B2B Fuels Stablecoin Surge as Merchants Embrace Crypto

Merchant adoption of crypto payments has climbed steadily. Nearly four in 10 US merchants (39%) now accept cryptocurrency at checkout, according to January 2026 research from the National Cryptocurrency Association (NCA) and PayPal, with large enterprises leading at 50%. The NCA’s latest figures paint an optimistic picture of an industry integrating digital assets at point of sale. But scratching the surface, a more complicated story emerges. Stablecoin real-world payment transaction values have grown substantially over the past year, according to Boston Consulting Group, but B2B settlements and remittances primarily prop up that expansion – a long way from everyday merchant checkouts.

Infrastructure gains

For some time, this has been seen as an education and infrastructure problem. The answer is to educate people, improve the checkout flow and make it as easy as tapping a phone. "A lot of the barriers we heard when it came to merchants who are not accepting crypto is that they would if it were as easy as accepting PayPal," Ali Tager of the NCA told Sandmark.

Third-party payments providers are making crypto acceptance easier for merchants who do not want the hassle of adding another payment option at checkout. Increased integration with Visa and Mastercard has helped, as have processors such as Stripe and Shopify. These platforms now support USDC on Ethereum Layer 2 networks like Base, enabling seamless acceptance for millions of online merchants across dozens of countries.

B2B dominance

Stablecoin real-economy transaction volumes more than doubled in 2025. McKinsey and Artemis Analytics estimate real-world payments reached $390bn, with B2B settlements accounting for roughly 60% ($226bn) – up 733% year-over-year. Remittances and C2C flows made up much of the balance, while C2B transactions (concentrated in gaming and digital services) remained a smaller portion. Asia drove around 60% of activity, while North America contributed roughly $95bn.

This breakdown reflects where stablecoin rails offer something incumbent systems cannot. In B2B settlements, that has meant faster clearing times and lower correspondent banking fees. In remittance corridors, it has meant cheaper and faster transfers in markets where traditional wire services are slow and expensive. Much of the daily real-world utility is centred on developing economies. Where existing payment and banking infrastructure is efficient, the landscape changes. NCA data from 2025 shows investing remains the primary use case for crypto holders, at around 52%.

"One in five everyday shoppers in America said they would actually prefer to receive crypto than a gift card," said Tager, citing NCA consumer research. "It gives them more control, more flexibility, it doesn't expire, they can spend it whenever they want to, but it can also go up in value."

For merchants, integrating crypto offers an advantage. Digital assets provide faster settlement and cheaper transactions than traditional payment rails. Burger chain Steak 'n Shake, owned by Biglari Holdings, which started accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments in May 2025, reported 2mn new customers and 15% same-store sales growth in Q3 2025. The initiative cut processing fees by 50%, with projected annual savings of $6mn should every customer use Bitcoin.

Payments providers have made the process of merchants onboarding onto crypto cleaner still by developing systems integrated with crypto on the back end. In these systems, consumers may not even need to engage in digital assets for merchants to reap the rewards.

Spending versus holding

However, none of these advantages are transferred to the consumer at the point of sale, leaving the incentive to pay directly with digital assets lacking weight. "I don't have a stablecoin wallet I'm going to pay for my groceries with. Why would I? I can wave my telephone over the checkout," analyst Noelle Acheson tells Sandmark. "I’m a crypto native. If I don't see the use case, why would my sister, who is not a crypto native in any shape or form?"

In markets with stable banking infrastructure, the economic case for spending digital assets on existing payment rails is difficult to make. Credit cards offer rewards and purchase protection, while tap-to-pay remains frictionless. Bitcoin’s growing positioning as a store of value has compounded the issue. Holders view it as "a long-term store of value, like digital gold." Spending an appreciating asset carries an opportunity cost that most consumers are reluctant to absorb.

Crypto-backed loans seek to solve the issue. On 26 Apr, asset-backed crypto card Aven launched a Visa network credit card backed by Bitcoin. Chief Crypto Officer Sisun Lee admitted to Sandmark that due to the card’s 10-year repayment terms, "personally, I think most people will use this largely to draw long-term loans." The 2% Bitcoin cashback may not be enough to shift habits.

"Traditional payment systems work well," said Acheson. "Changing habits is hard and generally requires obvious improvement. Crypto doesn't give that obvious improvement. Yet."

Regulatory clarity ahead

The GENIUS Act, signed into law in 2025, established the first federal framework for stablecoin issuance in the US, including 1:1 reserves. Its companion legislation, the Clarity Act, is still moving through Congress. Negotiations include potential transaction rewards on stablecoins, alongside restrictions on yield for idle balances.

If realized, this would provide the first direct financial incentive to spend stablecoins at the point of sale rather than hold them. "If I have a stablecoin balance, it's not earning anything, but I know I'm going to get rewards for transactions, then maybe," said Acheson. "But then again, I can also get that on my credit card."

Industry observers expect consumer adoption to accelerate as Layer 2 infrastructure matures and regulatory clarity solidifies, though B2B and cross-border flows will likely remain the primary drivers in the near term.