CoinGate Crypto Payments Report 2024: The Year of Stablecoins

Crypto payments at CoinGate have reached new heights in 2024 once again, driven by growth in transaction volume, rising popularity of stablecoins, and our product improvements. 

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Key takeaways:

• Overall transaction volume in 2024 increased by 29.6%, with 1.68 million crypto payments processed.
• Stablecoins accounted for 35.5% of all transactions, with USDT leading the way.
• The US shoppers lead crypto payments with 21% of orders, ahead of Germany (6–6.5%) and the UK (5.2–5.7%). Rapid YoY growth in emerging markets like Nigeria (+0.42%) and Ukraine (+0.61%).
• A significant shift in user preferences – TRON overtook Bitcoin as the most-used blockchain for payments.
• Layer 2 solutions like Lightning Network and Arbitrum experienced notable growth.

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Our report captures the year’s pivotal trends and behaviours in crypto payments. Continue reading for a detailed breakdown.

If you’re interested in accepting Bitcoin, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies, start by signing up for a CoinGate account.

Payments in Crypto Over the Years

Since 2014, the adoption of crypto payments has steadily grown, reaching new heights in 2024. 

This year saw 1,677,288 transactions processed through CoinGate, a substantial increase from the 1,294,058 recorded in 2023. 

Analyzing the transaction volume in percentage terms provides a clear view of activity fluctuations throughout the year. 

Monthly & Quarterly Breakdown

The most active month, November, accounted for 9.11% of total transactions, slightly surpassing October at 9.06%. In contrast, February recorded the smallest share at 7.50%, showing a significant 21% difference in payment volumes compared to the peak month.

Seasonal trends are evident when comparing quarters. The final quarter of the year (Q4) contributed the highest percentage of total transactions, accounting for approximately 27.13% of the annual total, which is plausible to credit to heightened activity during the holiday season. 

Conversely, the first quarter (Q1) had the lowest share, with around 23.42%, highlighting a typical post-holiday dip in consumer activity. The mid-year months (July through September) combined to represent approximately 25.26%, showing steady contributions and setting the stage for the year-end surge.

The percentage difference between the most active and least active months might be indicative of the seasonal nature of crypto spending. But a steady payment volume growth over the months could also suggest an accelerating adoption and normalization of crypto payment methods.

Whatever the reason is, crypto-friendly businesses can still leverage these insights to align their strategies with periods of peak activity, for example, by optimizing promotions and campaigns to capitalize on increased consumer engagement. 

Stablecoins Were a Key Driver of Growth

Stablecoins solidified their role as a preferred payment method, accounting for 35.5% of all transactions on CoinGate in 2024. 

This represents a continuing trend of rapid growth that accelerated back in 2022. Among stablecoins, USDT dominated with 97.2% of transactions, followed by USDC at 2.5% and DAI at 0.3%. 

USDC, in particular, experienced an 86.9% surge in usage, spurred by its integration into the Solana network in May 2024. Solana quickly became the second most popular network for USDC payments, with a notable increase in order volume between October and November.

In general, we clearly observe a significant increase in the popularity of stablecoin payments over the years. 

For example, in 2022, stablecoins accounted for only 16% of total payments made through CoinGate. This figure rose to 25.4% in 2023, and in 2024, the trend persisted, with stablecoins making up more than 1/3 of all payments.

Stablecoin payment volumes are not only claiming a larger share but are also growing in absolute terms. 

In 2023, orders made with stablecoins experienced their largest surge yet, increasing by 171.1% compared to 2022. While growth slowed in 2024, it remained significant, with a remarkable 26.2% increase from the previous record year for stablecoins.

Now that USDC is MiCA-compliant and might be exempt from the Travel Rule when paying for goods and services, we expect USDC and other stablecoins will continue to show higher volumes and take a similar if not even larger share of payments in the future.

This assumption is supported by a case study on crypto payments, highlighting the experience of the global telecom provider MoreMins.

According to the company’s Founder and CEO, crypto transactions now account for over 10% of MoreMins’ total orders with the number doubling every year. And, by now, stablecoins account for 23.2% of that pie.

Regional Trends in Crypto Payments (YoY)

The US has consistently led as the most active country for crypto payments. In both 2023 and 2024, US shoppers accounted for approximately 21% of all paid orders. The US also significantly outpaces the second most active country, Germany, which maintained a steady 6–6.5% share over recent years.

Great Britain retained its position as the third most active country for crypto spending for two consecutive years, with its share fluctuating between 5.2% and 5.7%. 

Completing the top five are Nigeria, with a 5.08% share, and the Netherlands at 4.4%. Nigeria, in particular, experienced an outstanding surge likely due to its faster pace of crypto adoption, with its share growing by 0.42% year-over-year.

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As highlighted in another case study, companies like NordVPN thrive with crypto payments, expanding their reach YoY and serving crypto-friendly customers across 176 countries. 

Your business can, too—start today with a CoinGate account.

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The year-over-year data also reveals key shifts in regional activity. Russia and Hong Kong have dropped out of the top 10, now ranking at 12th and 14th places respectively. The sudden drop is likely due to the increasingly widespread use of VPN services. 

Conversely, Poland and Ukraine entered the top 10 most active shopper countries for the first time, accounting for 1.77% and 2.52% of all shoppers respectively. Similarly to Nigeria, Ukraine’s activity this year also surged by a stand-out 0.61% compared to 2023.

The rest spreads out across many other countries, but the overall growth from last year shows the ever-expanding appeal of cryptocurrency as an everyday payment method, although it’s not the only power at work. 

