The meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin spiked late last year when Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that customers would be able to use it to buy certain Tesla products. Tesla is certainly not the first major company to accept payments in crypto, with companies like Microsoft, AT&T, and Twitch allowing customers to either pay directly in crypto or go through third-party apps.
It’s all well and good for corporations to accept cryptocurrency, but what about smaller businesses? Digital surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based business owners to see if they plan to follow suit or eschew the crypto fad altogether.
The findings:
- 27% of business owners will start accepting cryptocurrency this year
- The top three currencies they plan to accept are Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin
- Nearly one in three say they feel pressured to accept crypto at their business
- 30% say they will never accept cryptocurrency payments
27% of Business Owners Will Start Accepting Cryptocurrency This Year
More than one in four business owners surveyed say they plan to accept crypto payments at their business in 2022. 10% say they plan to start accepting crypto in 2023, 18% say sometime in the next two to five years, and just 6% say they plan to in more than five years. 10% of those surveyed say they already do accept crypto at their business.
“I’m planning to start accepting crypto payments on my e-commerce store at the end of this year,” stated Patrick Crane, CEO of Love Sew.
“I’m primarily doing it because I’ve received tens of hundreds of inquiries from clients about accepting crypto as a form of payment on the site. This indicates a need that my clients want me to serve as soon as possible…Allowing crypto payments may also help me achieve a significant competitive advantage in my niche, especially if I’m among the first brands in our small market to embrace cryptocurrency,” he continued.
Nearly One in Three Say They Will Never Accept Cryptocurrency
The largest percentage of respondents (30%) actually said that they never plan to accept cryptocurrency. This may be because they see it as too big of a project to implement or believe that the crypto bubble may finally burst.
Ravi Parikh, CEO of RoverPass elaborated on the former. “We do not accept crypto payments, although it isn’t something I’ve ruled out either. The main reason is that logistically, setting up our system to accept crypto payments would be a lot of work to undertake for the very few (if any) customers that would take advantage of it…But with crypto catching on so quickly, who knows what the future holds.”
29% of Business Owners Say They Will Accept Dogecoin
Despite its unserious origins, Dogecoin has become a legitimate investment and is one of the top cryptocurrencies business owners plan to work with. Of those surveyed who either plan to or already do accept crypto, 83% say they will accept Bitcoin, 42% say they will accept Ethereum, 29% will accept Dogecoin, and 15% will accept Binance Coin. Other popular write-in responses included Shiba Inu and Litecoin.
Luz Donahue, a professional abstract painter and workshop facilitator, says that she sees accepting crypto payments as a strategy that will be in her best interests long-term. She currently accepts Bitcoin, Cosmos, Ethereum, Basic Attention Token (BAT), and Chainlink and says she is “happy to be flexible if I believe in the project.”
“These payments until recently have been made directly,” Donahue continued. “I will be switching to Coinbase commerce on my Shopify site soon as an additional option within a month or two.”
30% of Business Owners Report Feeling Pressured to Accept Crypto
Nearly one in three survey respondents stated that they feel or felt pressure to accept cryptocurrency payments at their business. Of this group, the top two reasons are a belief that they may lose customers by not accepting crypto (53%) and a belief that they will appear behind the times (49%). Just 33% said their motivation to accept crypto comes from a belief that it will be profitable.
“Working in tech, there does seem to be this pressure to get in on the crypto craze before it’s too late,” commented Carla Diaz, Cofounder of Broadband Search. “More than likely, we will begin to consider adopting crypto into our finances and payments once the tech sector comes to develop a more stable crypto coin which doesn’t fluctuate erratically,” she finished.
Despite recent crashes and some predictions of waning value, our data shows that the majority of business owners in the U.S. either already have or plan to adopt crypto as a valid form of payment over the next two to five years.
Methodology
This survey was commissioned by Digital.com and conducted online by the survey platform Pollfish between January 11 and January 12, 2022. In total, 1,000 participants in the United States were surveyed. All participants had to pass through demographic filters to ensure they were self-employed business owners.
Survey Data
Q1. When do you plan to start accepting cryptocurrency at your business?
A1. This year (2023)
- 27.27%
- 273 respondents
A2. In 2023
- 9.79%
- 98 respondents
A3. In two to five years
- 17.48%
- 175 respondents
A4. In more than five years
- 5.79%
- 58 respondents
A5. I already do
- 9.59%
- 96 respondents
A6. I do not plan to ever accept cryptocurrency
- 30.07%
- 301 respondents
Q2. Which cryptocurrencies do you plan to or already accept?
A1. Bitcoin
- 82.86%
- 580 respondents
A2. Ethereum
- 41.86%
- 293 respondents
A3. Binance Coin
- 15.14%
- 106 respondents
A4. Tether
- 13.86%
- 97 respondents
A5. Solana
- 10.86%
- 76 respondents
A6. Dogecoin
- 28.71%
- 201
A7. None of the above
- 8.29%
- 58 respondents
A8. Other
- 8.71%
- 61 respondents
Q3. Which of the following best describes you?
A1. I feel/felt pressure to accept cryptocurrency and my business
- 29.86%
- 209 respondents
A2. I don’t/didn’t feel pressure to accept cryptocurrency at my business
- 70.14%
- 491 respondents
Q4. Why do/did you feel pressure to accept cryptocurrency at your business?
A1. I believe I may lose customers by not accepting cryptocurrency
- 52.63%
- 110 respondents
A2. I believe I may appear behind the times by not accepting cryptocurrency
- 48.8%
- 102 respondents
A3. I believe it will be profitable to accept cryptocurrency
- 33.01%
- 69 respondents
A4. Other
- 4.31%
- 9 respondents
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