Digital money and the gig economy (Part 2)

Part 1 of ‘Digital money and the gig economy’ looked at how the gig economy is growing, fuelled by the rise of digital platforms such as Uber, Upwork and Fiverr. This shift in the labour market has created both opportunities and challenges for workers and employers alike. The focus in Part 2 is on how digital money has emerged as a potentially transformative force in the gig economy. Offering new ways to conduct transactions, manage payments and create decentralised work platforms, cryptocurrency is reshaping how freelancers and companies interact globally. Indeed, Uber has recently announced that it will be accepting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a form of payment. And, whilst global gig platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr do not accept digital currencies, they both accept PayPal so, in theory, at least customers could use PayPal’s stablecoin (PYUSD).

One of the most significant impacts of digital money on the gig economy is the facilitation of global payments. Freelancers oft…