70% of crypto payments in the European Union go toward retail, food and beverage purchases, according to a report from Oobit, a cryptocurrency payments platform that surveyed its users’ spending habits.

The report, which denominated all transactions in US dollars, showed that the average payment size using the Oobit app was $8.36, while the average deposit into the app was around $85. After retail and food and beverage purchases, 26% of payments went to tourism-related activities such as lodging, travel and aviation. 1.5% went to government services and digital payments, while an additional 1.5% went to miscellaneous purchases like healthcare and entertainment.

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The report notes that the increased adoption of crypto payments is likely due to the growing acceptance of digital assets in the EU, with increased credibility coming from governments passing crypto legislation. However, 92% of payments came by using the USDt (USDT) stablecoin, which has run afoul of the MiCA regulation which went into full effect on Dec. 30, 2024.

Oobit’s report supplements data from Chainalysis, which showed that adoption of cryptocurrency in Central, Northern, and West Europe (CNWE) has grown 44% year-over-year. For transactions under $1 million, the stablecoin market in that region has grown at a rate 2.5 times faster than that in North America.

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Micropayments, stablecoins growing crypto use cases

Micropayments, which sometimes use stablecoins, have been a growing use case for crypto. Advances in technology like the Lightning Network, which has permitted quick micropayments in Bitcoin (BTC), and crypto debit cards which offer spending in crypto with “crypto-back,” have spurred this adoption. As Oobit notes in the title of its report, crypto is moving from memes to a means of exchange.

These changes have begun to spur worldwide adoption. In June 2024, Nubank brought the Lightning Network to 100 million Latin American customers.

In June 2023, IBEX partnered with Grupo Salinas to allow millions of Mexicans to pay for their internet bills with Bitcoin. On March 13, 2025, Ripple secured a Dubai license to offer crypto payments in the United Arab Emirates.

Then there are the stablecoins themselves like USDt and Circle’s USDC (USDC). According to DefiLlama, the stablecoin market cap has grown from $62.8 billion on April 1, 2021, to $229.6 billion on March 18, 2025, a percentage rise of 266%.

Stablecoin market cap from April 1, 2021, to March 18, 2025. Source: DefiLlama

These fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies are frequently used in developing countries where the local currencies are being devalued.

As Arthur Azizov, CEO of B2BINPAY, wrote in a February 2025 opinion piece for Cointelegraph, crypto payments may experience an evolution from 2025 onwards. Some key factors to watch out for are the debut of central bank digital currencies, which could push citizens to more decentralized options, and the mesh between crypto payment providers and traditional finance companies.

Magazine: Bitcoin payments are being undermined by centralized stablecoins