Crypto Adoption in 2025 Driven by Payments and AI, Report Finds

According to Cointelegraph, a recent report by Reown, in collaboration with public opinion analytics firm YouGov, highlights payments and artificial intelligence (AI) as the primary drivers of cryptocurrency adoption in 2025. The study surveyed over 1,000 active crypto users in the United States and the United Kingdom, revealing that 37% of respondents identified AI and payments as key factors in the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies. Crypto payments have experienced notable year-over-year growth, with 34% of survey participants actively engaging in this area. This growth surpasses traditional decentralized finance (DeFi) activities such as farming and staking, although it still lags behind trading. The report indicates that 27% of participants believe payments will become the dominant onchain experience within the next three to five years, reflecting confidence in crypto's potential for real-world utility. Reown CEO Jess Houlgrave explained that payments and AI address different aspects of the same challenge: making crypto useful, trusted, and intuitive. Houlgrave emphasized that while payments generate real-world demand, AI enhances user experience and developer productivity. AI is improving personalization, fraud detection, and support, while also expediting onboarding, auditing, and automation for developers. Houlgrave noted that adoption is increasing as payments become more practical, with real-world applications like remittances and gig economy payouts transforming payments from a mere crypto demonstration to essential infrastructure. In May, Mercuryo CEO Petr Kozyakov observed a growing trend of companies settling employee compensation with crypto assets, prompting workers to seek ways to spend their crypto directly. Despite the rise of payments, crypto trading remains the most popular onchain activity, enjoyed by 36% of respondents. Payments have become the second-most enjoyed onchain activity, with 10% of respondents, and 14% expressing excitement about its future potential. The report also explored crypto ownership, revealing that 63% of respondents own Bitcoin (BTC), while 48% own Ether (ETH). Stablecoin ownership has increased to 38%, surpassing Solana (SOL) at 37%. Among 18 to 34-year-olds, 51% hold stablecoins, though adoption is significantly lower among those over 45. Reown noted the growing demand for embedded, multichain user experiences, as users prefer to transact from their existing wallets or exchanges.