Report says 40% US merchants take crypto

TLDR

A recent PayPal backed survey finds about 40 percent of U.S. merchants now accept cryptocurrency payments, but usage and infrastructure still lag traditional methods.

1. A PayPal backed survey reports roughly 39 percent of U.S. merchants already accept crypto at checkout, with adoption strongest among larger enterprises.
2. Where offered, crypto accounts for a meaningful share of sales and is driven by younger customers, yet many crypto holders still rarely spend it in daily life.
3. The biggest unlocks are card like simplicity, stablecoin rails, and clearer rules, which could push crypto payments toward the mainstream over the next few years.

Deep Dive

1. What The Survey Found

PayPal and the National Cryptocurrency Association commissioned a Harris Poll of more than 600 U.S. payment decision makers and found that about 39 percent of merchants now accept cryptocurrency at checkout, according to a PayPal backed survey.

Adoption is higher among bigger firms, with large enterprises leading, while hospitality, travel, digital goods, gaming and some retail and ecommerce segments show the most uptake, as summarized in a crypto.news report.

Customer demand appears to be the main driver, with around 88 percent of merchants saying shoppers ask about paying with crypto and 84 percent believing crypto payments will become common within five years.

2. Adoption Versus Actual Use

For merchants that already support crypto, those payments make up roughly 26 percent of their sales on average, and demand skews toward younger demographics such as Millennials and Gen Z, based on the same crypto.news summary.

However, a separate GoMining survey of over 5,700 Bitcoin holders found that 55 percent rarely or never use crypto for day to day payments, mainly because most merchants still do not accept it, fees can be high, and volatility is a concern, according to GoMinings findings.

That gap suggests merchant acceptance is rising faster on paper than actual everyday spending behavior, and many users still treat crypto more as an investment than a payment tool.

3. Key Constraints And What To Watch

Around 90 percent of surveyed merchants said they would accept crypto only if setting it up felt as simple as taking credit cards, highlighting an infrastructure and user experience gap.

Payment processors that abstract blockchain complexity and settle in stablecoins or fiat, along with clearer regulation for stablecoins and tax treatment, are likely to be important catalysts for broader merchant adoption.

Conclusion

The 40 percent of U.S. merchants take crypto headline reflects a real shift in attitudes, especially among larger businesses and younger customers, but usage still trails traditional payment methods. Crypto is moving from experiment toward option at checkout, and the next phase depends less on raw enthusiasm and more on card like simplicity, stablecoin infrastructure, and regulatory clarity.