How to Switch From Bitwage to Rise: Steps, Timeline and What Changes for Workers

Corporate stablecoin use has doubled in a year, according to EY-Parthenon’s October 2026 blockchain payments survey of 521 executives, rising from 9% of corporates in 2025 to 18% with stablecoins live in production.

As stablecoins move from pilot to payroll infrastructure, finance teams that adopted Bitwage for crypto salary allocations are reassessing whether a payments layer is enough.

Rise, which has processed $1.5B+ in lifetime payroll volume across 190+ countries, gives those teams a single platform for employment, contractor management, and hybrid fiat and stablecoin payroll.

The same EY survey found that 76% of corporates view integration with their existing ERP, treasury, and banking systems as very important or critical to scaling. That finding explains much of the movement away from point solutions, since a payroll stack split between a crypto payout tool and a separate payroll provider creates reconciliation work every cycle.

This guide covers how to plan the switch from Bitwage to Rise, the steps in order, a realistic week-by-week timeline, and exactly what changes for the contractors and employees you pay.

Key Takeaways

• Switching from Bitwage to Rise consolidates employment, contractors, and crypto payouts in one platform.

• Most contractor migrations to Rise fit within a 30-day, parallel-run timeline.

• Rise charges $2.50 per stablecoin or crypto payout, regardless of payment size.

• Rise EOR adds compliant full-time employment, which Bitwage does not offer.

• Workers onboard once with Rise ID and choose fiat or stablecoin withdrawals.

Why Finance Teams Are Moving Payroll From Bitwage to Rise

Bitwage has operated in crypto payroll since 2014 and remains a solid option for teams that want crypto salary allocations alongside an existing payroll provider. Its employee model works with providers such as ADP, Gusto, and TriNet, while contractor payments run through invoices or company-created payment runs. For W-2 crypto allocations, the existing provider handles tax withholding, and Bitwage states that it does not perform tax deductions itself.

Rise takes a different architectural approach, with crypto payroll built natively into the platform rather than layered on top of another provider. The core differences finance leads typically evaluate are:

• Product scope: Rise covers Global Contractor Pay, Agent of Record, Employer of Record, and US Direct Payroll in one account

• Funding flexibility: employers fund in USD by bank transfer, USDC, or USDT

• Chain coverage: Rise’s directory lists 10 chains, including Arbitrum, Ethereum, Optimism, Polygon, Solana, Tron, and TON

• Wallet integrations: MetaMask, Coinbase, Safe, MEW, and Torus

• Accounting sync: QuickBooks, Xero, Rillet, and Campfire

How Fee Structures Differ

Fee scope is where the two platforms diverge most for workers. On Bitwage’s Personal Standard plan, stablecoin payouts carry a 2% fee, plus $15 for Ethereum-based stablecoin deposits, while Bitwage’s Business Premium plan costs $7.99 per recipient per month with a $15.99 minimum.

Rise’s transaction pricing is flat for on-chain payouts and transparent for fiat:

• Stablecoins and crypto: $2.50 per payout

• Fiat withdrawals: $10 plus a 1-2% FX fee

• Platform pricing: $49 per contractor per month for Global Contractor Pay, $299 for Agent of Record, and $399 per employee per month for EOR

For a team paying 25 contractors $6,000 a month each in USDC, a 2% stablecoin fee equals $3,000 in monthly payout costs across the team, compared with $62.50 on Rise’s flat $2.50 rate. That gap compounds every pay cycle, which is why payout economics often trigger the migration conversation.

What to Prepare Before You Switch

A clean migration starts with an inventory, not with account setup. Finance teams that skip this step usually discover misclassified workers or missing payment preferences during the first live cycle, when fixing them is most expensive.

Map Every Worker to the Right Rise Product

Rise products map to the type of seat a worker occupies, not to the currency they want. Before migration, classify each person on your Bitwage roster into one of four tracks:

• Global Contractor Pay ($49/month): scoped independent contractors you pay directly

• Agent of Record ($299/month): contractors where you want Rise in the contract as the legal agent, carrying classification and compliance ownership

• Employer of Record ($399/month): full-time workers abroad who should be employees, not contractors

• Direct Payroll: US W-2 employees, priced at the greater of a $49 monthly minimum or $19 per employee per month, with federal, state, and local payroll taxes handled

For example, a Web3 protocol paying a long-tenured, full-time engineer in Canada as a Bitwage contractor carries misclassification exposure, and that seat belongs on Rise EOR rather than on a contractor track.

Export Your Bitwage Records

Pull a complete payment history before you change anything, because you will need it for year-end reconciliation and tax reporting. At minimum, export:

• Worker names, contact details, and current payment allocations (fiat, stablecoin, or split)

• Twelve months of payment history, invoices, and payroll run records

• Receiving wallet addresses and networks for each crypto recipient

• Any recurring payroll schedules and their funding cadence

Treat this export as the source of truth for your parallel run, since every Rise payment in the first cycle should match a corresponding Bitwage record.

