BitPay, the provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, released its latest report, “The 2024 BitPay Spending Report,” which provides a comprehensive look into cryptocurrency spending during the historic 2024 Bitcoin bull run.
Key findings shared by Bitpay include:
- Crypto payments up 20% from January 2024: March 2024 marked a marquee moment for BTC prices as well as spending.
- Spending trends tail BTC price increases: As the price of BTC and other cryptocurrencies increased, so did crypto consumer spending.
- Spending surges across nearly all industries: January 1 – March 31, 2024, increased crypto consumer spending spanned nearly every industry, with certain sectors showing especially strong payment growth:
- Cars, Boats and Luxury Vehicles up 56%
- Philanthropy/Non-Profit Donations up 324%
- Luxury Goods & Jewelry up 39%
- Gold & Precious Metals up 205%
- Electronics up 64%
As noted n the update from Bitpay, BTC continues “to reign supreme: At the end of March 2024, over 50% of sales volume was BTC, although USDT, LTC, USDC, and ETH are growing contributors to crypto payments sales.”
Spenders use crypto gains to clear debt: Based on BitPay Bill Pay customer data, as of the end of March 2024, customers “used crypto gains to pay off debt. Credit card payments made up 85% of BitPay Bill Pay transactions. Bill payments averaged $1,200 per transaction.”
Crypto-powered gift cards offer convenience and flexibility: By the end of March 2024, crypto spenders “increasingly converted crypto gains to gift cards to spend online and in-store as an alternative to spending directly with merchants or paying off bills.”
BitPay CMO Bill Zielke said:
“The latest spending trends showcase cryptocurrency’s evolution from investment asset to a means of powering everyday life. With an ever-growing lineup of top-tier merchants accepting crypto payments, consumers have unprecedented opportunities to spend their coins and tokens. In addition to merchant payments, crypto-powered gift cards and bill payments enable crypto spenders to explore new, flexible payment options.”
These early 2024 increases in crypto spending preceded the recent Bitcoin halving, which has historically positively impacted crypto markets and, in turn, led to even more spending.
Founded in 2011, BitPay is one of “the oldest cryptocurrency companies.”
As a key player focused on blockchain payment processing, the company’s mission is to transform “how businesses and people send, receive, and store money. Its business solutions eliminate fraud chargebacks, reduce the cost of payment processing, and enable borderless payments in cryptocurrency, among other services.”
BitPay offers consumers a complete digital asset management solution that “includes the BitPay Wallet and BitPay Card, enabling them to turn digital assets into dollars for spending at tens of thousands of businesses.”
The company has offices “in North America, Europe, and South America and has raised more than $70 million in funding from leading investment firms including Founders Fund, Index Ventures, Virgin Group, and Aquiline Technology Growth.”
