When you think about bloggers or influencers, you might immediately imagine a successful young person from Los Angeles. The numbers in reality show something very different. In the Global South, young people are increasingly choosing content creation and digital freelancing over traditional careers. The most dynamic growth in the creator economy is happening, surprisingly, in Lagos, Jakarta, São Paulo and Mumbai, or Africa. In fact, the latter’s creator economy alone was valued at $5 billion in early 2025, with a projected jump toward $30 billion by 2032.
4 Ways Blockchain Supports the Creator Economy
- Blockchain is more accessible than other payment platforms that may be excluded in some countries.
- Blockchain allows creators to bypass legacy financial barriers.
- Stablecoins provide a less volatile currency than crypto.
- Blockchain can be integrated into fintech platforms to provide greater financial access and control.
What drives this shift? Armed with their smartphones, creators from developing countries are building a way to their financial independence. They are creating the new strata of digital workers. But global reach means nothing without a way to get paid. And not only for creators from the South, but from all over the world.
Driving this change is blockchain.
How Blockchain Solves a Financial Problem
Being more specific, imagine a blogger from Nairobi who has published an ad from a French advertiser. How should they get paid? Even in one country, legacy banks can be very slow and demand weeks for processing a transaction. Especially if we are talking about big figures, not to mention international payments. What rubs salt in the wounds of creators is that regulatory bodies also do not sleep. As many of them consider creators a matter of high risk due to their unpredictable returns, they carefully monitor their transactions. If anyone finds these payments suspicious and cancels or freezes them, the creator's job can be done for nothing.
But what if they also can't access global platforms like PayPal or Stripe? It’s not unusual in some countries, where these systems simply don’t work. Or even if they are present, how the exchange rate is calculated is subject to huge volatility, intrinsic to those currencies from developing countries. All these questions are acute problems for creators in a basic right: getting paid for their work.
To put it simply, the traditional global financial system wasn’t built for a 22-year-old influencer trying to get paid for the videos. But blockchain was.
How Blockchain Can Serve as Infrastructure
In this case, the technology is not about hype, but an infrastructure to rely on. Especially for creators from the Global South, it becomes a way to receive money they worked for, that can also be hassle-free, beyond the buzz.
However, blockchain transfers do not only mean transfers in volatile cryptocurrencies; consider stablecoins, for example. These digital currencies, run on blockchain, could be a great help for creators, as they are stable and pegged to fiat currencies like the dollar. Even if they stay in the account, their worth will also not change and will not devalue the work of the creator.
Blockchain also allows low-cost payments, as international transfers through traditional banks are usually expensive, with high fees. But among cryptocurrencies, creators can find a convenient blockchain, so for some, the commission can be 0 percent or almost zero. Other than that, the transactions are instant — the funds are transferred within seconds or even less, which is much more appealing than the days or weeks it can take with traditional banks.
With blockchain-based currencies, creators do not have to worry about issues with opening accounts. All creators need is a smartphone with a connection, which is a great benefit for those working in remote areas, where banks simply do not operate, expanding financial access to creators who have historically been excluded from the system altogether.
Blockchain also solves the problem of having scattered income. Crypto wallets can act as creator bank accounts. Whether it’s a sponsored post or a freelance gig, digital wallets allow creators to send, receive, and store money directly and in one aggregated place. From there, the creator can decide how to deal with the income. Should the funds stay in crypto or be converted to local currency through peer-to-peer exchanges? Or used to pay for services online? It’s all on the owner, who receives the freedom of action thanks to the blockchain.
How Blockchain Can Integrate With Fintech
As blockchain increasingly enters everyday life, fintech companies must keep pace. All the news and trends show that this technology is becoming an integral part of the financial ecosystem. Fintechs have already built the tools people use to send and receive money. Why not go one step further and make blockchain more handy?
We can already see some companies integrating blockchain to provide better money management tools, consolidating scattered payments and converting crypto to local currency. By doing this, they can even make a budget for future expenses, helping creators to take control of their financial lives in ways traditional banks never could.
And here’s the thing — put all of this in one platform, and people will show up. One smooth and user-friendly app could solve all the creators' financial problems. That’s the real promise of embedded finance, in which everything creators need is in one place, with no middlemen. Fintechs that understand this are leading the way now, attracting more and more customers.
Even in a non-related field like social media, blockchain becomes important. A recent announcement that X will introduce trading is clear evidence. And this is just the beginning on the way to becoming a superapp.
This also calls for a mindset shift. Blockchain should not be seen as an industry on its own: it’s an infrastructure, a utility layer. One that allows millions of unbanked people in developing countries, including creators, to earn a living from their talent without waiting for traditional banks to adapt to their needs.