How to Switch From Bitwage to Rise: Step by Step

The migration follows six steps, and the order matters because worker onboarding depends on your account and funding being ready first.

1. Open Your Rise Business Account and Complete KYB

Sign up at Riseworks.io with your company details and complete KYB verification. Rise is SOC 2 Type II certified and registered with FinCEN as a Money Service Business, so expect standard documentation requests for entity formation, beneficial ownership, and authorized signers.

2. Configure Your Funding Rails

Decide how treasury will fund payroll. Rise accepts USD bank transfers, USDC, and USDT, and the Rise stablecoin payroll infrastructure runs primarily on USDC on Arbitrum, supported by Rise’s official partnership with Circle. Crypto-native teams can fund directly from a Safe multisig, which keeps treasury approval workflows intact.

3. Invite Workers and Issue Rise IDs

Each worker receives an invitation to create a Rise ID, a reusable professional identity with KYC and AML checks built into onboarding. Send invitations early in the process, since worker verification is the step most likely to stretch your timeline.

4. Rebuild Contracts and Payment Schedules

Recreate recurring payments, one-time payments, and milestone payments in Rise. Contractors moving to Agent of Record or employees moving to EOR receive new agreements generated through the platform, so confirm start dates align with the final Bitwage cycle.

5. Run a Parallel Pay Cycle

Run one cycle on Rise while Bitwage remains available as a fallback. Reconcile every payment against your Bitwage export, and confirm workers received funds in their chosen currency and network.

6. Cut Over and Close Bitwage Funding

Once the parallel cycle reconciles cleanly, stop funding Bitwage runs and notify workers of the final Bitwage payment date. Keep your Bitwage account accessible for records until year-end tax documents are issued.

A disciplined six-step sequence turns the switch into an operational change rather than a payroll risk, and it gives finance a documented audit trail throughout.

Switching Timeline: What to Expect Week by Week

Most contractor-only migrations fit within a 30-day window when worker onboarding starts early. The schedule below assumes a monthly pay cycle and a roster of under 100 workers.

Week 1: Inventory and Account Setup

Export Bitwage records, classify every worker, and complete Rise KYB. Treasury confirms which funding rails it will use and tests a small deposit.

Week 2: Worker Onboarding

Send Rise ID invitations to all workers and track completion daily. Workers add their withdrawal preferences, including bank accounts and wallet addresses.

Week 3: Contracts and Parallel Run

Issue new agreements for AOR and EOR seats, rebuild payment schedules, and run the first Rise cycle alongside Bitwage. Reconcile every line before approving cutover.

Week 4: Cutover

Stop Bitwage funding, communicate the final Bitwage payment date, and move all recurring payroll to Rise. Archive your Bitwage export for year-end reporting.

EOR conversions run on their own clock, because moving a contractor into compliant local employment involves new contracts, benefits enrollment, and local payroll registration. Plan these seats separately and stagger start dates rather than holding the full migration for them.

Moving Full-Time Workers Into Rise’s Employer of Record

Bitwage focuses on payments and does not offer EOR services, so any team that has been paying full-time international staff as contractors through Bitwage has an opportunity to fix classification during the switch.

Rise’s Employer of Record makes Rise the legal employer, handling employment agreements, local taxes, benefits, and compliance without requiring you to open a local entity.

Rise operates owned EOR entities in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Cyprus, New Zealand, and South Africa. Converting a contractor to an EOR employee typically involves:

• Calculating total employer cost, including statutory contributions and benefits

• Issuing a compliant local employment agreement through Rise

• Enrolling the employee in benefits and local payroll

• Configuring how the employee receives salary, in fiat, USDC, or a hybrid split

Before converting any seat, model the full cost with the Rise Employee Cost Calculator, which estimates employer contributions and total cost by country so finance can budget each conversion accurately.

For example, a Canadian product manager paid $8,000 a month as a contractor will carry additional statutory employer costs once employed, and the calculator surfaces that figure before the offer goes out.

EOR at $399 per employee per month replaces the misclassification exposure of long-term contractor arrangements with a compliant employment relationship, while keeping stablecoin salary options available to the employee.

What Changes for Workers After the Switch

Workers experience the migration as a new onboarding flow, a broader set of withdrawal options, and lower per-payout costs. Communicating these changes clearly before cutover keeps support requests low during the first cycle.

Onboarding Once With Rise ID

Workers complete identity verification a single time through Rise ID, which ties their compliance status, contracts, and payment history to one reusable profile. If they later work with another company that pays through Rise, their verified identity carries over.

