Recent findings from a European Central Bank (ECB) survey highlight a striking lack of progress in cryptocurrency adoption among businesses across the euro area. While digital payment options continue to expand in popularity, cryptocurrencies and related digital assets remain almost entirely absent from everyday commercial transactions.
The survey, which gathered responses from 8,205 companies operating in the 21 euro area countries, focused on firms in retail trade, restaurants and cafes, hotels, and arts, entertainment and recreation.
Data collection took place between February and April 2026 through telephone interviews conducted by market research firm Ipsos.
Results show that just 0.2 percent of businesses that sell goods and services online accept crypto-assets or stablecoins as a form of payment.
At physical points of sale, acceptance remains below 1 percent, showing virtually no improvement from the previous survey conducted in 2024.In sharp contrast, traditional payment methods dominate.
Cash continues to lead, with 92 percent of companies that operate physical locations accepting it—a slight increase from 90 percent two years earlier.
This suggests that the earlier decline in cash acceptance seen during and after the pandemic has leveled off.
Card payments follow closely at 88 percent, while mobile payments have experienced the most dramatic growth, rising from 36 percent in 2024 to 68 percent in 2026.
Instant payments and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay account for much of this surge.
Companies cited customer preference as the most important factor when deciding which payment methods to accept, mentioned by 26 percent of respondents.
Security ranked second at 22 percent, followed by ease of handling at 15 percent.
These priorities help explain the limited uptake of crypto payments: without clear demand from consumers, businesses have little incentive to invest in the necessary infrastructure or processes.
The findings arrive at a time when the European Union has introduced clearer regulatory frameworks for digital assets, including the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation.
Despite this increased legal certainty, payment service providers in the region have been slow to develop and roll out widespread crypto acceptance solutions.
As a result, European businesses appear to be forgoing potential advantages such as lower intermediary costs and faster settlement times that digital assets can offer in other markets.
Mobile payments surge demonstrates that businesses are willing to adapt when consumer demand and technological convenience align.
Cash retains strong support due to its perceived advantages in privacy, reliability, and cost.
Cryptocurrencies, by comparison, have yet to overcome barriers related to volatility perceptions, technical complexity, and limited everyday utility in the eyes of both merchants and their customers.
The survey also notes that 25 percent of companies have taken steps to encourage digital payments, such as installing cashless tills or reducing cash-accepting counters.
Self-checkout terminals are present in 13 percent of businesses with physical locations, though only about half of those terminals accept cash.
These shifts underscore a gradual modernization of payment systems, yet one that has so far largely bypassed decentralized digital currencies.
The data paint a picture of stagnant crypto adoption for practical payments in the euro area.
While ownership of digital assets among individuals may have grown in recent years, their use as a medium of exchange in commerce remains negligible.
Future developments in central bank digital currencies, improved merchant tools, or shifts in consumer behavior could eventually change this dynamic, but current evidence indicates that traditional and mainstream digital payment methods continue to hold firm sway.