Key Takeaways
- About 4 in 10 U.S. merchants (40%) now accept crypto at checkout, PayPal and the National Cryptocurrency Association said, citing a Harris Poll survey.
- 50% of merchants with over $500 million in annual revenue accept crypto, versus 34% of small businesses and 32% of midsize firms.
- Merchants say customers are asking to pay with crypto, but most want setup and checkout to be as easy as taking card payments.
PayPal and the National Cryptocurrency Association said crypto payments are moving from edge-case experimentation toward routine checkout, with adoption strongest among large enterprises.
In a report released Tuesday, the groups said 39% of U.S. merchants surveyed already accept cryptocurrency, and 84% expect crypto payments to become common within five years.
Crypto Adoption Driven by Growing Customer Demand
The survey points to a basic dynamic: shoppers ask, merchants follow.
Nearly 88% of merchants said they have received customer inquiries about paying with crypto, while 69% said customers want to use crypto at least monthly.
PayPal framed crypto acceptance as a practical growth lever, not a branding stunt.
May Zabaneh, PayPal’s vice president and general manager of crypto, said the data and PayPal’s customer conversations show crypto payments “moving beyond experimentation and into everyday commerce.”
Merchants also tied crypto payments to acquisition. About 79% said accepting crypto could help attract new customers, the report said.
Large enterprises are leading the shift. The survey found 50% of merchants with more than $500 million in annual revenue already accept crypto, compared with 34% of small businesses and 32% of midsize firms.
Among merchants that accept crypto, respondents said it accounts for 26% of total sales, and 72% reported their crypto-related sales rose over the past year.
The Last Mile Problem: Make It Feel Like Cards
The report suggests adoption is not only about ideology or cost. It is also about user experience.
A majority of merchants said they would be more likely to accept crypto if it looked and behaved like what they already know.
The survey found 90% would try accepting crypto if the experience matched the ease of traditional card payments, and 90% would be likely to accept crypto if the setup were as simple as accepting credit cards.
That preference for a card-like experience aligns with PayPal’s efforts to productize crypto checkout.
In July 2025, PayPal announced “Pay with Crypto,” pitching near-instant settlement and lower transaction costs for merchants by converting crypto to stablecoin or fiat at checkout.
PayPal’s published terms describe a flow where eligible customers pay from supported external wallets, crypto is converted into PYUSD when needed, and PayPal then converts PYUSD to fiat for the merchant’s business account.
The NCA’s president, Stu Alderoty, argued the constraint is not demand but comprehension, saying “interest in crypto isn’t the problem; understanding is.”
PhD, researcher and writer exploring AI, blockchain, and the philosophy of tech, with a focus on DeScAI, governance, and trust.
