Bitcoin Loses Role in Payment Systems: BitRefill and BitPay Focus on Stablecoins

user avatar

by Giorgi Kostiuk

2 years ago

Made with AI

  1. Decline in Bitcoin Usage on BitRefill
  2. Stablecoins Dominate on BitRefill
  3. BitPay and Stablecoins


    4. Bitcoin (BTC) is no longer used as electronic cash, being displaced by other assets. Recently, platforms such as BitRefill and BitPay have observed a rise in the use of stablecoins for transactions.

    Decline in Bitcoin Usage on BitRefill

    BitRefill noted that Bitcoin is no longer the top choice as a means of payment. High and unpredictable fees, and non-intuitive units led the users of the service to shift to other tokens, especially stablecoins. The trend for BTC shifted in the past 12 months, affecting on-chain BTC, and payments through the Lightning Network. At the same time, BitRefill is tapping the monetary value in the Ethereum ecosystem, as recent market research revealed.

    One of the main reasons for abandoning BTC as a payment tool is the removal of zero-confirmation transactions. BTC transactions on BitRefill turned from instant to taking up to 10 minutes for a block confirmation.CITE_W_A

    Stablecoins Dominate on BitRefill

    A more detailed breakdown of payments shows BitRefill inflows come from stablecoins on the Ethereum network, as well as L2 networks like Polygon. BitRefill was among the payment tools during the first crypto bull market and still has some of the older legacy assets like Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and even Dash (DASH). The so-called legacy coins still rely on network effects and make up for average payments above $55. The largest payments through BitPay use Ethereum-based USDC. Based on data shared by Matt Ahlborg, market research consultant at BitRefill, the average payment for USDC users is $312, while BTC users pay $147 on average.

    BitPay and Stablecoins

    BitPay recently had a tally of the most widely used crypto assets for payments. After a campaign on voting and spending, the service still presented BTC and ETH as leaders, while the regulated stablecoin USDC took the third spot. Previously, Litecoin (LTC) sank to the fourth position during the latest spend period. Despite this, LTC had the biggest share of BitPay transactions as the most numerous. New BitPay users are onboarded mostly through BTC, ETH, and USDT. These assets saw the biggest inflows of new wallets. USDC and USDT were also leaders in the biggest average value for individual transactions. BitPay remains a strictly KYC service recently changing the rules for EU-based users, requiring an ID scan and verification for transfers and purchases above $1,000.

    Stablecoins such as USDC and USDT continue to strengthen their positions in the world of crypto payments, especially on platforms like BitRefill and BitPay. The preservation of legacy assets and the shift of users to stablecoins indicate the ongoing development and adaptation of the crypto market to new demands and challenges.

Tier I

Sector: #18291

Sealed Hiding Place Room

Resource Cache

Resource Cache

Tier I

Requires 25% Tier Progress to Claim
Meme Cache

Meme Cache

Tier I

Requires 50% Tier Progress to Claim
Equipment Cache

Equipment Cache

Tier I

Requires 75% Tier Progress to Claim

After collecting, hiding places will be stored in your inventory and can be opened with Keys.

Other news

Aptos Reports Token Burn and Staking Emissions

Aptos has burned approximately 174,570 APT in the last 30 days while issuing around 15 million APT through staking.

user avatarEmily Carter

Cross River Bank Integrates Ripple's RLUSD Stablecoin for Enhanced Payment Solutions

Cross River Bank integrates Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin to enhance payment solutions for fintech customers.

user avatarTomas Novak

Stocklinked Tokens in DeFi Surge to $2.624 Billion

Stocklinked tokens in decentralized finance reached approximately $2.624 billion by the end of September 2026, marking an 18-fold increase from the beginning of the year.

user avatarKaterina Papadopoulou

Fidelity's Assessment Highlights Solana's Improved Reliability

Fidelity's assessment indicates Solana has operated for over two years without major outages, achieving a 99.7% vote success rate, but warns of concerns regarding validator concentration.

user avatarMaya Lundqvist

BitTorrent Unveils New Whitepaper and Brand Upgrade for Web3 and AI

In October 2023, BitTorrent unveiled a comprehensive brand upgrade and a new whitepaper outlining a tripartite architecture for decentralized content distribution and compute, aiming to enhance operational efficiency for Web3 and AI applications.

user avatarLeo van der Veen

JUST Completes Fifth Buyback and Burn of JST Tokens

JUST has successfully completed its fifth buyback and burn of JST tokens, burning over 170 million tokens.

user avatarLi Weicheng

Important disclaimer: The information presented on the Dapp.Expert portal is intended solely for informational purposes and does not constitute an investment recommendation or a guide to action in the field of cryptocurrencies. The Dapp.Expert team is not responsible for any potential losses or missed profits associated with the use of materials published on the site. Before making investment decisions in cryptocurrencies, we recommend consulting a qualified financial advisor.