Rise

1. Remote Contractor Onboarding & Automated W-8BEN Tax Compliance: Eligibility & Verification

1.1 The Premier Compliance & Hybrid Payroll Settlement Infrastructure (Rise Works)

In an era of decentralized collaboration, global remote employment, and proprietary trading firm payouts (Prop Firm profit splitting), cross-border contractor compensation has long faced a dual friction: traditional international SWIFT wire transfers incur expensive intermediary bank deductions and multi-day manual compliance delays, while informal private peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transfers lack legally binding labour contracts and auditable tax records, triggering anti-money laundering (AML) account freezes.

Headquartered in Ohio, USA, Rise (official domain riseworks.io, also known as Rise Works) was engineered as the preeminent compliance clearinghouse connecting global Web3 enterprises, DAOs, quantitative hedge funds, and proprietary trading institutions with international independent contractors:

• Hybrid Payroll Architecture: Rise seamlessly merges statutory fiat employment compliance with on-chain smart contract settlement. Employers can fund payroll via fiat bank wire or on-chain stablecoins (USDC/USDT), while contractors across the globe can freely allocate their payouts between domestic fiat bank accounts and non-custodial crypto wallets according to local tax and liquidity preferences;
• Streamlined Global Contractor Onboarding: Supports individual independent contractors worldwide, allowing registration using an international passport or national identity card without requiring an overseas corporate structure.

1.2 Automated W-8BEN Generation & Contractor Contracting Workflow

For non-US resident contractors receiving USD compensation from American entities, US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) compliance is a fundamental requirement:

• Integrated W-8BEN Digital Execution:
  • During digital onboarding, the system automatically guides non-US contractors through the digital completion of IRS Form W-8BEN (Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting);
  • This document formally certifies foreign tax status, legally exempting the contractor from up to 30% US non-resident withholding tax on technical and consulting services;
• Vetting Timelines & Contract Generation:
  • Automated identity checks and biometric liveness verification complete compliance review within 24 to 48 hours;
  • Employers and contractors execute a standardized digital Independent Contractor Agreement inside the platform, establishing a binding, legally recognized professional services relationship.

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2. Capital Security and Hybrid Settlement Architecture: Bank Trust Segregation vs Smart Contract Audits

2.1 Fiat Capital Trust Segregation

Rise protects fiat balances through institutional-grade custodial safeguards:

• Dedicated Client Trust Accounts: Fiat payroll reserves deposited by employers are held in segregated client trust accounts at FDIC-insured US partner commercial banks;
• Corporate Balance Sheet Insulation: Trust assets are legally ring-fenced from the operating capital of Rise Works Inc. In any theoretical insolvency scenario, client funds remain outside the bankruptcy estate, protected from general creditor claims.

2.2 On-Chain Smart Contract Verification & The "Three Legal Proofs"

• Audited On-Chain Smart Contracts:
  • The Rise Protocol smart contracts are deployed across Ethereum, Arbitrum One, and Polygon, having undergone audits by reputable blockchain security firms (such as Halborn) to eliminate reentrancy and unauthorized privilege escalation risks;
• The Bulletproof "Three Legal Proofs" Audit Trail:
  • For every disbursement, Rise generates an immutable evidentiary package:
    1. Independent Contractor Agreement: Legally defining scope of service, deliverables, and compensation terms;
    2. Commercial Invoice: An auditable invoice bearing a unique invoice ID, corporate identities, itemized deliverables, and payment dates;
    3. Payment Receipt / Transaction Hash: Providing official bank clearing references or immutable on-chain transaction hashes (TxHash);
  • When transferring funds to offshore banking destinations (Wise, iFAST, ZA Bank), contractors can export this documentation to satisfy Source of Funds (SOF) inquiries without friction.

