According to a Tuesday report, almost four in ten U.S. merchants now accept cryptocurrency at checkout after customers showed rising interest. The finding cites an October survey of payment decision-makers and reflects growing demand for alternative payment options.
The survey polled 619 payment-strategy decision-makers across multiple industries. Nearly nine in ten merchants said they have received customer inquiries about crypto payments.
PayPal vice president and GM May Zabaneh summarized the shift in adoption. “What we’re seeing both in this data and in conversations with our customers is that crypto payments are moving beyond experimentation and into everyday commerce,” she said.
Eighty-four percent of merchants expect crypto payments to become mainstream within five years. Among merchants already accepting crypto, those payments account for about 26% of total sales (Ed. note: 26% suggests customers will use crypto significantly when offered).
Adoption is strongest at large enterprises, while 32% of midsized and 34% of small companies accept crypto. Larger U.S. companies accepting digital assets include Starbucks, Walmart and Home Depot. Hospitality, travel, digital goods and gaming lead industry adoption, driven by Millennials and Gen Z shoppers.
PayPal launched a crypto checkout tool in July that lets U.S. merchants accept more than 100 cryptocurrencies. Ninety percent of merchants said they would try crypto payments if the setup matched the simplicity of credit card processing. Stu Alderoty, president of the National Cryptocurrency Association and chief legal officer at Ripple, added, “What this data makes clear is that interest in crypto isn’t the problem; understanding is,” underscoring the need for simpler infrastructure.
