The global leader for payment news and data, PYMNTS, has collaborated with cryptocurrency payment provider BitPay to survey consumers and merchants on paying with cryptocurrencies. According to the survey, 85% of merchants are interested in accepting crypto for retail sales due to the possibility of gaining new customers.

The crypto community is largely in favor of the adoption of crypto payments and is likely more willing to spend if able to use digital wallet balances. Some of the benefits of paying with crypto tokens typically include instant transfers, low transaction fees, and ease of use with international business. The ability to eliminate middlemen was also reported as the second largest reason merchants want to accept crypto for purchases.

The survey also found that 85% of big businesses with over $1 billion USD in annual sales already accept crypto in their sales transactions. Major companies that support digital asset payments already include Microsoft, Etsy, Starbucks, AT&T, Whole Foods, among dozens of others. Among those businesses, 96% plan to continue innovating their commitment to crypto-enabled payments within the next 12 months.

Most of the non-accepting merchants surveyed have agreed that adopting crypto as a payment method is ideal but also comes with potential challenges. The biggest deterrents reported include integrating crypto wallets, coin volatility, and difficulty in tracking payments. However, these reasons were mostly cited by merchants who do not have experience accepting crypto.

Cryptocurrencies are still a growing asset class and there are still some barriers to entry for many. Still, PwC’s 4^th Annual Global Crypto Hedger Fund Report 2022 highlighted that more than a third of traditional hedge funds invest in cryptocurrencies — a number that has nearly doubled since this time last year.

In other cryptocurrency news, crypto lender Nexo will buy rival platform Vauld.