According to Bitpay Inc., one of the biggest crypto payment processors in the world, for purchases, the use of digital tokens other than Bitcoin is increasing among consumers and businesses.

Bloomberg reported, the company noted that the use of Bitcoin in merchants that use Bitpay dropped from 92% in 2020 to 65% in 2021. On the other hand, purchases from coins like Ether were at 15%, stablecoins at 13%, and Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Litecoin accounted for 3%.

Since November last year, as crypto prices had been dropping, businesses have started using stablecoins more for cross-border payments. Consumers have also started moving towards stablecoins as their value remains steady, providing less risk.

Consumers and businesses are increasingly starting to use digital tokens other than Bitcoin for purchases.https://t.co/4nyuM0Os5w

— BloombergQuint (@BloombergQuint) January 17, 2022

Holding on to Bitcoin

The trend shows that people hold onto Bitcoin more than spending it. Apart from the fourth quarter, the prices of Bitcoin rose by 60% last year. According to Bitpay, most of the previous year’s crypto transactions were in luxury goods like jewelry, watches, cars, boats, etc. Bitcoin – the digital gold is supposed to replace.

The Pizza mishap!

The infamous story of Bitcoin’s first commercial transaction is what many a time stops people from purchasing through Bitcoin. People learn from others’ mistakes, and this is precisely something that has happened in the Bitcoin sphere. At the beginning of the coin’s history, a programmer spent Bitcoins now worth billions on just two pizza pies.

What is Bitpay?

Bitpay is a Cryptocurrency payments service provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was started in 2011 when only a few companies accepted digital coins. It processes over 66,000 transactions per month today. It has helped companies ranging from Microsoft Corp. to AT&T Inc. accept cryptocurrency payments. The company has an annual transaction amounting to $1 billion with just 80 employees working for them.

The American-based payment company Square Inc. reported a drop in Bitcoin revenue month over month from its Cash App during the third quarter of 2021, the total amount being $1.82, overall, 11% up from last year.

Square has found profit in midst of the pandemic as many users grew to need e-commerce services. The number of processed transactions on the app during the third quarter went up 27% with a total amount of $3.7 billion.

The company is led by Jack Dorsey, who also runs Twitter and is a big BTC enthusiast, currently aiming to invest in the future of decentralization and new economic systems.

Square’s third quarter of 2021 had total net revenue of $3.84 billion, 27% up from last year; $2.03 billion excluding BTC. Its gross profit went up 43% year over year with $1.13 billion. The revenue from transactions was $1.30 billion, up 40% since 2020.

However, bitcoin revenue and gross profit dropped compared to the second quarter. The company stated the decrease is due to the “relative stability in the price of bitcoin”.

In the third quarter of 2021, we recognized a loss of $7 million driven by the adjustment to the revaluation of equity investments as well as a $6 million bitcoin impairment.

Bloomberg reported what Chief Financial Officer Amrita Ahuja at Square shared with them:

Bitcoin transactions through Cash App have grown tremendously over the past two years, but Bitcoin revenue can be a deceiving metric. Square reports all Bitcoin sales as revenue, which is why that number can look very large and is dependent on things like price volatility. Bitcoin gross profit, though, represents the money Square collects via fees from Bitcoin transactions, and is a better reflection of that part of Square’s business.

Related Reading | Square’s Cash App Reports $2.7B In Quarterly Bitcoin Revenue, A 200% Jump

After the Q3 earnings letter’s release, the company’s dropped 4.9% in post-market trading.

The Focus Is On Bitcoin (And International Waters)

Square’s earnings letter highlighted their agreement to acquire the Afterpay platform “with more than 16 million consumers and approximately 100,000 merchants as of June 2021.”

Through this transaction, we plan to unite two complementary businesses with a shared focus on economic empowerment and financial inclusion. We believe the combination will more deeply connect our Seller and Cash App ecosystems, accelerate our strategic priorities, and allow us to deliver even more compelling products and services for consumers and merchants.

The report also sheds light on other projects and partnerships, such as the Cash App’s new offer to teenagers, an important expansion of its demographics, and the SoFi Stadium partnership.

We believe our partnership with SoFi Stadium serves as a testament to how we are now equipped to enable unique commerce experiences and support the needs of complex multi-purpose venue sellers.

The App is currently focusing on expanding and offering accessible and flexible commerce products to all. Results show “an increased adoption of contactless payment options due to the pandemic.”

The company explained their focus remains on their “international strategy of achieving product parity globally, investing further into brand awareness, and launching in new markets”.

Square stated they are focusing on BTC rather than bringing other cryptocurrencies into the Cash App. Earlier, Dorsey had tweeted about Square’s intention in building an energy-efficient and more accessible BTC mining system.

“Square is considering building a Bitcoin mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide,”

Related Reading | Jack Dorsey: Square Could Build Bitcoin Mining System