The appetite for cryptocurrencies in e-commerce continues to gain steam as they offer more convenient and safer payment methods, according to a report by global payments solution provider Checkout.com.

Based on a study entitled “Demystifying Crypto: Shedding light on the adoption of digital currencies for payments in 2022 report,” Checkout.com invited 3,000 merchants and 30,000 consumers spread across 11 countries for this survey.

The study scrutinized sentiments and behaviours pertaining to commercial activities using cryptocurrencies. 

More merchants have an inclination towards cryptocurrencies based on ease of use and the speeds rendered. Per the report:

“Almost 70% of the merchants surveyed believe that the speed with which crypto payments can be made and settled has the potential to revolutionize their business models—with over 80% of merchants with existing crypto-payment options saying it was easier to settle than using fiat currencies.”

Merchants are already feeling the impact of cryptocurrencies based on Visa findings released earlier this year. The payment giant noted that payments associated with its crypto-linked cards skyrocketed to $2.5 billion during its fiscal first quarter of 2022. This represented 70% of the firm’s crypto volume for the entire 2021 fiscal year. 

The growing crypto appeal among younger users

According to Checkout.com findings, crypto was appealing to younger users, given that 40% of consumers aged between 18 and 35 years planned to utilize cryptocurrency payments next year.

This surged from less than 30% recorded last year, signifying a substantial shift in attitude from crypto being solely an investment vehicle to a way of undertaking business regularly.

Jess Houlgrave, Checkout.com’s head of strategy for crypto, stated:

“We believe this is the largest consumer survey of its kind, and the findings present a clear evolution of attitudes towards cryptocurrencies around the world. This is a legitimate transition from the early adoption phase to one that's more practical, pragmatic and positive overall.”

The report suggested that increased crypto acceptance at consumer levels influenced the way large corporations viewed digital currencies.

More than a third of the respondents, including corporate treasurers and CFOs, showed an interest in having stablecoins on their balance sheets as decentralized finance (DeFi) method for treasury management.