IMF Survey: Payments in the form of cryptocurrency will be generalized by 2024

An ongoing IMF survey shows that more and more people believe that cryptocurrency will be the most popular form of payment for lunch by 2024.

More people prefer crypto

At the time of printing, more than half of those surveyed said they would use cryptocurrency to pay for their breakfast in five years. Out of nearly 26,000 votes, 56% chose cryptocurrency, while 29% chose mobile payment.

With the continued integration of cryptocurrency payments on mobile platforms, some of these 29% could possibly switch to the crypto side. Meanwhile, cash and credit card payments currently account for 15% of the vote.

However, developments in the field of virtual currency payments mean that the options provided by the IMF are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

For example, Coinbase announced Wednesday (April 10, 2019) the launch of its cryptocurrency Visa card. This card allows UK customers to instantly spend bitcoins, Ethereums, litecoins and other encrypted currencies at any merchant accepting Visa cards – anywhere.

Part of the company's blog announcing the launch reads as follows:

The Coinbase Card supports all cryptographic badets available for purchase and sale on the Coinbase platform, which means that they can pay a meal with Bitcoin or use Ethereum to finance their ticket. train.

Bitcoin accepting merchants increasing globally

Cryptocurrency is in many ways an extension of the cashless trend that continues to spread around the world as consumers aspire to greater convenience for retail payments.

As previously indicated by Bitcoinist, a study by Kaspersky Labs showed that 13% of people in 22 countries had used bitcoin (BTC) for their purchases.

There are already restaurants in different parts of the world that accept cryptocurrency as a means of payment for meals. In Denmark, more than 1,500 restaurants accept Bitcoin. There are also institutions in New Jersey and Nyeri, just outside Nairobi, Kenya, who use crypto as payment for their meals.

according to Coinmap, more than 14,600 institutions accept Bitcoin worldwide. This figure takes into account the cafes and restaurants.

Problems related to micropayments of cryptocurrency

According to a study recently published by DatalightDue to the fee structure, Bitcoin is already the preferred choice for high-value cross-border transfers. However, the report goes further in predicting that Bitcoin will overtake Visa and Mastercard for micropayments over the next decade.

Some problems could possibly emerge as a result of such a trend. The first concerns the tax consequences of retail payments via Bitcoin, due to the improper taxation of cryptocurrency in many jurisdictions.

The revelation that the Bakkt lunch could see the arrival of "Bitcoin for Starbucks coffee" has raised this particular consideration. If the laws do not create cryptocurrency deletions, the filing of tax returns could become painful for those who pay for their breakfast with BTC.

Another problem is the incentive to spend what is essentially a valuable investment for lunch and other micropayments. In Arnhem, for example, the place dubbed "the world's friendliest city for Bitcoins" has seen a gradual decline in the use of BTC for payments.

Will everyone pay for lunch with cryptocurrency in 5 years? Share your thoughts below!

Images via Twitter (@IMFNews) and Coinmap.org, Shutterstock