Survey finds 39% US merchants take crypto

TLDR

A recent PayPal-backed survey reports that about 39% of U.S. merchants already accept cryptocurrency at checkout, suggesting crypto is moving from speculation into everyday payments.

1. A PayPal and National Cryptocurrency Association survey finds nearly four in ten U.S. merchants take crypto, with large enterprises leading and most expecting it to go mainstream within five years.
2. Adoption is driven by customer demand, younger demographics, and sectors like travel, hospitality, gaming, and digital goods, with some merchants already getting a meaningful slice of sales in crypto.
3. Growth still depends on card-like simplicity, lower volatility, and clear rules, so progress will likely be uneven across industries, payment processors, and types of crypto assets.

Deep Dive

1. What The Survey Actually Shows

PayPal and the National Cryptocurrency Association report that about 39% of U.S. merchants already accept cryptocurrency at checkout, based on an October survey of 600+ payment decision makers conducted by Harris Poll and cited in multiple reports, including Cointelegraph.

Large enterprises are ahead: roughly 50% of merchants with over 500 million dollars in annual revenue accept crypto, compared with about one third of small and midsize firms, according to coverage from outlets like Yahoo Finance and CCN.

Merchants also expect the trend to continue. Around 84% say crypto payments will be common within five years, nearly 88% report customer inquiries about paying with crypto, and most say customers want to use it at least monthly.

2. Why Merchants Are Adding Crypto

The survey and follow-up reporting highlight a simple driver: shoppers ask, merchants follow. Merchants cite customer demand for more flexible ways to pay, particularly from Millennials and Gen Z, who are the most crypto-comfortable cohorts.

Sectors already skewed to online and tech-savvy users, such as travel and hospitality, gaming, and digital goods, are among the fastest adopters per PayPals summary in the coverage above. For merchants that have enabled it, crypto can already account for a significant share of sales in those niches.

Typically, payments are settled in liquid assets such as Bitcoin or dollar-pegged stablecoins, sometimes routed through intermediaries like PayPal or other processors that instantly convert crypto to dollars, which reduces volatility and accounting friction for the merchant.

3. What Could Accelerate Or Slow This Trend

Despite growing interest, many merchants still see an infrastructure gap. Surveys cited in reports such as Crypto.news note that around 90% of merchants want crypto checkout to be as simple as taking card payments before adopting at scale.

Price volatility and regulatory uncertainty also matter. Stablecoins and custodial processors can shield merchants from crypto price swings, but evolving U.S. rules on stablecoins and digital asset payments will influence how aggressively large retailers and banks expand these services.

Finally, traditional finance is starting to plug in: separate research described in the same news cycle notes that a majority of leading U.S. banks are exploring Bitcoin or crypto-related services, which could make settlement, custody, and reporting easier over time.

Conclusion

Crypto payments in the U.S. have quietly reached meaningful penetration, with roughly four in ten merchants now accepting digital assets at checkout, mainly where customers are young and online. The next phase depends less on ideology and more on plumbing: card-like simplicity, stablecoin rails, bank connectivity, and clear rules will determine whether crypto becomes a routine option at the register or stays concentrated in specific sectors and merchant sizes.