The current analysis predicts that merchant usage of Bitcoin will rise by 50% over the next three years. This finding comes from a poll that Ripple and the Faster Payment Council performed with 300 payment leaders from 45 countries.
Worldwide Bitcoin Payment Interest Increasing
According to the paper, blockchain technology has become a viable alternative to expensive payment systems. With more than 5.5 million users of crypto payments in the United States alone in 2023, transaction volumes in the cryptocurrency business have expanded significantly.
The top four cryptocurrency use cases are remittances, cross-border B2B payments, card payments, and digital payments. Most of this comprises remittances, with international employees turning to cryptocurrency to send money to their relatives without paying expensive transaction fees.
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Also, the increasing acceptance of Bitcoin payments via PayPal and Stripe has dramatically increased adoption.
Because of their low volatility, stablecoins like USDT and USDC have seen widespread popularity outside Bitcoin. According to some estimates, stablecoins are 80% less expensive than conventional payment methods for cross-border transactions.
About 97% of poll participants think crypto payments will significantly contribute to speedier costs during the next three years. Most retailers will likely adopt crypto payments in this time frame, according to more than half of the CEOs questioned.
Leading the adoption race is the Middle East.
Most payment providers predict that worldwide merchants will use more cryptocurrencies in the foreseeable future, according to statistics from Ripple and FPC. In the Middle East, 64% of payment company representatives anticipate that more than 50% of businesses will begin taking cryptocurrency payments within the next three years, as seen in the graph below.
Following these are Africa (51%), North America (51%), and Europe (58%). Comparatively, 17% of the Latin American representatives think adoption will happen during this time. Nonetheless, both official and informal firms in the LatAm region are adopting technology at an increasing rate.
The Ripple and FPC survey also touched on the regulatory problem. According to 89% of the payment organizations surveyed, a “barrier” to implementing blockchain technology as a payment method is the absence of legislative clarity in the crypto-asset sector.
It must be kept in mind that there have been developments in regulating the cryptocurrency industry in various nations during the past several months. A comprehensive legal framework for crypto assets has been built in nations like El Salvador and Venezuela.
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Additionally, nations with progressive rules globally include South Africa, Brazil, and Singapore. According to the report, businesses’ “optimism” for this sector may respond to consumers’ “increasing desire” for access to and inclusion in broader financial services.
It also emphasized how other blockchain-based payment systems, such as central bank digital currency (CBDC), would enhance the world’s payment systems.
