The NCA and PayPal research published in January 2026 found that nearly nine in ten merchants receive customer inquiries about paying with crypto. What does this figure most directly tell a business owner?

The 88% figure tells you that customer curiosity about crypto payments is already widespread and frequent. It does not mean most customers own crypto or that card payments are about to disappear. What it does mean is that if you own a small business, the chances are good that customers have already asked you about this, or will. That is a different and more immediate signal than a projection about future adoption trends.