IMF survey report: In 2024, cryptocurrency will become the most popular way to pay for everyday consumption.

According to a report by Bitcoinist on April 11, a survey conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that more and more people believe that by 2024, cryptocurrency will become the most popular form of daily consumer payment.

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More and more people favor cryptocurrencies

As of press time, more than half of the respondents indicated that they would use cryptocurrency to pay for lunch within five years. Of the nearly 26,000 votes for the payment method, 56% chose cryptocurrency and 29% chose mobile payment.

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As cryptocurrency payments continue to be integrated into the mobile platform, some of these 29% may turn to cryptocurrencies. At the same time, so far, the survey shows that the total number of people who choose to pay in cash and bank cards accounts for 15%.

However, the continued development of virtual currency payments means that the options offered by the IMF are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

For example, Coinbase announced on Wednesday (April 10, 2019) the launch of their cryptocurrency Visa card. This card allows UK customers to use Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and other cryptocurrencies very quickly at every merchant that accepts Visa cards. The company’s blog post about the launch of an encrypted Visa card reads:

“Coinbase's Visa card supports all cryptographic assets traded on the CoinBase platform, which means users can pay for meals in Bitcoin or use Ethereum to pay for train tickets to go home.”

Global acceptance of Bitcoin merchants continues to grow

In many ways, cryptocurrency is an extension of the trend of cashless payments. As consumers pursue more convenient retail payments, this trend continues to grow steadily around the world.

As previously reported by Bitcoinist, a study by Kaspersky Labs showed that 13% of people in 22 countries use Bitcoin to pay for shopping bills.

There are already many restaurants in the world that accept cryptocurrencies to pay for meals. In Denmark alone, more than 1,500 restaurants accept bitcoin. In New Jersey and Nyeri, on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, there are also institutions that use cryptocurrency as a way to pay for meals.

According to Coinmap, more than 14,600 organizations worldwide accept bitcoin, which includes cafes and restaurants.

The problem of small payment in cryptocurrency

According to a recent study by DataLight, Bitcoin has become the first choice for large cross-border transfers due to cost structure issues. However, the report further predicts that Bitcoin will exceed Visa and MasterCard in micropayments over the next 10 years.

After this trend, some problems may arise. First, considering that the cryptocurrency taxes in many jurisdictions are mixed, retail payments through Bitcoin will have an impact on taxation.

Bakkt's cooperation with Starbucks can be seen as "paying Starbucks coffee with bitcoin", which really caught people's attention. If the law does not establish a cryptocurrency micro-transaction exemption clause, tax filings can become a rather arduous job for those who pay for lunch in bitcoin.

Another problem is that the enthusiasm for people to use essentially valuable investments for lunch and other small payments is waning. For example, in Arnhem, the Netherlands, which is known as "the world's most friendly city for Bitcoin," the use of bitcoin payments is gradually declining.

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