Cryptocurrency payment service provider BitPay reported a significant increase in crypto transactions in 2024, processing 608,000 transactions as digital asset holders took advantage of the bull market to spend their holdings. Leading the transaction volume was Litecoin (LTC), which accounted for 201,165 payments. Bitcoin (BTC) followed with 130,250 transactions, and Ether (ETH) came third with 56,356 payments.
The company’s 2024 report highlights a shift in the usage of cryptocurrencies from merely holding to active spending. There was a notable rise in transactions for luxury goods, jewelry, electronics, and precious metals, with increases ranging from 39% to 205% compared to the previous year. The United States emerged as the dominant market, contributing to over 76% of BitPay’s total transactions.
While cryptocurrencies have gained traction as investment tools, their adoption as a mainstream payment method has been slower. Retail crypto transactions made up only 3% of payments from 2021 to 2023. Interestingly, the rise of stablecoins has played a pivotal role in increasing the adoption of cryptocurrencies for payments. CoinGate, another crypto payment processor, noted a 29.6% rise in crypto transactions in 2024, with stablecoins comprising more than a third of the total.
This surge reflects a broadening acceptance among users, despite critiques that stablecoins undermine the decentralized ethos of cryptocurrencies. Presently, stablecoins hold a combined market capitalization of $206 billion, predominantly led by counts from issuing firms Tether and Circle, commanding nearly 89% of that market share.
