The crypto bear market has affected how people pay with crypto, but according to data from BitPay, bitcoin remains the most important payment instrument despite its huge volatility.
The share of bitcoin payments of total BitPay transactions has decreased amid the ongoing crypto winter, but it remains the most popular cryptocurrency for payments on the platform.
Merrick Theobald, vice president of marketing for BitPay, told Cointelegraph that sales of bitcoin payments on BitPay reached 87% last year and fell to 52% in the first quarter of 2022 amid a bear market. Unlike the number of transactions, bitcoin sales volumes on BitPay are related to the total value of crypto payments processed in bitcoins.
Theobald noted that BitPay noticed the impact of sales volumes mainly on the purchase of volatile coins, as the sale of stable coins continued to occur regardless of cryptocurrency price fluctuations.
Theobald emphasized that BitPay’s total transactions remained stable despite the market downturn, with monthly transactions rising from around 58,000 in 2021 to 67,000 in 2022.
Cryptocurrency sales and transaction volume on BitPay. Source: BitPay
Along with the sales volume, the number of Bitcoin payment transactions has also dropped significantly this year. According to BitPay, the share of BTC transactions fell from 57% in March to 48% in July.
On the other hand, BitPay users are increasingly paying with other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin (LTC), with LTC transactions rising from 14% in March to 22% in July.
The dominance of bitcoins among cryptocurrency payments. Source: BitPay
Despite the massive decline in Bitcoin payments in the bear market, BTC remains the most used cryptocurrency for transactions on BitPay and accounts for over 50% of all sales on the platform. According to Theobald, this is further evidence that the use case for the Bitcoin payment instrument, originally described by Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, is still relevant. CEO said:
“People still use BTC for BitPay more than other cryptocurrencies because it is the oldest and most popular cryptocurrency with the largest market cap and has proven itself over the years as a great tool for digital payments.”
Theobald also suggested that some users might prefer to pay with bitcoin in the middle of a bear market because it might be more expensive to sell bitcoin on an exchange and use it later to buy goods online. “BitPay offers customers an easy and cheaper way to use bitcoins to buy everyday goods,” he added.
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BitPay is one of the largest cryptocurrency payment companies in the world, allowing individuals and businesses to purchase goods and services in cryptocurrencies or accept cryptocurrencies as payment. BitPay provides cryptocurrency payment services to a large number of companies in the US, including Newegg, Verifone and Shop.com. BitPay is also becoming popular for administrative payments and donations in the US.
The news comes amid reports from JPMorgan about declining demand for cryptocurrencies as a payment method over the past six months. Takis Georgakopoulos, head of global payments at JPMorgan, said the bank is processing significantly fewer crypto payments, noting that JPMorgan currently sees “very little” demand for such payments.