Other factors driving this growth include the aforementioned adoption of stablecoins, enhanced blockchain scalability, and a notably renewed interest from merchants.

The Most Popular Cryptocurrencies in 2024

In a significant shift, USDT overtook BTC to become the most popular cryptocurrency for payments in 2024. 

BTC, while still a dominant player, saw its share decrease from 35.6% in 2023 to 22.8% in 2024. 

LTC, maintaining its reputation as a reliable choice, increased its share of payments from 9.5% to 13.1% and solidified its place as the third most-used cryptocurrency with a 52.6% yearly increase in payment volume.

SHIB experienced significant growth, driven by its integration into Polygon and Binance Smart Chain networks in May 2024. This led to a 61.6% increase in SHIB order volume compared to the previous year, with more notable momentum in the second quarter.

Merchant Settlement Preferences & Growing Interest in Stablecoins

Merchants exhibited clear preferences when settling their crypto payments in 2024.

A significant majority, 71.43%, opted to settle incoming payments in EUR, which implies that most businesses are still reluctant to hold funds in crypto. 

Still, stablecoins played a notable role, with 16.7% of settlements occurring in stablecoins. 

Interestingly, this share is slightly lower than the 17.7% recorded in 2023. However, the total number of payments settled in stablecoins still grew by 4.2%.

The decrease in share is attributed to the overall growth in payment volume at CoinGate, which expanded significantly in 2024.

The popularity of settling to stablecoins first gained traction in 2022 when their share jumped to 14.1%, compared to just 4.48% in 2021. This marked the beginning of a steady trend that continued through 2023 and 2024. 

With clearer regulations in Europe, the US, and other regions, stablecoins have become widely accepted and no longer reside in uncharted territory. Stablecoins became a preferred settlement option for businesses seeking both stability and compliance.

Meanwhile, 7.92% of settlements were in BTC, which shows that some businesses start seeing Bitcoin as an asset worth holding onto.

The Appeal of TRON & Changes in Blockchain Preferences

TRON emerged as the most-used blockchain in 2024, surpassing Bitcoin with a 31.5% share of transactions, up from 25.5% in 2023. 

The majority of transactions on TRON were conducted using a USDT stablecoin, which accounted for 71% of its payments, followed by TRX (28.95%). 

Sam Elfarra, Partnerships Lead and Community Spokesperson for the TRON DAO, commented on TRON’s success: “The TRON network has emerged as a popular payment method due to its low-fee, fast, and reliable architecture. The protocol can handle up to 2000 TPS with minimal fees. TRON DAO contributors have also helped promote the adoption of the TRON network in emerging markets; areas where blockchain technology is seen as a solution to hyperinflation or lack of financial infrastructure.

TRON is one of, if not, the most active public layer-1 blockchain to date and we look forward to continuing to innovate the ecosystem further, promoting its adoption in various areas, and incentivizing more projects to build or integrate the TRON network.”

Solana also experienced significant growth, climbing from the 10th to the 6th most-preferred blockchain between last year’s May, which was marked by USDC on Solana integration, and December. The network’s rapid popularity is highlighted by a 56.4% increase in order volume between October and November 2024.

However, Ethereum continues to slowly lose influence in its share of total payments over the years. In 2024, Ethereum accounted for 11.2% of all payments, down 1.7% from 2023 and 2.12% from 2022.

Layer 2 Solutions on the Rise

Layer 2 solutions like Lightning Network (LN), Polygon, and Arbitrum played a pivotal role in enhancing the efficiency of crypto payments in 2024. 

Lightning Network saw a 39.1% increase in usage, with 15.4% of all BTC payments processed through LN—effectively doubling its share from the previous year. December was a standout month, with LN facilitating nearly 20% of all Bitcoin payments. 

Meanwhile, Polygon recorded a 135% increase in transactions, mostly driven by a surge in USDT and POL payments, and Arbitrum’s adoption skyrocketed by 565% due to the increasing popularity of ETH and USDT payments. 

The Arbitrum network gained further traction in December with the addition of USDC support, rising to become the 8th most-used network on CoinGate.

Closing Thoughts

The data from 2024 paints a compelling picture. As transaction volumes soar, stablecoins continue to assert their dominance, offering the stability and reliability that both merchants and users seek. 

The shift in blockchain preferences, with TRON overtaking Bitcoin and Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum and Lightning Network gaining traction, demonstrates the crypto community’s push for efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

Looking ahead, the trends identified this year are likely to intensify. Stablecoins, particularly USDC, are expected to solidify their positions as the leading payment methods, driven by regulatory clarity such as MiCA compliance and their exemption from the Travel Rule in specific scenarios. 

The rapid adoption of Layer 2 solutions and emerging blockchains like Solana will further enhance the accessibility and speed of crypto payments, providing new opportunities for merchants and consumers alike.

The decline in Ethereum’s market share and the rise of alternatives like TRON and Solana signal a diversification in user preferences, reflecting the importance of low fees, faster transactions, and network scalability. 

Meanwhile, the regional data reveals fascinating shifts, with countries like Nigeria, Poland, and Ukraine driving growth in new markets.

As the crypto payment ecosystem matures, we anticipate even greater innovation and adoption in the coming years. We will do our best to empower merchants and users by providing robust, secure, and versatile payment solutions. 

Stepping into 2025, the future looks more promising than ever for businesses looking to embrace digital currencies. Are you ready? Start by signing up for a CoinGate account.