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The news: Crypto exchange Gemini launched an XRP edition of the Gemini credit card in collaboration with Ripple, per a press release. Cardholders will receive XRP as a reward for everyday spend. Our take: We forecast the amount of US crypto payment users remains low, at 1.3% of the population. However, the share of people who use crypto at all is more than seven times as large—suggesting Gemini’s new card could attract a larger base than cards designed around using crypto at checkout.

Adoption will spike by 82.1% from 2024 to 2026—but from a very low base. This translates to only 2.6% of the population using cryptocurrency payments in 2026, affirming its status as a nascent-stage payment option.

The news: President Donald Trump signed the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, known by its shorthand as the GENIUS Act, during a White House ceremony on Friday. Our take: The GENIUS Act ushers in the clarity and legitimacy sought after by crypto players and traditional FIs alike.

Tariff uncertainty, billion-dollar merger and acquisition deals, and a jump in social commerce will create new dynamics in the payments industry in H2 2025. Burgeoning tech like agentic AI and stablecoins will further shake up the space.

Payment provider innovation and regulatory changes are setting a long-term growth runway for cryptocurrency payments. But providers will still need to overcome low merchant acceptance and a sense of mistrust before crypto can go mainstream.

And though we forecast a 71.8% jump in US crypto payment users between 2024 and 2026, they will make up less than 20% of crypto owners. Still, waiting to explore stablecoins until demand catches up could leave FIs stuck with slower, costlier payment rails in a market moving toward real-time, low-cost digital transactions. Click here to view our full forecast for US cryptocurrency payment users.

This decision feeds into the rising enthusiasm for stablecoin as the future of payments.

Click here to view our full forecast for US cryptocurrency payment users. Sources. Autoweek. CBS News. CNET. IAB. KFF. Nielsen. PwC. The Budget Lab at Yale. University of Michigan.

Consumers are slowly making changes to how they pay at checkout. We look at the top seven payment methods and delve into what’s pushing forward and detracting from their growth.

Despite this strong momentum, crypto payments adoption won’t be immediate. We forecast crypto payment users will jump about 82% between 2024 and 2026, but in 2026, they will still only account for 2.6% of the US population.

The key challenge will be balancing monetization with user experience—too many ads could alienate users, while well-integrated sponsored content could enhance the value proposition. Prediction: OpenAI will make a bid for Snap. The acquisition would give OpenAI immediate access to hundreds of millions of users and valuable data on trends, behaviors, and content creation.

Click here to view our full forecast for US cryptocurrency payment users. 6. Mounting pressure will squeeze the long tail of RMNs. Small and mid-size retail media networks (RMNs) are experiencing growing pains.

The news: Coinbase will launch its first credit card on the American Express network this fall. Our take: This card could be a strong retention play to keep existing users from using an alternative crypto exchange but likely won’t move the needle on broader adoption.

The news: PayPal will enable Pay with Crypto in an attempt to streamline cross-border payments for US merchants through its intricate network of digital wallet and cryptocurrency integrations in the coming weeks. In the meantime, US consumers will have to break age-old payment habits: Only 8% of crypto owners who use cryptocurrency to purchase goods and services do so daily; most only use it up to four times a year. Building these consumer payment preferences will take time, so PayPal should remain patient.

The news: JPMorgan Chase and Coinbase partnered to offer Chase's customers new ways to access crypto. This fall, customers will be able to link Coinbase directly to their bank accounts, buy crypto with Chase credit cards, and convert rewards points to USDC, per a press release. Why this matters: This partnership is a big step toward bridging the gap between traditional finance and crypto. By letting customers use their credit cards to buy crypto or redeem their Chase Ultimate Rewards points for USDC, the companies could accelerate crypto adoption. It’s also another salvo from JPMorgan against data aggregators and open banking firms after the bank announced that it would charge these companies to access customer data—particularly around payments. JPMorgan is integrating directly with Coinbase rather than using APIs from a company like Plaid.

These attractive rates have supported significant user acquisition: Ualá reported new user sign-ups were 84% higher during a week in November 2023 than they were in the week in October when it hiked rates. Crypto tools. Currency devaluation is driving consumers in Latin America toward crypto.

The news: SoFi will relaunch its crypto investing platform and will introduce self-serve international money transfers powered by blockchain technology by year’s end, per a press release. Our take: As customers warm to crypto transactions, remittance providers stand to score valuable volume—and customer loyalty—if they style their businesses around what remittance senders want most: cheap, convent, and fast transactions.

The payment network is going all in on stablecoins despite limited usage. Leaning into business and commercial payments can help the crypto asset take off.

The payments giant also deepened its tie-up with Coinbase to make buying and using the asset more accessible