Rise Case Study: Walsh Wealth Group

Walsh Wealth Group is a crypto community and hub for information that exists on Discord where members pay a subscription fee to be part of a conversation around crypto with John Walsh (CryptoGodJohn). The company has approximately twenty-five moderators on payroll any given month - five domestic team members and twenty international moderators who work as independent contractors spanning the globe from India to Norway to Pakistan and Spain. Prior to Rise, Grace Blackler, the Director of Human Resources and Operations, onboarded Walsh Wealth Group's payroll and compliance with a platform that issued payroll exclusively in fiat currency. Payments were issued in USD and contractors were paid by direct deposit in the fiat currency of their respective countries. Due to the complicated legal issues that can arise with crypto payments, especially internationally, Grace took great pains to ensure that their payroll ran zero risk of noncompliance. However, without prior warning, the payroll platform asked Grace to provide all of the company's bank statements. Despite operations being completely legal and with zero suspicious activity, due to the fact that they are a company that provides information on crypto, their account had been flagged and was under investigation. This resulted in the complete suspension of payroll. On the day that all team members were expected to receive their direct deposits, not only was no one paid, but the system incorrectly stated that all payments had properly been issued. By the time that Grace was alerted to the fact that no one was paid, it was a Sunday morning.

As Grace hurried to find an immediate solution to the immense challenge confronting her, Rise stood out as the singular viable option due to its rapid and efficient onboarding and its crypto-friendly infrastructure. It was critical for Grace to send out payments as soon as possible, and with Rise, that proved achievable. Grace contacted Rise Sunday morning, and by Sunday afternoon had completely set up Walsh Wealth Group's account. That Sunday, Grace onboarded all of Walsh Wealth Group's payroll and compliance in the span of a couple hours. This was by far the fastest option available and allowed for team members to receive their overdue payments much sooner than Grace had expected. For Walsh Wealth Group, which is dedicated to sharing knowledge about crypto, it was a sticking point to not be able to give their contractors the option to receive compensation in crypto. While in the past threat of legal repercussions had prevented crypto payments, with Rise, this issue was resolved. Rise's compliance team includes someone who used to work for the IRS, providing confidence that US-based companies can be compliant and legal with crypto payments. The flexible routing options that Rise offers allow for Walsh Wealth Group to fund their payroll in USD while giving contractors the option to receive payouts in crypto. Independent contractors can now choose from over 90 fiat currencies and 100 cryptocurrencies for their payouts. In addition to crypto payouts, contractors were eager about the ability to withdraw payment to the wallet of their choice.

Through onboarding with Rise, Walsh Wealth Group was able to realise their ideal payroll. What had at first seemed impossible due to fears of noncompliance became a seamless and scalable reality. The speed at which Grace was able to onboard payroll and compliance was proof of the elevated efficiency that Rise's systems provided Walsh Wealth Group's payroll processes. For all teams involved in Walsh Wealth Group's operations, Rise has had a beneficial impact. In a hiring market where attracting talent mandates competitive benefits, flexible payment options are at the top of the list. Walsh Wealth Group can further enhance their employee attraction and retention with the heightened levels of satisfaction that the Rise payroll system has generated. Team members now have the option to take their monthly payments out in crypto, as well as many different wallets to choose from.