“The 2024 BitPay Spending Report” showed 20% growth in crypto payments from January to March 2024, with certain sectors showing more impressive results.

BitPay, a provider of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, released “The 2024 BitPay Spending Report,” which provides insights into cryptocurrency spending during the historic 2024 Bitcoin bull run.

The research recorded a surge not only in BTC prices but also in crypto consumer spending this March. Although the average payment growth was 20%, some spending categories showed a much more robust increase.

For instance, crypto consumer spending on Luxury Goods & Jewelry went up 39%, crypto purchases of Cars, Boats and Luxury Vehicles grew 56%, and Electronics spending was up 64%. Moreover, crypto spending on Gold & Precious Metals went up a notable 205%, while crypto Philanthropy/Non-Profit Donations skyrocketed 324%.

Among other notable BitPay observations, there’s a fact that crypto spenders increasingly convert crypto gains to gift cards to spend both online and in-store instead of spending directly with merchants or paying off bills.

“The latest spending trends showcase cryptocurrency’s evolution from investment asset to a means of powering everyday life. With an ever-growing lineup of top-tier merchants accepting cryptopayments, consumers have unprecedented opportunities to spend their coins and tokens. In addition to merchant payments, crypto-powered gift cards and bill payments enable crypto spenders to explore new, flexible payment options.”

Bill Zielke, BitPay CMO

As of the end of March 2024, over 50% of crypto sales volume was attributed to BTC, although the shares of USDT, LTC, USDC, and ETH were growing.

Besides crypto purchases, BitPay Bill Pay customer data showed that crypto users often leveraged crypto gains to pay off their debt. Credit card payments made up a whopping 85% of BitPay Bill Pay transactions. Average bill payments equalled $1,200 per transaction.

The reported increases in crypto spending preceded the recent Bitcoin halving, which has historically positively impacted crypto markets. Typically, Bitcoin prices continue to surge for a few months following a halving month (which is April in 2024), rising, on average, for seven more months.