Swyftx: A new wave of AI freelance work is coming, and stablecoin trading volume could surge to 262 billion.

Australian crypto exchange Swyftx’s Q2 report says that an AI-driven gig economy will create a $775 billion open freelance market by 2033, with about 33% potentially settling in stablecoin payments—amounting to $262 billion. High fees and slow settlement from traditional cross-border remittances are being replaced by Layer 2 stablecoin transfers, and freelance workers’ average annual transfer costs could be reduced by 86%.
(Background: Is the stablecoin payments era already here? CITIC, Taiwan Mobile, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and Wangdao Bank take the stage together—regulators open the front-runner race)
(Background add-on: US delivery platform DoorDash teams up with the payments public chain Tempo to explore using stablecoins for payroll and settlement)

Table of contents

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• AI-native workers: growth from 6 million to 17 million
• How do stablecoins save that 86%?
• Institutional angle: $1.3 billion in potential new revenue
• The “unbanked” problem for AI agents

Australian crypto exchange Swyftx, in its latest Q2 industry report, puts forward a bold estimate: as the AI-driven gig economy continues to expand, the global freelance market will reach $2.1 trillion by 2033, including $775 billion from AI-native workers, while payment volume of about $262 billion will be settled via stablecoins.

AI-native workers: growth from 6 million to 17 million

Swyftx Chief Market Analyst Pav Hundal points out that micro-businesses with the smallest headcount (fewer than 5 people) are currently the fastest group to adopt AI, and the trend of big enterprises adopting first is also giving rise to a new wave of independent entrepreneurs. These cross-border workers frequently issue invoices, yet the settlement amounts fall into the range that traditional banking systems are least equipped to handle.

At present, there are roughly 6 million to 10 million such freelancers worldwide, and over the next decade they are expected to grow to 17 million. Hundal said: “These independent entrepreneurs are highly sensitive to remittance and transaction fees, which is a huge potential market for stablecoins.”

How do stablecoins save that 86%?

Traditional cross-border payment channels come with high fees, settlement windows that can take several days, and exclusions for users in more than 50 countries. Based on real-case estimates, the Swyftx report suggests that transferring stablecoins via Ethereum Layer 2 networks can reduce fees by 80% to 90%, enabling the average freelancer to save about 86% of transfer fees each year.

For example, consider a remote worker earning $3,000 per month from gig work: with traditional remittances, they could lose $200–$300 in fees each year; after switching to stablecoins, the cost of the same transaction is compressed to within $20–$50. The proportion saved is even more significant for freelancers in low-wage markets.

Institutional angle: $1.3 billion in potential new revenue

Swyftx also estimates that the institutional infrastructure supporting this payment volume—including off-exchange liquidity, custody, and yield services—could generate $1.3 billion in new revenue by 2033. Assuming total transaction, liquidity, and custody costs of 0.5%, this revenue would be directly injected into the crypto infrastructure ecosystem.

The stablecoin market capitalization has doubled over the past two years, and June’s trading volume hit a new high of $1.79 billion, clearly demonstrating growth in demand for real payments. Hundal concludes: “Adoption doesn’t happen just because the technology exists—it happens when the economic benefits are compelling and the rules are clear. For stablecoins, both conditions are now in place.”

The “unbanked” problem for AI agents

Another potential driver is the AI agent payments narrative. AI agents don’t have bank accounts, so they are likely to use crypto assets for payments. This means that in the future, it won’t be only freelancers using stablecoins—their AI assistants will also become the stablecoin payment endpoint.