Bitcoin is by far the most well-known form of cryptocurrency in the world, largely down to the simple fact it has been around since 2009 and paved the way for thousands of popular altcoins such as Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
Online users and businesses are increasingly starting to use digital tokens other than Bitcoin for purchases, according to BitPay Inc. - one of the biggest crypto payments processors in the world.
Last year, Bitcoin’s use at merchants that use BitPay dropped to around 65 per cent of processed payments, down from 92 per cent in 2020, the company told Bloomberg.
New coins added to BitPay in 2021, including Dogecoin, Shiba Inu and Litecoin accounted for 3 per cent of purchases.
The alternative coins’ use surged partly as more businesses have started using stablecoins for cross-border payments.
Consumers also tend to move to stablecoins, whose value is supposed to stay steady, when crypto prices drop - and they have been falling since early November.
Coins like Doge also made a splash last year, thanks to fans like Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who recently confirmed that the digital token can be used to buy the company’s merchandise.
With Bitcoin’s price rising 60 per cent last year, despite the market volatility towards the end of 2021, many investors may also have chosen to hold onto the world’s biggest cryptocurrency instead of spending it.
When they did spend their crypto, many bought luxury items including jewellery and watches, cars and boats.
BitPay was founded in 2011, when only a few companies accepted digital coins and it now processes an average of around 66,000 transactions per month.
Compared with global giant, Visa, that’s just a drop in the financial transaction ocean - the credit card network processed 206 billion transactions in the year ending June 30, 2021.
More merchants are accepting crypto payments now.
A growing list of companies including PayPal, Twitter and WhatsApp are stepping into crypto payments as well, showing the payments market’s growth potential.
WARNING: Nothing in this article should be read or understood to be financial and/or investment advice. Readers should take their own financial advice from a suitably qualified independent financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
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