For the past decade, cryptocurrency adoption rates have been rising every year. The current market cap of the crypto market, as of the end of 2022, is nearly $800 billion. Bitcoin, the most widely used cryptocurrency, reaches daily trading volumes of $400 billion.
Because of this growing popularity, cryptocurrency payments are a great way for a business to benefit from blockchain technology. Let’s discuss how cryptocurrency adoption looks by the end of 2022, and how businesses can benefit by starting to accept crypto payments in 2023.
- Cryptocurrency adoption rates have been increasing year-to-year.
- The majority of institutional investors own digital assets.
- The popularity of cryptocurrency is expected to continue to increase in 2023.
Cryptocurrency adoption at the end of 2022
Globally, 58% of institutional investors have funds in digital assets, according to the 2022 crypto adoption report by Fidelity. This year, 82% of high-net-worth individuals have already made investments in cryptocurrencies.
The adoption of digital assets among investors surveyed increased in both the U.S. (42%) and Europe (67%), despite the bearish market conditions.
Asian institutional investors continue to be the most open to investing in digital assets among the regions, with 69% reporting an allocation.
Another study by Deloitte and PayPal found that many of their clients are becoming increasingly interested in making payments with digital currencies.
Nearly 75% of them stated plans to accept cryptocurrency payments by 2024, and they anticipate that consumer interest will grow over time.
A metric developed by Chainalysis called the Global Crypto Adoption Index suggests that after steadily increasing since 2019, crypto adoption has slowed down. However, those who had already invested in the market continued to do so, and even though growth remained moderate, adoption rates are still higher than those of the bull market of 2020.
The benefits of crypto payments
Because of the past decade of cryptocurrency market growth, 2023 is the perfect time to start accepting cryptocurrency payments. The current bear market means lower volatility while maintaining all the benefits of blockchain technology.
Attracting new investors
Cryptocurrency transactions give businesses access to a completely new customer base. Cryptocurrency users are primarily young (72% are under 34), educated (71% have a higher education), and male (63%). This is a group that has historically been difficult to reach and has not always been in a position to purchase as many products and services as they do now.
Transparency and safety
Reliability is the main benefit of using blockchain technology for payments of any kind. Due to its design to function autonomously but with the participation of all parties, a blockchain network is resistant to disruption. Even if one component stops working, the system as a whole can continue to operate without any problems.
Additionally, in contrast to using bank cards, which may permit chargebacks, all blockchain transactions are irreversible. They cannot be changed or canceled after confirmation and completion.
Privacy
Cryptocurrency users benefit from a certain level of online anonymity. Blockchain technology conceals your true identity and personal information because it uses cryptography as its power source. The only thing recorded on the shared network is your wallet address and transaction hash.
Increased speed and lower costs
A cryptocurrency transaction can be executed quickly and easily from the comfort of your home, without involving any third party. While credit card transactions can take days or even weeks to complete, cryptocurrency transactions are completed in a fraction of the time.
The fees per cryptocurrency transaction are also significantly lower than bank fees. Some crypto coins can be sent for free, while traditional banks charge 2.2 to 7.5% per transaction.
Tax benefits
Donating crypto can be beneficial once tax season comes. For example, the IRS views cryptocurrency as a property for tax purposes, so businesses that accept crypto don’t have to pay value-added taxes (VAT).
Growth potential
Holding funds in cryptocurrency could also benefit your business in the long run. That’s because there’s a high possibility that the value of the most popular crypto coins will continue to increase. While keeping in mind that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, it’s important to also acknowledge the historical and anticipated potential growth of cryptocurrency investments.
Why you should accept crypto payments with NOWPayments
To successfully integrate cryptocurrency payments into your business, you will require using a reputable crypto payment gateway. It is simple to start accepting cryptocurrencies with the help of NOWPayments, a non-custodial cryptocurrency payment processing service. It offers fair and transparent rates, with transaction fees as low as 0.5%. All funds are automatically transferred to your crypto wallet and converted to the currency of your choice.
How to accept crypto payments
NOWPayments offers a variety of tools, including a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, subscriptions, mass payments, donations, and payment links.
To begin accepting cryptocurrency payments, just follow these easy steps:
- Register an account with an email address and verify it. Then add the wallet address where your payments will be sent.
- Open the Payment Link tab from your account dashboard, select Payment Tools, and then create a payment link. When a pop-up window appears, click the Create payment link and then choose the currency and amount.
- You can include an order description and an ID. Click to confirm and copy your payment link, which you can then send individually or paste on your website.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency payments are expected to continue growing in popularity in 2023. It’s easy to start accepting crypto payments with NOWPayments, a reputable crypto payment gateway. Accepting cryptocurrency from your customers can benefit your business in many ways, including higher security and privacy, faster speeds, lower costs, and the potential for growth of your investments.