High-Earning Millennials Most Likely to Use Crypto for Payments

Nearly one-third of consumers say they want to use cryptocurrency to make payments in the coming years, with higher earners and those who have difficulty living within their means leading the way.

That rather interesting combination comes from “Paying With Cryptocurrency: Can Crypto At Checkout Become A Profit Center For Merchants?,” an August report by PYMNTS and BitPay.

In both cases, it’s a steady progression, with 23% of those who do not live paycheck to paycheck saying that a main motivation for buying cryptocurrency is to make payments. For those living comfortably paycheck to paycheck, that rises to 32%, but for those living paycheck to paycheck with difficulty, it’s 43%.

So, the differences are large, jumping around points in each group.

While the same progression can be seen by income level, the differences are smaller. One-third of consumers with incomes under $50,000 plan to pay with crypto in the coming year. That rises to 32% among those making $50,000 to $100,000, and to 36% for those making above $100,000.

By and large, there is a steady rise in the desire to pay with crypto as age decreases, but with one notable exception: Members of Generation Z are slightly less likely than their millennial counterparts to see crypto payments in their future over 12 months, at 38% and 39%, respectively.

Surprisingly, a full 24% of seniors want to be able to make crypto payments, despite nearly 70% saying they have no plans to make purchases with crypto. Gen X hits 29%, with bridge millennials up past 35%.

Then there’s what people who actually own cryptocurrency want to spend it on.

The most interesting thing is that there’s surprisingly little variation between people who want to spend at retail locations and on groceries, and online gamblers and those looking to pay for financial or streaming services.

Across 10 spending categories, between 53% and 58% were interested in paying for goods and services with crypto.

Get the report: Paying With Cryptocurrency: Can Crypto At Checkout Become A Profit Center For Merchants?