The decision to accept crypto payments is a strategic choice for merchants and businesses. It’s not something you do to keep up with the Joneses. It’s about responding to how your customers want to pay and supporting long-term growth. According to research by Stripe, by September 2025, approximately 18,000 businesses globally were accepting Bitcoin. This growth reflects a broader trend, as stablecoin circulation more than doubled in the 18 months starting in 2024. As with any decision to accept crypto payments, there are a few ways you can go about it. It’s worth taking the time to understand what the local requirements and operational considerations are, as well as the right supporting infrastructure.

In this article, we’ll explore what merchants need to know before accepting cryptocurrency payments, and why using a crypto payment gateway is often the most practical and reliable way to do so.

The different ways merchants can accept crypto payments

There are a few different ways merchants can accept crypto payments, and the right choice usually comes down to how much exposure to digital assets a merchant is comfortable with. Some choose to accept crypto directly and hold it themselves, which can make sense for those who want that exposure, but it also means taking on price volatility and managing custody. Others choose to accept only stablecoins to limit price swings, though this still requires handling wallets and settlement. Then, many merchants opt to partner with a crypto payment gateway that converts crypto to fiat at the point of payment, allowing them to offer crypto payments at checkout without worrying about revenue being affected by market movements.

What matters day to day is how easily crypto payments fit into your existing processes. Using a crypto payment gateway helps to keep things simple by handling pricing, conversion and settlement in the background, so crypto transactions follow payment flows that are as familiar as card payments or bank transfers. This way, crypto can sit alongside cards and other payment methods without adding manual work for finance or operations teams, making it easier to manage as the business grows.

Managing volatility, security and regulatory considerations

When merchants think about accepting crypto payments, the question of volatility, security and regulation naturally comes up early. And they’re not wrong. These are important questions to ask before accepting cryptocurrency payments. Price swings in particular can feel like a barrier, especially for businesses operating on tight margins. The reality is that these risks depend largely on how crypto is accepted, as discussed above. Holding crypto directly exposes merchants to market movements, while approaches that lock in value at the point of payment remove much of that uncertainty from the equation.

Then come security and compliance, which are just as important. Crypto transactions run on decentralized blockchains, a completely different rail to card payments, which means merchants need to be confident that customer payments are handled securely and in line with local requirements. Working with a crypto payment gateway can help simplify this by providing built-in security measures, clear transaction records and compliant onboarding processes. A crypto payment gateway will also be able to advise regarding regulatory aspects, and provide information about your region’s compliance requirements. So, rather than navigating these considerations alone, merchants can rely on established infrastructure that allows them to confidently offer crypto payments while staying focused on their core business

How do crypto payments support growth and customer experience

For many merchants, the real appeal of crypto payments is in the customers they help unlock. Crypto users tend to be distributed around the globe, from the Millennial or Gen Z demographic, comfortable with digital-first experiences and more likely to abandon checkout if their preferred payment method is missing. Accepting crypto payments can help reduce friction for cross-border customers, open the door to higher-value transactions and give merchants more flexibility in how they serve international audiences.

And the benefits go beyond simply adding another payment button. When crypto is offered through the right infrastructure, it can support use cases like subscriptions or recurring billing, in-app purchases and one-off high-value payments (such as real estate purchases) without complicating the checkout experience. So rather than being a standalone experiment, crypto payments become part of a broader strategy to improve conversion, meet customer expectations and future-proof how a business accepts payments as those expectations continue to evolve.