The adoption of cryptos experienced remarkable growth in 2025, from individuals to large institutions turning to the detention of digital assets. Interestingly, the data indicates that this recent fans of adoption is largely carried by digital payments and artificial intelligence.
In short
- About 37 % of respondents in the United States and the United Kingdom cite AI and digital payments such as the main forces behind the growth in the adoption of cryptos.
- In addition, 34 % use the crypto for payments – more than for stuking or farming – which shows that the utility takes precedence over the passive activities of the DEFI.
- Cities like Cannes target an adoption rate of 90 % among traders, payments in retail and restoration dominating uses.
- Young users are in mind in terms of cryptos detention: 51 % of stablecoins holders are between 18 and 34 years old, and Bitcoin remains at the top of the list.
Digital payments surpass stuking and farming as the main use of cryptocurrencies
According to a report, 37 % of the 1,000 people interviewed in the United States and the United Kingdom indicated that artificial intelligence and digital transactions are the pillars of the crypto revolution. According to a recent joint study conducted by Reown And the public opinion analysis company Yougov, 34 % of participants actively use cryptocurrency for payments.
The data show that this figure exceeds that of the participants involved in other DEFI activities, such as stuking or farming, even if trading remains more popular.
In addition, 27 % of respondents admitted that on-chain payments using digital assets will become a dominant trend in the next three to five years. This further strengthens the usefulness of cryptographic assets as a tool for solving concrete problems.
Crypto and AI payments: two sides of the same room
Offering a perspective on the recent study, the CEO of Reown, Jess Houlgrave, explained that AI and payments are attacking a fundamental challenge together: making the crypto “useful, trustworthy and intuitive”.
She added that these two areas complement each other, payments stimulating the daily use of crypto, while AI simplifies the process. Houlgrave has dismissed the idea that a sector could replace the other, stressing that artificial intelligence improves the customer experience and the efficiency of developers.
It insisted that AI optimizes key aspects such as “personalization, fraud detection and support”, while accelerating processes such as “integration, audit and automation”.
The Stablecoins Tether transmitter progresses in the IA-Finance trend after having detailed its plans to reveal a decentralized payment system powered by AI which works without API.
According to the CEO of Reown, the ease of use of digital payments is the main engine of increasing adoption. She stressed that concrete cases such as cross -border transfers and freelancers have transformed the digital payments of a “crypto demonstration” into a “real infrastructure”.
Companies and cities adopt digital assets
Digital payments have become a global trend, several companies incorporating Peer-to-Peer regulation methods to increase their productivity. Last month, the Shopify platform added a USDC payment option to facilitate transactions.
The CEO of Mercuryo, Petr Kozyakov, recently noted that more and more companies use cryptocurrencies for the payment of wages. With this rapidly growing trend, users actively seek to spend their digital assets directly.
Companies in the financial sector have helped to facilitate the use of cryptocurrencies, with the Mastercard card issuer which offers payment in stablecoins thanks to recent partnerships. Countries are also preparing for this financial change. Cannes, a French city, has set a target for 90 % crypto payments among its merchants for the summer of 2025.
This movement is strategic while the use of crypto assets in retail continues to progress. The OOBIT digital asset payment network has revealed that 70 % of the crypto payments on the platform concerned retail, catering and drinks.
Trading dominates on-chain activities
According to reports from the study, cryptocurrency trading is distinguished as the most popular on-chain activity.
Here is what the data show:
- About 36 % of respondents prefer crypto trading as an on-chain activity.
- Another 10 % of participants in the survey prefer payments as a favorite on-chain use.
- In addition, 14 % of participants plan to use on-chain payments in the future as a priority.
Houlgrave said that on-chain payments are becoming the general public, citing concrete applications in daily payments and finance. She added that technology finally reaches the initial promises that attracted users to crypto.
The CEO of Reown recalled that the original idea of cryptographic assets was to offer global payments, without borders or need for confidence, as exposed in the white Bitcoin paper.
Stablecoins in the lead in front of Solana
Regarding the possession of cryptos, the study showed that 63 % of respondents had Bitcoin, while 48 % held Ethereum. It was also found that 38 % of participants had stablecoins, placing them over Solana at 37 %.
Among stable and 51 % holders are between 18 and 34 years old. However, the adoption rate among users over 45 has decreased sharply.
Reown's report highlights the significant change in the adoption of cryptocurrencies, stimulated by concrete use cases such as digital payments and the integration of AI. With growing support from companies and governments, the crypto goes from speculation to practical utility – especially as everyday financial infrastructure.
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