According to one of the biggest crypto payment processors in the world, Bitpay, the use of digital tokens other than Bitcoin in purchasing is increasing among consumers and businesses. The crypto company noted that the use of Bitcoin in merchants that use Bitpay dropped from 92% in 2020 to 65% in 2021. On the other hand, purchases from coins like Ether were at 15%, stablecoins at 13%, and Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Litecoin accounted for 3%., Bloomberg reported.
Businesses have started using stablecoins more for cross-border payments.
Since November last year, as crypto prices have been dropping, businesses have started using stablecoins more for cross-border payments. Consumers have also started moving towards stablecoins as their value remains steady, providing less risk. The current trend shows that people hold onto Bitcoin more than spending it. Apart from the fourth quarter, the prices of Bitcoin rose by 60% last year. According to Bitpay, most of the previous year’s crypto transactions were in luxury goods like jewelry, watches, cars, boats, etc.
More merchants are accepting crypto payments now.
More merchants are accepting crypto payments now. Last year BitPay began working with VeriFone to accept digital coins at its terminals at various stores. For its part, BitPay is showing signs of confidence as well. It just appointed Jim Lester its first-ever chief operating officer to expand the business. Lester previously headed startup Thinmanagement, strategy, and marketing at Fiserv Inc.’s electronic billing and payments division.
A growing list of companies, including PayPal Holdings Inc., are also stepping into crypto payments, showing the payments market’s growth potential. “PayPal getting into this space has been great for our business because it causes companies to start asking the question of should they accept crypto payments,” Pair said.
