According to a study conducted by CoinGate, the growth of crypto payment adoption is accelerating worldwide. The company offering crypto payment services reports that in 2022, merchants received 927,294 crypto payments. That’s a 63% increase from last year. Bitcoin remains the most used crypto in e-commerce along with USDT. The report also mentions an increase in businesses using crypto payments despite the Bear Market.
A crypto payment every 34 seconds
Bear market or not, the use of crypto in e-Commerce is growing worldwide. At least that’s what a report from CoinGate, a fintech offering crypto payment services since 2014, says. CoinGate informs that during the year 2022, merchants using its service received 927,294 crypto payments. This simply means that every 34 seconds, there is a crypto payment made somewhere in the world.
This figure is a significant increase from the data CoinGate has collected in previous years. In fact, the number of crypto payments in 2022 is up 63% from 2021. We remember that at that time, the crypto market was nevertheless on the rise.
The actual number of crypto payments is probably larger than the one reported by CoinGate. This is because CoinGate’s report only covers businesses using its services. Since 2014, merchants using CoinGate have received over 2.5 million crypto payments. That’s an average of 312,500 orders per year.
Bitcoin (BTC), king of crypto payments
CoinGate’s report also gives an indication of which cryptocurrency is most used in payment: unsurprisingly, Bitcoin comes out on top. In 2022, Bitcoin accounted for 48% of all crypto payments. 6.27% of Bitcoin payments were made via The Lightning Network.
Moreover, the adoption of this technology has grown exponentially. In 2022 alone, payments made via The Lightning Network increased by 97% compared to 2021.
Despite the growing number of Bitcoin payments, its dominance in this sector is increasingly diminishing. With 48% of all 2022 crypto payments, Bitcoin has actually declined by 7.6% compared to 2021. The crypto that steals the show from Bitcoin is USDT. This stablecoin accounts for 14.8% of crypto payments made in 2022. The year before, that is, in 2021, USDT accounted for only 2.3% of crypto payments. In a slowing market, the appeal of stablecoins is understandable.
Behind Bitcoin (48%) and USDT (14.8%) come a few other cryptos used for payments in 2022. These include Ethereum (10.9%), Litecoin (9.6%) and TRON (5.8%). In addition, some cryptos appear for the first time in the top 10 most used cryptos in payments: BNB (3.5%) and ADA (1.1%).
Companies are becoming more and more crypto-friendly!
CoinGate’s report also provides insights into how merchants perceive crypto payments. According to it, there are more and more businesses accepting crypto payments. In this regard, CoinGate reports that the number of businesses accepting crypto payments has increased by 48% in 2022 compared to 2021. This is a remarkable performance in the midst of a bear market.
There are two main reasons for the attraction of businesses to crypto payments. For most merchants, crypto makes it easier for unbanked and privacy-minded customers to pay. This naturally leads to an increase in sales. This is especially the observation of Donatas Strazdas, financial analyst at VPN provider Surfshark, which accepts crypto payments.
Some of our customers take care of their privacy on the Internet almost religiously. Paying with a decentralized and completely anonymous currency is one of the few acceptable ways to pay for services. To enable these users to use our product, we decided to introduce cryptocurrency payments.
Donatas Strazdas
Another reason why businesses are flocking to crypto payments is that they are now able to control the risks associated with the volatility of the crypto market. Indeed, CoinGate has introduced a new feature that allows for the instant conversion of crypto into fiat currency. Thus, merchants looking for innovative ways to revitalize their businesses no longer have any worries.
CoinGate’s report reveals an impressive acceleration in the adoption of crypto payments. What’s even more interesting is that the progression is happening on the side of both businesses and potential customers. All of this performance was achieved during one of the worst years for the crypto industry. So it’s hard to imagine the adoption of crypto payments slowing down.
I dream of a world where every citizen has total control over themselves, including their finances. I believe that Bitcoin is one of the tools that will achieve this revolution. Since 2019, I am learning about this cryptocurrency and spreading the word around.