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3. Dual Fiat and Stablecoin Clearing Economics: 1:1 Parity Conversion vs Layer-2 Gas Efficiency

3.1 Flexible Hybrid Payout Allocation

Rise provides contractors with complete discretion over payout composition:

• Custom Percentage Split:
  • Regardless of whether an employer funds payroll via fiat wire or on-chain stablecoins, contractors can define custom allocation percentages in their dashboard;
  • For example, a contractor can configure 70% to settle in USDC to a hardware cold wallet for decentralized liquidity, and 30% to transfer via domestic fiat wire to an offshore bank account to cover daily living expenses;
• 1:1 Parity Conversion:
  • Transfers between fiat USD and fully backed stablecoins (USDC) execute at 1:1 parity with zero markup spread, bypassing traditional banking currency conversion costs.

3.2 Low-Cost Network Withdrawals & Global Local Banking Reach

• Layer-2 Gas Efficiency:
  • Contractors withdrawing stablecoins can route transfers via Arbitrum One, Polygon, or Ethereum mainnet. On Layer-2 networks, transaction fees reflect raw network gas (typically cents to $0.20), without predatory platform markups;
• Local Bank Clearing in 190+ Countries:
  • Direct local clearing payouts into bank accounts across 190+ countries in over 100 local fiat currencies (utilizing domestic rails like SEPA, UK Faster Payments, and US ACH), eliminating expensive SWIFT intermediary deductions.

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4. Compliance Guidelines and Account Protection: Genuine Contracts, AML Vetting, and Sanctions Screening

4.1 Prohibition of Sham Transactions and Unauthorized Money Transmission

Rise maintains banking connectivity by enforcing strict Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls:

1. Bona Fide Employer-Contractor Relationship Required:
   • Rise is exclusively an institutional payroll and contractor settlement tool. Unverified personal peer-to-peer transfers, invoice manipulation, or pass-through money transmission are strictly prohibited;
   • Creating reciprocal dummy accounts to simulate employment invoices triggers permanent account termination and compliance blacklisting;
2. Prohibited Business Categories:
   • Excludes activities involving unlicensed gambling, predatory lending, or sanctioned regions.

4.2 On-Chain Wallet Screening & Sanctions Compliance (Tornado Cash Blacklisting)

• Automated Wallet Auditing:
  • Integrates automated on-chain risk screening tools (TRM Labs and Chainalysis) to audit wallet transaction graphs;
• Zero Tolerance for Sanctioned Mixers:
  • Receiving addresses linked directly or indirectly to Tornado Cash, Blender.io, or OFAC-sanctioned entities are automatically rejected;
  • Operational Recommendation: Maintain a dedicated, clean hardware cold wallet (Ledger, OneKey, Trezor) reserved exclusively for compliant payroll disbursements.

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5. End-to-End Contractor Workflow: Invoicing, Employer Funding, and Offshore Bank/Wallet Off-Ramping

5.1 Standard Contractor Operating Procedure

1. Onboarding via Invitation:
   • Receive an official invitation link from an employer, DAO, or prop trading firm;
   • Complete identity verification (KYC) and digitally execute the W-8BEN tax form and contractor agreement;
2. Invoice Generation:
   • Navigate to Invoices in the contractor portal, select Create Invoice, link the client, detail deliverables (e.g. "Software Engineering Services" or "Prop Trading Performance Allocation"), and set the settlement amount;
3. Employer Approval & Instant Balance Credit:
   • The employer approves and funds the invoice, instantly crediting the contractor's available balance.

5.2 Capital Off-Ramping and Asset Allocation

• Path A (Self-Custody & Web3 Liquidity):
  • Select Crypto Withdrawal via Arbitrum One, enter a clean non-custodial wallet address, and receive USDC in 1 to 3 minutes for decentralized finance participation;
• Path B (Offshore Banking & Securities Allocation):
  • Select Bank Transfer, input coordinates for a personal Wise, iFAST Global Bank, or ZA Bank account;
  • Utilize the cleared bank funds alongside Rise's invoices and contracts as verified Source of Funds (SOF) to fund regulated brokerages (Interactive Brokers, Futu, Tiger);
• Annual Tax Documentation:
  • Export the annual Earnings & Payouts Summary and stamped invoice records for seamless local tax filing.