Withdrawal Choice Independent of Funding

On Rise, how the employer funds payroll does not dictate how workers get paid. A company can fund in USD while a contractor withdraws in USDT on Tron, or fund in USDC while an employee withdraws local currency to a bank account. Workers can choose from:

• 90+ fiat currencies to local bank accounts

• 100+ crypto assets, including USDC and USDT

• Split allocations between fiat and stablecoins

• Withdrawals across supported networks such as Arbitrum, Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana

More than half of worker withdrawals on Rise are already in stablecoins, which reflects how strongly global contractors prefer dollar-denominated digital pay.

Lower Per-Payout Costs

The fee change is the most visible difference for crypto-paid workers. A contractor earning $6,000 a month in USDC on Bitwage’s Personal Standard plan pays a 2% stablecoin fee of $120, plus $15 for an Ethereum-based deposit, while the same payout on Rise costs $2.50. Over 12 months, that is $1,620 compared with $30.

Workers who prefer local currency pay $10 plus a 1-2% FX fee on Rise, so a $6,000 fiat withdrawal costs between $70 and $130 depending on the corridor.

Yield on Idle USDC With Rise Earn

Workers and companies can allocate USDC balances to Rise Earn, which generates yield through Aave’s USDC lending pools on Arbitrum. Rise charges a 1% commission on interest earned, applied only at withdrawal, with no deposit or holding fees. Yield varies and is not guaranteed.

Employment Protections for EOR Hires

Workers moved onto Rise EOR gain formal employment status, including local statutory protections and benefits, rather than remaining long-term contractors. For many international staff, this is the most significant change of the entire switch.

Common Migration Mistakes to Avoid

Most failed payroll migrations trace back to a handful of preventable errors. The ones that matter most when leaving Bitwage are:

• Cutting over without a parallel cycle: a single unreconciled payment can delay pay for an entire team

• Copying wallet addresses without confirming networks: a USDT address on Tron is not interchangeable with one on Ethereum

• Migrating misclassified contractors as contractors: the switch is the cheapest moment to move full-time workers onto EOR

• Starting worker onboarding late: KYC completion is the most common cause of timeline slippage

• Closing Bitwage before year-end documents are issued: keep access until tax records are finalized

For example, a DAO that sends Rise ID invitations in week one and runs a parallel cycle in week three can typically cut over without a single missed payment, while one that compresses everything into the final week risks a delayed payroll run.

Avoiding these five errors keeps the migration invisible to workers, which is the clearest sign it was executed well.

Conclusion

Corporate stablecoin adoption doubling in a single year signals that crypto payroll has become core finance infrastructure, and teams running Bitwage alongside a separate payroll provider are feeling the cost of that split stack.

Switching from Bitwage to Rise follows a clear sequence of inventory, KYB, funding setup, worker onboarding, a parallel run, and cutover, and most contractor migrations complete within 30 days.

For workers, the switch brings single onboarding through Rise ID, withdrawals in 90+ fiat currencies and 100+ crypto assets, a flat $2.50 stablecoin payout fee, and access to compliant employment through Rise EOR.

Book a demo to plan your Bitwage-to-Rise migration timeline and model your team’s payout savings with a Rise specialist.

FAQs:

1. How long does it take to switch from Bitwage to Rise?

Switching from Bitwage to Rise typically takes about 30 days for contractor-only teams, including a full parallel pay cycle. Worker KYC completion is the main variable, so sending Rise ID invitations in the first week keeps the schedule on track. EOR conversions run on a separate timeline because they involve new employment contracts and benefits enrollment.

2. Can Rise pay my workers in the same stablecoins they receive on Bitwage?

Rise can pay workers in USDC and USDT, along with 100+ other crypto assets, across networks including Arbitrum, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Tron. Workers set their own withdrawal preferences, and those preferences are independent of how your company funds payroll. Confirm each worker’s network during onboarding to avoid address mismatches.

3. How do Rise’s fees compare for workers paid in stablecoins?

Rise’s fees for stablecoin and crypto payouts are a flat $2.50 per payout, regardless of payment size. On Bitwage’s Personal Standard plan, stablecoin payouts carry a 2% fee plus $15 for Ethereum-based deposits, so a $6,000 USDC payout costs $135 compared with $2.50 on Rise. Fiat withdrawals on Rise cost $10 plus a 1-2% FX fee.

4. Can Rise employ my full-time international workers, not just pay them?

Rise can employ full-time international workers through its Employer of Record service at $399 per employee per month. Rise becomes the legal employer and handles contracts, local taxes, benefits, and compliance, with owned entities in markets including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. EOR employees can still receive salary in fiat, USDC, or a hybrid split.

5. Do I need to close my Bitwage account immediately after switching to Rise?

You do not need to close your Bitwage account immediately after switching to Rise. Stop funding Bitwage payroll runs after your parallel cycle reconciles, but keep the account accessible until year-end tax documents are issued. Your exported payment history should serve as the reconciliation record for the transition period.