Ripple Survey Shows Payments Leaders Recognize Crypto Benefits, Cite Regulations as Barrier

Ripple pulled the data from a recent crypto- and blockchain-focused survey with the Faster Payments Council.

A recent Ripple report reveals that key payments industry leaders believe blockchain and cryptocurrency can effectively improve the payments sector. However, they identify regulatory ambiguity as the primary obstacle to crypto adoption. Ripple pulled the data from a recent survey with the Faster Payments Council.

Ripple shared the publication in a recent tweet. According to the report, Ripple and the US Faster Payments Council surveyed to gather the opinions of up to 300 payments leaders on the benefits and challenges of blockchain and cryptocurrency in the payments sector.

Crypto adoption is accelerating, but a lack of regulatory clarity continues to create headwinds in the US for crypto-enabled payment solutions.

Find out what matters most to global payments leaders in our latest whitepaper with @Faster_Payments. https://t.co/QYVe3U1IUZ

— Ripple (@Ripple) 20 April 2023

Of the 300 executives surveyed, an overwhelming 97% agreed that blockchain and cryptocurrency can improve the speed of payments in the next three years. These respondents also believe that blockchain and crypto can increase customer value in the industry.

Despite several barriers, cryptocurrency is gradually creeping into the mainstream payment sector. Users of crypto payments in the US are expected to increase to 5.5 million this year. This will mark an increase of 305% in three years. Moreover, more than 50% of the surveyed respondents believe that most merchants will accept crypto payments in the next one to three years.

– Advertisement –

The survey also sought to identify the most important benefit crypto can offer the payments industry, with 36% of respondents citing faster payment resolution as the primary benefit. Meanwhile, 32% of respondents cited the reduced costs of international payments, and 19% pointed to the lower costs of domestic payments.

Regulatory uncertainty is a major deterrent

The survey found that while most respondents are considering using crypto in payments, only 17% are currently into crypto payments. The overwhelming majority of these respondents, approximately 89%, identified regulatory uncertainty as the primary obstacle to widespread adoption of crypto payments.

Industry leaders have expressed concern over the global lack of regulatory transparency in the crypto sector, with particular attention to the United States. Ripple is ongoing legal battle with the US SEC is an example of the challenges arising from this uncertainty. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently revealed that the stock exchange may consider moving from the US if regulatory clarity is not achieved within the next few years.

Despite the regulatory uncertainties, some regions, such as Hong Kong, is already making progress to address this issue. Furthermore, the EU Parliament recently approved the regulation Markets in Crypto Act (MiCA) to supervise crypto markets in the EU. This framework is considered the most comprehensive crypto-regulatory framework globally and is due to come into effect next year.

In addition to regulatory uncertainty, respondents also expressed concern about the environmental impact of cryptocurrencies, which they see as an obstacle to widespread use. Ripple has taken the lead in mastering various initiatives to solve this problem.

– Advertisement –