Cryptocurrency has been gaining traction with a few world governments, and many places these days accept it as a legitimate currency for processing day-to-day transactions. It was only a matter of time before online gigs started making payments in cryptocurrency.

Blockchain’s decentralized technology makes it easier to organize, manage, and pay freelancers with the help of digital work contracts. Although the gig economy has yet to switch to cryptocurrency payments significantly, a few legitimate freelance gig portals online are driving this adoption. Here’s a look at some of these portals and how they operate.

1. LaborX

Founded by Australian blockchain firm Chrono.tech, LaborX is a global online marketplace that hosts freelance jobs, short-term gigs, and permanent job openings that offer payment in cryptocurrency. Built on the Ethereum blockchain, clients and freelancers can get into smart contracts agreements to ensure smooth payment and work protection.

You need to sign up with an email, either as a freelancer or an employer. Using the platform is free, with a standard commission fee of 5% per gig for freelancers and 1% per gig for customers. Gigs are sorted into categories like Admin, Legal, Translation, etc.

Premium membership offers a lot of perks, but it isn’t as straightforward as swiping a card. You need to lock TIME tokens in the TimeWarp smart contracts. This requires you to visit Pools, choose your underlying blockchain, etc. The idea is to increase crypto adoption, provide a channel for freelancers to work online safely, and drive up Chrono.tech usage.

2. Ethlance

This portal is built on the Ethereum blockchain, with source files located on the fast and safe decentralized InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). Payments are made in Ether. It’s part of the district0x network that supports decentralized apps (DApps) free of charge.

Ethlance doesn’t charge a commission and is free for freelancers and customers. You can post unlimited gigs, apply to numerous jobs, and create multiple profiles based on different categories. However, you’ll be paying the Ethereum gas fees—a few cents, every time you make changes to the Ethlance database. Learn how to reduce Ethereum gas fees to save a few coins.

Ethlance doesn’t provide escrow protection or dispute resolution in case of non-delivery or non-payment.

You’ll need to install the MetaMask Chrome extension, which acts as the gateway to accessing this DApp and making changes to the network. You’ll also need to be registered with one of the cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide to get paid.

3. CoinGigs

CoinGigs functions as a regular freelance gigs portal requiring users to signup, post jobs, search and apply to gigs, and create freelancer profiles. It also offers escrow protection to users to ensure secure transfer of work and money. The only difference is that freelancers get paid in Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash, providing borderless payment transactions.

Originally designed to help workers from Venezuela make money online, known as Venezuela Workers, it was opened to a worldwide audience in early 2021. It’s the most straightforward way of earning Bitcoin online and requires no knowledge of blockchain or cryptocurrency besides being signed up with a coin exchange portal.

The portal is free to use and charges an 8% commission per gig. You can find gigs under diverse categories like Lifestyle, Music and Audio, Video and Animation, etc., besides the regular Programming and Tech, and Writing and Translation jobs.

4. Purse.io

Purse is an online shopping and discount savings portal that works in conjunction with Amazon. It’s a niche shopping gigs portal that helps you earn money by finding deep discount deals on Amazon. It brings together Amazon gift card collectors or crypto earners and shoppers looking to save on their purchases.

You need to buy orders on Amazon using your gift cards in exchange for some Bitcoin or Bitcoin cash. Amazon customers with cryptocurrency to spare place an order on Amazon with a custom discount price. These orders are updated on the Purse portal. The earners on Purse can pick up one of these orders and pay them with their gift cards.

Purse will track this transaction until order delivery and credit the payer with an equivalent amount of Bitcoin or Bitcoin cash. You can be both the shopper and the user fulfilling the Amazon orders to earn some easy Bitcoins.

5. CryptoGigs

Cryptogigs is a simple portal that lists all job offers and services posts on the same page. You need to sign up with the portal to send messages to other users. It doesn’t restrict you to any single cryptocurrency as you can earn in the top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and more.

The platform is still in its nascent stages, and there’s nothing much to it beyond creating your job or service offer, publishing it on the website, and chatting with potential clients or freelancers. Besides bringing together the two parties, it doesn’t offer much in terms of payment protection, dispute resolution, or secure transactions.

You are responsible for making sure you get paid, as payments aren’t processed on the platform. It’s looking to develop wallet services, but doesn't offer any at the moment.

6. Coinbase Earn

Formerly known as Earn, this is another niche freelance cryptocurrency earning portal. It allows users to earn different crypto coins based on their learning curve.

You need to watch videos and tutorials about various cryptocurrencies and how they work, then take quizzes that test your knowledge. The more you learn, the more you earn. Your Coinbase wallet gets credited with a small amount of the cryptocurrency you’ve learned about based on your quiz score.

Unlike other portals, there are a limited number of opportunities to earn cryptocurrency via Coinbase Earn. You can only take each quiz once, and the payment varies for different coins. You need to know how to use Coinbase and maintain a wallet to get paid.

All Aboard the Crypto Train

As the gig economy expands, digital smart contracts will be the way to go for secure payments and borderless transactions. If you still aren’t convinced to dip your toes in the crypto gravy, you can start by learning more about blockchain technology and how it works.