Cryptocurrency could be making its way to the checkout this holiday season, but simply giving shoppers another way to pay does not guarantee they will use it. New research from NMI, a global leader in embedded payments infrastructure, finds that 34% of U.S. consumers surveyed say they are likely to use cryptocurrency for holiday shopping this season if it is offered at checkout. Looking beyond the holidays, 33% say they are likely to use crypto at a retailer they already know and shop with within the next 12 months. The findings land ahead of the holiday shopping season, one of the busiest stretches on the U.S. retail calendar.

For the research, cryptocurrency was defined as including digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and stablecoins, which can be held in a digital wallet and, in some cases, used to pay for goods and services. Stablecoins are designed to hold a steady value, typically by referencing a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar.

Interest in spending crypto comes with conditions, however. More than half of respondents (52%) say they would be more willing to pay with crypto if there were clear protections when something goes wrong, while 62% want to know the exact U.S. dollar cost, including fees, before they pay.

“Consumers are telling us crypto has a place at the holiday checkout, but their interest is conditional,” said Tiffany Johnson, Chief Product Officer at NMI. “They aren’t asking retailers to reinvent how they pay. They want crypto to offer the things they already expect from payments: clear pricing, simple refunds and confidence that if something goes wrong, it can be made right. Trust will be what turns interest into actual transactions.”

Crypto Acceptance Influences Where Consumers Shop

When asked to choose between two retailers selling the same product at the same price, 30% of consumers say they would be more likely to choose the retailer that accepts cryptocurrency. That compares with 26% who say they would be less likely to choose it, while 35% say it would make no difference. Framed around identical products and prices, the question isolates payment acceptance itself — and for roughly three in ten consumers, that factor alone tips the choice.

The value of payment choice goes beyond crypto itself. More than half of consumers (56%) say businesses should offer customers more ways to pay, even if not every customer uses every option, while 42% say offering newer payment methods such as cryptocurrency makes them more likely to view a business as innovative.

Crypto Gives Retailers an Edge With Younger Shoppers

Younger consumers show the strongest appetite for using crypto. Forty-eight percent of Gen Z and Millennials say they are likely to use crypto at a retailer they already know within the next year if it were offered.

Crypto acceptance could also influence where they spend. Forty-nine percent of Gen Z and 44% of Millennials say they would be more likely to choose a retailer that accepts crypto, compared with 25% of Gen X and just 9% of Baby Boomers. The generational split suggests the payoff from accepting crypto may depend heavily on the age profile of a retailer’s customer base.

“Younger consumers have grown up with more choice in how they shop, move money and pay,” Johnson added. “For retailers, payment choice is now a major part of the overall customer experience. It doesn’t mean every shopper will use every payment method, but they increasingly expect flexible options to be there.”

Shoppers Want Clear Costs, Simple Refunds and Trusted Payment Partners

Consumers may be open to crypto, but they want the experience to feel familiar. According to the findings:

• 62% need to know the exact U.S. dollar cost, including fees.
• 51% would feel more comfortable if refunds were as simple as credit or debit card refunds.
• 50% would feel more comfortable if a company they already know and trust handled the payment.

Even current crypto owners want these safeguards. Among the 602 respondents who currently own cryptocurrency, 76% want to know the exact dollar cost, including fees; 72% say simpler refunds would make them more comfortable; and 74% would feel more comfortable if a familiar, trusted company handled the transaction.

Security and understanding remain significant barriers. Fraud or scams are consumers’ biggest stated concern at 34%, followed by not understanding how crypto payments work (30%) and volatility in cryptocurrency value (27%). For merchants and payment providers, the survey effectively sets a holiday-season checklist: checkout flows that surface exact dollar costs, refunds that match the card experience, and payment handling by names shoppers already recognize. Whether crypto arrives at checkouts in that shape this season is the immediate thing to watch.

This article is based on a report published by Global FinTech Series on November 12, 2026. The original article is available here.