Crypto at the Checkout: How Retailers Can Prepare for the Next Evolution in 2026
Retail crypto spending jumped 125 percent in 2025, a signal that shopper preferences are shifting faster than many retailers realize. What was once primarily speculative is quickly becoming practical and commonplace. Consumers are using digital assets, especially stablecoins, to make everyday and high-value purchases. Retailers preparing for this change now will be positioned to capture a growing wave of digital-first customers, while others risk falling behind.
Stablecoins Are Fueling Crypto’s Move Into Everyday Utility
Stablecoins have emerged as an impactful driver of retail adoption. They offer predictable pricing, lower fees, and fast cross-border payments, removing much of the friction previously associated with paying with crypto. Stablecoins represented 62 percent of all crypto payments in 2025, up from roughly 30 percent just a few years ago.
This momentum is being powered by a symbiotic relationship: payments are becoming easier for retailers to implement, and consumers are increasingly comfortable spending their digital assets. Over the past year, more merchants across luxury, fashion, electronics, automotive, and specialty retail have added crypto as a payment option. At the same time, consumers have gained access to easier-to-use wallets and payment tools that make paying with digital assets feel just as simple as paying with a credit card.
High-Value Shoppers Are Leading the Way
For many retailers, the most immediate benefit comes from tapping into global, tech-forward, and high-value customers who prefer digital assets. The average transaction value for crypto purchases rose nearly 50 percent year-over-year, now approaching $800 per order.
Industries seeing the strongest lift include:
- jewelry and watches;
- luxury fashion and accessories;
- cars, motorcycles, and boats;
- precious metals and collectibles; and
- electronics and tech.
These verticals align well with younger, tech-savvy consumers who hold and spend crypto.
Implementation is Easier Than Ever and Becoming a Competitive Advantage
Adding crypto payments no longer requires major technical overhauls. Modern payment providers offer multiple levels of integration, from turnkey hosted checkout pages to plugins and full APIs. Most retailers can now go live in days, not months.
As adoption accelerates, choosing the right partner is critical. Retailers should look for:
- Multiple implementation options to match their technical and operational needs.
- A proven track record with retailers, especially in high-value categories.
- Co-marketing support to help drive awareness and education.
- Next-day settlement, with the option to receive payouts in local fiat currency or stablecoins.
- Support for both accepting and sending digital assets, ensuring future readiness for rewards, rebates or international payouts.
This approach allows retailers to future-proof their checkout stack without committing to costly infrastructure changes.
The Next Phase: Loyalty and Rewards With Crypto
The next year to 18 months will bring new ways for retailers to strengthen customer engagement through crypto. Stablecoin rewards and rebates offer real utility. Customers can save them or spend them. And as stablecoins become more widely used, retailers will be able to support global incentive programs without adding operational complexity.
These benefits turn crypto from a simple payment method into a broader customer engagement tool, helping retailers build loyalty that feels modern, flexible and valuable.
A Practical Step Toward the Future of Retail
Crypto isn’t outright replacing traditional payments, but it is expanding what’s possible. With retail payments up 125 percent year-over-year and stablecoins powering a large portion of that growth, the opportunity is clear. Retailers that integrate digital asset payments today will be well positioned to reach high-value customers, streamline international commerce, and unlock new loyalty models in 2026 and beyond.
Bill Zielke is the chief marketing officer at BitPay, the world’s largest provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services.
Bill is an accomplished executive with a proven track record of launching new and disruptive payment and fintech products to reach millions of consumers. His experience includes 30+ years at leading financial technology companies BitPay, Ingo Money, Forter, eBay, PayPal, BillMeLater, and CheckFree.
Prior to BitPay, Bill led the go-to-market strategy and plans for Ingo Money's push payment offering and Forter’s SAAS-based fraud prevention service. Prior, Bill was Head of eBay Motors, responsible for sales, integration, account management, and sales operations for the companies eBay Motors business unit. Prior to that, Bill was Senior Director of Merchant Marketing, where he was responsible for driving buyer and seller growth for eBay’s marketplace business across all aspects of the business, including go-to-market strategy, marketing, and seller support. Before eBay, Bill was a Senior Director of NA Merchant Marketing and Head of Sales Strategy and Operations at PayPal where he was responsible for driving the company's go-to-market strategy and market penetration for the companies flagship payment product PayPal Express Checkout. In previous roles, Bill led the market productization of the industry's pioneer buy now pay later product, Bill Me Later, which included developing go-to-market plans, defining the product's value proposition, engineering the sales approach, and building overall market interest. =
Over the years, Bill has built a track record of helping companies successfully introduce innovative, first-to-market products to e-commerce, disrupting static industries and creating massive new revenue streams. Examples include Decision as A Service – Forter, Inc; eCommerce marketplace storefronts for Coach and Target – eBay Marketplace; Express & Mobile Checkout – Paypal; Bill Me Later; E-Bill & WebPay – CheckFree. These products serve billion-dollar global markets for the world’s top banks, retailers, and billers.
At BitPay, Bill looks after all B2B and B2C go to market activities including demand generation, digital marketing, SEO, content development, client integrations, sales and sales support, and more for the company's crypto wallet app and crypto payment acceptance products.
