Crypto payments processors BitPay and Coingate reported a substantial increase in crypto payments in 2022 despite a prolonged bear market, with Bitcoin remaining the most popular crypto asset. Coingate stated in its 2022 report that payments to businesses increased by 63%, with customers using bitcoin in 48% of transactions, a decrease of 7.6% from the prior year.
Customers using USDT, Ethereum, Litecoin, TRON, BNB, and ADA claimed 7.6% of the market share for altcoins in 2022, according to Coingate. Around 15% of transactions used Tether’s USDT, while newcomers ADA and BNB entered the top 10 and accounted for 1.1% and 3.5% of payments, respectively.
In 2022, transaction costs were more important to consumers than the price of cryptocurrencies, according to Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay. As a result of LTC’s lower transaction fees, users preferred it over Bitcoin for smaller purchases. However, Pair claimed that in 27% of merchant transactions, customers used Litecoin, while 41% used Bitcoin. Because of its broader network and significant “mining power,” customers probably preferred Bitcoin for more expensive purchases.
According to Coingate, Bitcoin’s capacity and volume may expand significantly over the next few years due to the Lightning Network’s advances. The percentage of Coingate’s Bitcoin payments processed through the Lightning Network increased from 4.5% to about 6.29% in 2022.
As per BitPay and Blockdata data, users invested cryptocurrencies in hosting and VPN services to improve their online privacy. Additionally, consumers utilized cryptocurrency to pay for electronics, prepaid gift cards, and video games.
The most frequently cited justification offered by merchants for accepting cryptocurrency payments is enhanced service accessibility for customers who lack banking accounts or are concerned about their privacy, which ultimately leads to higher sales. However, because of the ability of current payment processors to minimize the problem of price fluctuation by enabling swift settlements to fiat currencies, merchants and businesses are advised to refrain from incorporating crypto payments.
As per a report cited by Todayq news, there were 338% more Ethereum transactions (408.5 million) in 2022 than Bitcoin ones (93.1 million). The average daily transactions for the assets have been estimated at around 1.1 million for Ethereum and 255,000 for Bitcoin.