A recent survey of more than 5,700 Bitcoin (BTC) holders shows a clear gap between belief and behavior in the world of crypto assets. While nearly 80% of respondents support broader adoption of crypto assets, 55% say they rarely or never use digital assets for everyday payments.
The widening gap between belief and actual usage indicates that the biggest challenge in this industry is no longer about understanding or ideological support, but rather something else.
The Majority of Crypto Users Support Adoption, but Rarely Spend Cryptocurrency Assets: Here’s Why
This GoMining survey received responses from users in various regions. The largest portion came from Europe (45.7%) and North America (40.1%).
Participants also represented a variety of experience levels, almost evenly split between those new to cryptocurrency and holders who have been in the market for several years.
This condition shows that the limitations of shopping using cryptocurrency are not only occurring in one region or type of user. The survey found that payments with cryptocurrency are still a minority habit among users.
Only 12% of respondents use cryptocurrency for everyday payments. This figure slightly increased to 14.5% for weekly payments and 18.3% monthly. However, the majority still admit to rarely or never spending their cryptocurrency assets.
This shopping habit illustrates where cryptocurrency assets are most effectively used as a payment option. Digital products account for the largest share at 47%, followed by game purchases at 37.7% and e-commerce transactions at 35.7%.
This indicates that users are already actively using cryptocurrency assets in digital environments that indeed support such payments. Outside of those areas, the use of cryptocurrency for payments declines significantly.
The survey results reveal that the biggest barriers to spending cryptocurrency assets stem from infrastructure issues. Respondents cited the limited number of merchants accepting cryptocurrency (49.6%), high transaction fees (44.7%), and price volatility (43.4%) as the main reasons they have not used cryptocurrency for payments. Additionally, 36.2% of users also pointed to potential fraud risks as another important reason.
Mark Zalan, CEO of GoMining, told BeInCrypto that if using cryptocurrency adds processes and complexities like choosing chains, managing costs, calculating price volatility, or finding ways to reverse transaction errors, then most users will still view it as just a new thing.
“For everyday users, ‘real utility’ starts to feel present when cryptocurrency becomes just the background. Once accepted at places where they usually shop, with competitive costs, quick settlements, and consumer expectations such as purchase receipts or dispute handling being met, if they want to capture that user base, payments with cryptocurrency must feel as mundane and reliable as just swiping a card,” he explained.
Furthermore, he added that this gap is no longer just a 'adoption problem' but has become a 'daily product problem'.
“People can be open to cryptocurrency assets in principle, but still choose cards and banking apps because those options are accepted everywhere and feel seamless. Our survey results are consistent with that: interest indeed exists, but usage routines tend to stop when acceptance is limited, costs are uncertain, and volatility raises doubts,” he explained.
Zalan explains that the abundance of tokens does not automatically bring daily utility because most tokens do not solve everyday problems for consumers.
Practical benefits emerge when cryptocurrency truly provides advantages, such as cross-border value transfers, faster transaction settlements, and programmability. Therefore, the industry is now increasingly focused on developing payment infrastructure and integration, rather than just hoping users will learn and actively manage dozens of different assets.
Bitcoin Payments Face Incentive-Based Expectations from Users
Meanwhile, the survey also sought to find out what actually drives users to choose cryptocurrency assets over traditional payment methods. Privacy and security emerged as the main factors, mentioned by 46.4% of respondents. Rewards and discounts also came close at 45.4%.
Regarding Bitcoin payments, users are clear about their desires. As many as 62.6% hope for lower transaction fees. Incentives such as rewards or cashback follow at 55.2%, while wider merchant acceptance is mentioned by 51.4% of respondents.
Interestingly, nearly half of respondents stated they hope to receive yield or rewards every time they make a payment. This indicates the growing expectation driven by incentives.
This data also highlights a significant change in how users view Bitcoin itself. While many still identify as long-term holders, interest in mining, yield-generating products, and hash rate tokenization shows a preference for Bitcoin that can provide active returns, not just sitting idle in a wallet.
Payments, in this context, are starting to be viewed as a new opportunity to increase asset ownership. Zalan stated that incentives are a standard mechanism in payments.
He explains that traditional systems also use incentive schemes. They provide rewards for consumers, economic benefits for issuers, and transaction certainty for merchants.
“Hoping that payments with cryptocurrency grow without any dynamics of ‘making people want to switch’ is clearly unrealistic. Incentives actually reveal where the remaining barriers are: if the user experience is certainly cheaper, faster, and accepted everywhere, incentives will be less important. For now, incentives cover the costs of switching and help people build habits, while the ecosystem resolves shortcomings in acceptance, refunds or expectations for assistance, and truly easy checkout flows,” said the CEO.
Can Bitcoin Become a Payment Tool and Store of Value?
Respondents also explained what factors they consider for using Bitcoin in the future. Daily spending topped the list at 69.4%. This was followed by gaming and digital entertainment at 47.3%, and high-value or luxury goods purchases at 42.9%.
From the user's perspective, Bitcoin is not limited to just specific uses anymore; it is increasingly seen as a viable option for everyday shopping. However, this also raises an important question: if Bitcoin succeeds in being widely used as a daily payment method, does this strengthen Bitcoin's role as a store of value, or does it risk undermining that narrative?
Zalan believes that the expanding benefits of payments will ultimately strengthen Bitcoin's role as a store of value. He explained that the status of being a store of value is essentially a result of consensus in society and the market.
This status is formed from high liquidity, reliable transaction settlements, and the extent to which an asset is integrated into the real-world financial system. According to him,
“As Bitcoin is used more frequently (even through layers like Lightning or cards), Bitcoin increasingly acts as a durable monetary asset with strong demand and infrastructure around it.”
He emphasizes that concerns about 'value dilution' often arise because people mistakenly believe that daily use equates to a loss of confidence in the asset. In a mature financial system, long-term hold activities and daily use can coexist as long as the infrastructure facilitates transactions.
Looking ahead to 2026, Zalan described a more realistic outcome: Bitcoin serves as a reserve and anchor for transaction settlements, while user-friendly payment layers facilitate direct payments, allowing users to transact without having to think about blocks, costs, or time.