Nearly 25% of Americans Want To Give Cryptocurrency as Gifts in the Coming Holidays

A recent NCA survey, conducted in collaboration with PayPal, has identified cryptocurrency as an official gift item on holiday lists.

Nearly 1 in 4 Americans, representing 24% of the 2,000 respondents to the survey, have cryptocurrency on their gift list. Another 17% of respondents prefer cryptocurrency over traditional gift cards, with 31% suggesting that cryptocurrencies will be used most likely.

Among existing crypto holders, nearly two-thirds, representing about 65% of respondents, are giving or considering gifting crypto. Half of these holders also expect to receive crypto gifts themselves.

The respondents explained that their choice of crypto gifts is influenced by several factors, including the assets’ growth potential.

58% believe that cryptocurrencies have the potential to increase in value, compared to traditional gift cards. Additionally, 54% said they prefer crypto’s flexibility for spending and investing, while 49% like it because of its ease of storage.

Amid this, 45% consider it a more exciting gift to receive, and 40% like its speed of sending and receiving.

Crypto Gifting set to Boost Assets’ Utility

The survey highlights the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency as a major holiday gift among Americans. This builds on multiple surveys conducted in the past years by different organizations to gauge the assets’ popularity and adoption.

In 2021, BlockFi uncovered that 1 in 10 Americans planned to gift cryptocurrency for the holiday. Similarly, NFT Evening reported earlier this year that 48% of Americans would buy digital assets, including NFTs, as holiday gifts.

Crypto’s selection as a gift item represents the sector’s rising maturity and integration into mainstream usage. Consequently, this has created a significant utility process for cryptocurrencies beyond their traditional use as a store of value and for payment settlement.

Beyond gifting, 23% of respondents disclosed that they are likely to shop with cryptocurrency this holiday season. Specifically, 82% of existing holders would consider paying with crypto if retailers accepted it. However, the unavailability of enough stores that accept cryptocurrencies emerged as a major deterrent, preventing holders.

Nevertheless, this creates a major retail opportunity in the crypto era for businesses. The opportunity, if leveraged, could increase crypto’s utility as a spendable asset among retailers for day-to-day activities.

Regulatory Clarity Efforts Boost Crypto’s Popularity

Meanwhile, the increasing popularity and integration of cryptocurrencies into the mainstream sector may be linked to recent efforts to provide regulatory clarity.

Over the past year, the cryptocurrency industry has garnered significant attention from regulatory bodies worldwide. In the US alone, lawmakers and financial regulators have made multiple strides to introduce clarity to the sector.

These efforts include multiple roundtables convened by regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to solicit input from the industry. Lawmakers, on the other hand, have passed the GENIUS stablecoin act with bills like the CLARITY Act in the works.

While these efforts seek to introduce clarity to the sector, they have attracted a wide range of new players. These include top traditional institutions, such as banks and asset managers, among others.

In addition to the major players, regular holders’ plans to use cryptocurrencies as holiday gifts also follow the regulatory efforts.