15 Aug, 2022|RESEARCH

A Look into the Future of Cryptocurrency Payments for Australian Businesses and Consumers

The rise of digital economies during COVID-19 saw cryptocurrency adoption increase in Australia, driving a growing appetite among consumers and merchants to make and receive crypto payments.

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Key Takeaways

As the popularity of cryptocurrency increases, so does demand for ways to use it in the real world to replace entrenched, expensive, and slow traditional means. This report was commissioned to test Australian consumer and merchant attitudes towards one of the key use cases still to be conquered —paying for everyday goods and services at point of sale using cryptocurrency.

There is significant interest in having the ability to make and receive payments directly in cryptocurrency. 55% of both merchants and consumers in Australia say they want to transact in cryptocurrency.

Both merchants and consumers prefer to transact in Bitcoin and Ethereum, but there is significant demand for an Australian dollar stablecoin.

Both merchants and consumers would like to have the option of transacting online and in-store. But consumers are more focused on online.

Almost half of Australian merchants say they are or will be ready within a year to transact in cryptocurrency.

In Australia, the lack of regulation and—to a lesser extent—uncertainty about the tax implications remain barriers to the wider adoption of cryptocurrency transactions.

There is a reasonably high level of alignment between consumers’ and merchants’ interest in the different types of goods and services for which they would like to transact in crypto. Luxury goods, digital media, retail, and grocery are high on both lists, but there are clear opportunities in industries such as travel and hospitality, which are in high demand from Australian consumers as they emerge from two years of COVID-19 lockdowns.