AI microbusinesses could drive $262B stablecoin volume

Australian crypto exchange Swyftx projects that AI-enabled microbusinesses could settle about $262 billion in payments using stablecoins by 2033. The estimate appears in the exchange’s second-quarter industry report.

The report estimates the global gig and freelance payments market could reach $2.1 trillion by 2033, with AI-native workers accounting for $775 billion. Swyftx’s base-case model applies an assumed 33% stablecoin adoption rate to the AI-native cohort to derive the $262 billion figure.

Swyftx says the fastest uptake of AI tools is occurring among very small firms with fewer than five employees. The exchange describes a growing class of solo entrepreneurs who work across borders, invoice frequently and make payments in amounts that traditional payment systems were not designed to handle. The report estimates 6 to 10 million of these microbusinesses exist today and projects growth to about 17 million by 2033.

The report highlights fee sensitivity among these workers. Traditional cross-border payments often carry high fees, can take several days to settle and exclude users in more than 50 countries, the report states. Swyftx adds that stablecoin transfers on Ethereum layer-2 networks can reduce fees by 80%–90% and, in the company’s example, cut annual transfer costs for a typical freelancer by roughly 86%.

Swyftx notes stablecoin market value has roughly doubled over two years and transaction volume reached $1.79 trillion in June.

The report outlines potential downstream business from such payment flows. Platforms providing over-the-counter liquidity, custody and yield services for routing stablecoin payments could capture new revenue. Swyftx estimates institutional settlement services might generate up to $1.3 billion in revenue by 2033, based on combined transaction, liquidity and custody costs averaging 0.5%.

The analysis also flags autonomous, or agentic, AI as a possible additional source of crypto payments, since such agents would not hold bank accounts and might use crypto assets to make and receive payments.

Pav Hundal, lead market analyst at Swyftx, commented: “Adoption depends on both economics and clear rules. For stablecoins, both of those conditions are now falling into place.”

Swyftx frames the projections as a scenario based on current AI adoption trends and the evolving stablecoin ecosystem; the figures are conditional on actual adoption rates and regulatory clarity.