-
Travel companies, fast food chains and dating sites are leading the way in introducing cryptocurrencies, Traders of Crypto said.
-
Expedia, McDonald’s and OkCupid are among large companies that are proving open to crypto, according to a survey.
-
But cryptoadoption is still in its infancy with payments usually limited to bitcoin and ethereum.
The travel service industry and fast food chains are among those leading the broader acceptance of cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services, research showed published Tuesday.
Of the top 10 crypto-friendly industries, travel is number one, with 11.5% of companies in that sector accepting digital assets, according to a survey conducted by Traders of Crypto. E-commerce is number two with 11.06%, while non-profit and charities are number three with 9.13%.
Meanwhile, fast food chains including Burger King, higher education institutions and sports teams are among other large companies and entities that act as early users of cryptocurrencies.
The expanded acceptance “reflects a huge shift in public perception of crypto, where its value is finally being realized by both consumers and businesses,” Traders of Crypto said in a note.
The research site for cryptocurrencies started its study by reviewing a number of general and special news sites to create a list of companies that accept cryptocurrency.
“However, the adoption of crypto is still in its infancy, and the majority of digital tokens accepted by companies tend to be limited to Bitcoin and one or two other leading cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum,” it states.
The travel industry has been “quick to recognize” the growing demand for cryptocurrency availability, with Expedia leading the way in allowing customers to pay for hotel reservations using bitcoin. Airlines including AirBaltic, Norwegian Air and LOT Polish Airlines also moved to take crypto as payment.
Burger King and McDonald’s are among several of the world’s largest fast food companies that have begun experimenting with payments in crypto, the study showed. Burger King has run trials in Germany, the Netherlands and Venezuela. McDonald’s is working on it in El Salvador – the first country to adopt bitcoin as a legal tender – and the chicken chain KFC has experimented in Canada.
The Portuguese football club Benfica’s acceptance of bitcoin and ethereum for fan merchandise made it an early adopter in the sports world. In American professional sports, the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Dolphins, San Jose Earthquakes in football and the San Jose Sharks in hockey include crypto as payment options.
“[Even] our love life has been permeated by the unstoppable wave of progress, “with dating site OkCupid accepting bitcoin payments back in 2013, said Traders of Crypto. OkCupid is run by Match Group. Badoo and Luxy are other dating sites that accept crypto payments, it said.
Read the original article on Business Insider