Research

Stablecoin payment research

Original data on where stablecoins are actually accepted, built merchant by merchant from primary sources. Free to cite, free to embed, and open about what it cannot tell you.

Merchants researched
109
Documented acceptance
102
Fully verified
63
Sources cited
235

Dataset as at . Every figure on this page is computed from the directory at build time — nothing here is typed in by hand. How we collect and verify it.

Key statistics

Each of these is written to be quoted whole. The denominator and the date travel with the number, because a percentage without them is the thing that gets miscited — and once it has been miscited, it circulates.

  • 85.3% of merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance in the StablecoinSpend dataset accept USDC (87 of 102, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 102 merchants As at Methodology

  • 58.8% of merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance in the StablecoinSpend dataset accept USDT (60 of 102, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 102 merchants As at Methodology

  • 44.1% of merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance in the StablecoinSpend dataset do not publish which blockchain network they settle on (45 of 102, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 102 merchants As at Methodology

  • 3.8% of live merchant records in the StablecoinSpend dataset confirm crypto acceptance without naming a single stablecoin (4 of 106, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 106 merchants As at Methodology

  • 69.6% of merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance in the StablecoinSpend dataset accept through a third-party payment gateway rather than a wallet they control (71 of 102, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 102 merchants As at Methodology

  • 61.8% of merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance in the StablecoinSpend dataset carry a completed editorial verification inside the six-month freshness window (63 of 102, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 102 merchants As at Methodology

  • 235 primary sources are cited across the directory (StablecoinSpend dataset, 109 records, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 109 merchants As at Methodology

  • 2 merchants are recorded as having withdrawn stablecoin payment after previously offering it (StablecoinSpend dataset, 109 records, as of 2026-09-22).

    Sample: 109 merchants As at Methodology

The data

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USDC and USDT acceptance compared

USDC leads by 27 merchants: USDC is accepted at 87 of 102 merchants (85.3%), USDT at 60 (58.8%).

Merchants accepting each of the two largest stablecoins, out of 102 merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance, as at 2026-09-22.
Stablecoin Merchants Share
USDC
87
85.3%
USDT
60
58.8%
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Stablecoin acceptance across the directory

USDC leads with 87 of 102 merchants (85.3%), followed by USDT with 60 (58.8%).

Every stablecoin named by at least one merchant, out of 102 merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance, as at 2026-09-22. A merchant naming several coins is counted under each, so shares can sum above 100%. A further 4 merchants confirm crypto acceptance without naming a stablecoin; they are outside the denominator and appear in no row.
Stablecoin Merchants Share
USDC
87
85.3%
USDT
60
58.8%
DAI
30
29.4%
USDP
24
23.5%
GUSD
22
21.6%
EURC
20
19.6%
PYUSD
13
12.7%
AEC
4
3.9%
TUSD
3
2.9%
FDUSD
1
1%
RLUSD
1
1%
USDG
1
1%
USDS
1
1%
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Documented settlement networks

45 of 102 merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance (44.1%) publish no settlement network at all — a substantial minority of the dataset. Only Ethereum (48) is disclosed by more merchants and ahead of every other network (Solana is next at 36). Among those that do disclose, ethereum leads with 48 of 102 merchants (47.1%), followed by Solana with 36 (35.3%).

Networks a merchant's own documentation names, out of 102 merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance. The 45 merchants that publish no network (a substantial minority) appear in no row; a merchant naming several networks is counted under each.
Network Merchants Share
Ethereum
48
47.1%
Solana
36
35.3%
Base
35
34.3%
Polygon
35
34.3%
Arbitrum
27
26.5%
Optimism
21
20.6%
Tron
13
12.7%
BNB Chain
12
11.8%
Avalanche
9
8.8%
Algorand
2
2%
Celo
1
1%
Stellar
1
1%
XRP Ledger
1
1%
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Where stablecoins are actually accepted

Shopping & Retail leads with 40 of 102 merchants (39.2%), followed by Travel with 18 (17.6%).

Merchants by category, out of 102 merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance, as at 2026-09-22. A merchant can appear in more than one row where it sits in a subcategory as well as a primary category, so shares can sum above 100%.
Category Merchants Share
Shopping & Retail
40
39.2%
Travel
18
17.6%
Cloud Hosting
17
16.7%
Security & Privacy
17
16.7%
Web Hosting
17
16.7%
Developer Tools
12
11.8%
Domain Names
11
10.8%
Ecommerce
11
10.8%
VPN Services
11
10.8%
Gift Cards
10
9.8%
Hotels
10
9.8%
Flights
8
7.8%
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Verification status of the dataset

63 of 109 records carry a completed editorial check, 43 are confirmed but with a payment list that varies by region or product, and 2 are merchants that have stopped accepting.

Every record in the directory by verification state, as at 2026-09-22. Records that are not verified render for readers but are withheld from the search index.
Status Records Share
Verified
63
57.8%
Availability varies
43
39.4%
No longer accepting
2
1.8%
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Payment gateways behind merchant acceptance

71 of 102 merchants with documented stablecoin acceptance (69.6%) name a third-party payment gateway. bitPay leads with 21 of 102 merchants (20.6%), followed by Coinbase Commerce with 8 (7.8%).

Gateways named in merchant documentation, as at 2026-09-22. 31 merchants disclose no gateway.
Gateway Merchants Share
BitPay
21
20.6%
Coinbase Commerce
8
7.8%
CoinGate
8
7.8%
Triple-A
5
4.9%
AEC Wallet
4
3.9%
Al Maryah Community Bank
4
3.9%
Crypto.com Pay
4
3.9%
Flexa
4
3.9%
Shopify Payments
4
3.9%
Binance Pay
3
2.9%
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Reports

Quarterly editions are written arguments bound to a frozen snapshot, so they keep describing the quarter they cover. Monthly editions are generated from dated records — additions, verifications and acceptance changes — with no commentary written on top of them.

Download the dataset

The public extract carries every published merchant with its acceptance claims, verification state and source count. It contains nothing that is not already on the merchant's own profile page — no submission details, no contact information, no private correspondence.

Merchants (CSV) Merchants (JSON) Spend Index (CSV) Change history (JSON)

Free to use with attribution. Higher-volume, historical and API access is Merchant Intelligence.

Go deeper

Read the analysis

The Stablecoin Spend Report

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