange wallet. It was stressful and inefficient.”

“At that moment, I knew stablecoins would be a game changer,” she says. “I just wanted to invoice, get paid, and actually keep what I earned without jumping through hoops.”

From that realization, the first spark of Bloccpay was born, not entirely from ambition, but from a necessity.

That year, Jennifer shared her frustrations with Ajoke. Both had been navigating the global work ecosystem, and both knew firsthand how broken cross-border payments were.

Ajoke recalls that evening vividly. “What if we built something to fix this?”

They started small, talking to friends, other freelancers, and business owners. And what they discovered confirmed what they already suspected: everyone was struggling with the same thing.

Businesses were tired of manually managing payments to global teams in multiple currencies. Freelancers were tired of losing 10%+ of their income to fees and bad exchange rates.

There was a clear gap and they were determined to fill it and in 2022, we revisited the conversation and began ideation even though we were two countries apart. 

Instead of rushing to build, they started listening.

Jennifer spoke to founders, HR leaders, and finance heads of companies already experimenting with crypto payroll, like Nestcoin and Helicarrier. “Eighty to ninety percent of the people we spoke to said payroll was still a major pain, especially when teams were paid in different currencies or on different crypto networks,” Jennifer explains.

Those conversations helped shape what would become Bloccpay’s foundation; a simple, automated crypto payroll platform powered by stablecoins that helped businesses pay and manage global teams without friction.

It wasn’t just a product idea anymore; it was a clear, validated solution to a problem affecting thousands of businesses and talents across emerging markets.

Like most startups, Bloccpay’s journey hasn’t been a straight line.

There were moments of doubt, exhaustion, and heartbreak including losing a significant amount of money in 2023 to a scam, which nearly wiped out their savings but they kept building.

They bootstrapped, ran private beta tests, refined the product, and grew their customer base organically. Every milestone from the first successful transaction to their first testimonial was proof that they were solving something real.

In August 2025, they got an email from the Techstars team about a new 

, in partnership with Cardano, focused specifically on Web3 and blockchain startups.

They applied and were shortlisted among the top 30 out of hundreds of global startups. After pitching to the Techstars and Cardano team, they received the news that would change everything.

“It was September 25th, around 6:51 p.m.,” Ajoke recalls. “I was sitting in my car after work, completely exhausted. Then I opened the email ‘Congratulations.’ I screamed. It felt like validation, like someone finally saw us.”

“It wasn’t just validation. It felt like structure, like we were about to level up.”

The Techstars Experience & What This Means

Joining Techstars became a turning point for both the founders and the company.

“We’ve had mentors who’ve built and exited multiple startups, product experts who’ve helped us simplify the user experience, and even had the privilege of having a fireside chat with SEC Commissioner and leader of the SEC's Crypto Task Force, Hester M. Peirce,” Jennifer shares.

From refining their go-to-market strategy to developing pricing models and improving product architecture, the Bloccpay team immersed themselves in every lesson.

But more than that, Techstars brought humanity into the process.

“It’s not just work,” Ajoke adds. “It’s also emotional support. One week, I couldn’t go through with a pitch because I was grieving. The team paused everything to check in on me. They reminded me that behind every startup are humans first and that kind of empathy means the world.”

Through mentorship, structure, and a global network, Techstars gave Bloccpay not just validation but direction, clarity, and confidence.

For Jennifer and Ajoke, this milestone is deeply personal.

“It feels like we finally have a foot in the door and a seat at the table,” Ajoke says.

The validation from Techstars has opened new opportunities: investor interest, partnerships, and global visibility. But beyond that, it’s reinforced their belief in why they started Bloccpay in the first place, to make borderless work fairer and simpler for everyone.

“We’re not building another fintech product,” Jennifer reflects. “We’re building the infrastructure for the future of work"

“We’re proud to be African founders building something for the world,” Ajoke says. “Because the future of work is global, and it’s only fair that payments catch up.”

Checkout what we're building at 

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Bloccpay joins the 2025 Techstars + Cardano Founder Catalyst Program 

Building the Future of Global Work: Bloccpay’s Journey to Techstars

The concept of distributed teams has always been a thing but when the COVID-19 pandemic rolled around and lockdowns forced people into their homes, the adoption of this concept became accelerated. Today, “remote work” is a common term and many more people work for organizations in different time zones and continents than the one of their residence than ever before.  

For talents, professionals and creatives, the opportunity to work — whether as freelancers or as remote workers — provides exposure, connection and a chance to contribute to the global workforce. For organizations, this opportunity unlocks access to professionals working from different countries, all with their unique and different perspectives.  

This relationship, albeit generally beneficial, is not always rosy. One major challenge that global organizations and individuals face when it comes to working with distributed teams is processing and receiving payments. 

With the need for global talents arises the need for a cross-border payroll system that covers multiple regions (and their local currencies), is considerably affordable and can be highly automated to save the organization time and effort while ensuring their talents’ satisfaction.  


In Africa, for example, creators, freelancers and young professionals are constantly missing out on opportunities from organizations around the world because of non-existent or limited adequate and efficient means of receiving payment. In addition to this, there is also the ever-present threat of inflation and currency devaluation which renders their income useless as quickly as they get it. For this category of people, a system that ensures seamless payment despite their location and preserves the value of their income against inflation and devaluation is important. 

Facilitating payroll management & automation for organizations with global teams  

Providing creatives, freelancers and global talents with the platform to get paid &  

Helping them preserve the value of their hard-earned income leveraging stablecoins.  

More comprehensively, Bloccpay is a crypto-powered payroll system for global businesses and talents. We are how global businesses pay talents across multiple regions in minutes, and how those talents can receive their payment and preserve their income in stablecoins, giving them more flexibility to focus on their work.  

We understand that building a business is one tough piece of meat to chew, and our mission is to ensure that accessing global talents and paying them shouldn’t add to your headache.  

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The Payroll Problem That Couldn't Wait Until Morning

The Smartest Way To Get Paid as a Freelancer

How Stablecoins Are Changing Global Work

Building the Future of Global Work: Bloccpay’s Journey to Techstars

Introducing Bloccpay: The Crypto-Powered Payroll System

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The Payroll Problem That Couldn't Wait Until Morning

The Smartest Way To Get Paid as a Freelancer

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