Do People Actually Use Crypto to Buy Things?

One of the most common questions asked about cryptocurrency is whether or not people actually use it to buy something. The answer is yes, however the number of people using it for purchases just may surprise you.

Of course, the answer to this question isn’t cut and dry, as there are a lot of outside influences causing fluctuations in the numbers. So, read on as we discuss just how many people are spending cryptocurrency and on what.

Do Stores Actually Accept Cryptocurrency?

Before we can discuss how many people spend their cryptocurrency on physical goods, we must first discuss what stores actually accept cryptocurrency. It is worth noting that many online stores now accept cryptocurrency. If you want more information, check out our article on the topic What Can You Buy with Cryptocurrency.

The cool thing is, while online retailers accepting cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly popular, so is paying with cryptocurrency in person. Due to the confirmation times of most of the popular blockchains (for example, Bitcoin’s is 10 minutes or more), it is more common for luxury goods stores to accept cryptocurrency than grocery stores.

That being said, there are several cryptocurrency debit and credit cards that will let you spend your crypto anywhere Visa or Mastercard are accepted. This has made spending your cryptocurrency even easier than before.

So, Do People Use Cryptocurrency to Buy Things?

Yes, there are many people in the world who do actually use their cryptocurrency to shop. According to a recent study performed in 2023 with the results announced in 2024, 7% of adults in the United States held cryptocurrency during the period of the study. While that may seem insignificant, when you consider that the population of the United States is 340.1 million, this means that a whopping 23 million adults in the United States hold cryptocurrency—and that isn’t bad.

Of the 7% of Americans that hold cryptocurrency, 1% report spending it on goods, while another 1% report using it to send money to family and friends. Because this article is just about whether or not people buy stuff with cryptocurrency, that means that 3.4 million individuals chose to spend their cryptocurrency on goods during the period of the study. Because knowledge and use of cryptocurrency is expanding, we expect this number may be even higher now.

Who Is Using Cryptocurrency to Buy Things?

If it surprised you to find out 3.4 million Americans are spending their crypto, you aren’t alone, as that number is shocking to many people. This is why the creators of the study dove even deeper, looking to discover what demographics were spending their cryptocurrency.

They found that males were 3x more likely to spend their cryptocurrency than females, as females were much more likely to just buy and hold. Additionally, income level was a huge factor in whether or not you considered spending your cryptocurrency. The largest demographics represented in the 3.4 million people were those with an income either below $25,000 annually or those with an income above $100,000 annually. Before you scratch your head, we estimate that because cryptocurrency is often used for operating in gray areas, these demographics might actually be the same (with those reporting an income below $25,000 working in industries like pornography and drugs).

It doesn’t end there, though. Race had a huge effect on whether or not you were buying items with your cryptocurrency. Those identifying as white or Asian mostly held their cryptocurrency as investments, while those identifying as black or Hispanic were more likely to spend it in transactions. We expect that this is really the result of origin, just in less fancy terms. As those of black or Hispanic heritage are more likely to have family abroad that needs money. As we mentioned above, 1% of crypto “users” report sending money to friends or family (and not actually buying items), but these individuals are grouped together in the study as just “ reported transactions,” meaning just sending money to family looks the same as buying stuff.  

Either way, our conclusion is the same: People are actually spending their crypto, especially if they are black and Hispanic males.

What Are People Buying With Crypto?

As we mentioned in the first section, grocery stores don’t really accept crypto just yet. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that luxury goods are the most common items purchased with cryptocurrency.

Luxury goods include cars, property, and art. All things that allow for a long confirmation period and money laundering (remember how we said those under $25k likely made more?) Remember, if you simply cash out your crypto to fiat, you will owe taxes. This is why we suspect that many individuals use them to buy luxury goods—as they can skip the cash-out phase. While they may still owe taxes on their purchase, at least they don’t have to pay capital gains taxes.

According to reports, the purchase of luxury goods has spiked in the last 12-18 months, with retailers like Juliette’s Interiors and Kettle, a watch retailer, reporting the largest upticks.

So, what are people buying with crypto ? Furniture and watches, apparently.

What Cryptocurrency Are People Spending?

While you might be quick to assume that individuals are buying their furniture and watches with Bitcoin, you would actually be incorrect. According to studies, it seems that Bitcoin is still seen as only a store of value or digital gold and that individuals are most likely to invest and not spend Bitcoin.

Rather, those who are making purchases seem to default to Ethereum or Solana. We suspect this is because of both the proposed use of these blockchains and the fact that both have a block confirmation time shorter than that of Bitcoin.

So, there you have it. Here is our official answer to the question of whether or not people are actually spending their cryptocurrency. In short, yes, people are spending their cryptocurrency, but only their tokens, which are mainstream and are not Bitcoin. They are buying luxury goods, like watches and furniture, but likely still not using crypto for everyday purchases.