Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) have appreciated by more than 1200 times since the end of 2012.

Yet, it isn’t hard to find crypto-bashing content on the internet today, with many believing that cryptocurrencies have no intrinsic value as they are not useful for everyday payments.

Despite the fact that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have been among the best-performing assets over the past decade, critics are certain that the entire crypto ecosystem is rife with speculative activity.

The ongoing crypto winter has given new life to these sentiments as the entire basket of cryptocurrencies plummet to their lowest levels in more than two years.

However, a Benzinga survey conducted in November of crypto investors in the U.S. provides some surprising insights surrounding the use of cryptocurrencies in real-life transactions.

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Of the 269 respondents, 55.1% confirmed having made at least one purchase using cryptocurrencies.

In fact, with Pew Research data showing that more than 16% of Americans have invested in cryptocurrencies, we could see a rise in crypto being used for physical purchases as more crypto investors turn into regular users.

Companies like Microsoft, Home Depot and Starbucks are recognizing the potential of the sizeable crypto user base.

With an estimated 27 million U.S. crypto investors, both crypto spending and businesses accepting crypto as payments are likely to grow in tandem.

Applying the Benzinga survey insights and extending it to the rest of the world, we could see this trend get even stronger. 

Countries like Thailand, Turkey, the Phillipines, Vietnam, India, Singapore, Brazil and the UAE boast of even higher cryptocurrency penetration among their adult population and could see an increase in purchases made using cryptocurrencies.

Moreover, the crypto ecosystem is today made up of thousands of cryptocurrencies, other digital assets like non fungible tokens (NFTs) and hundreds of decentralized applications (DApps), increasing the number of use cases even further.

With the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecasting that the number of Bitcoin users will cross the one billion mark by 2030, crypto critics may need to brace themselves for potentially explosive growth in global crypto-based purchases in the coming years.

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