Traditional payment delays and local currency volatility are pushing iGaming operators in Asia and Latin America toward crypto payment rails, but a separate U.S. consumer survey shows adoption still faces trust and transparency barriers.
For iGaming businesses, settlement time is as important as fees. Card settlements often take one to three business days, with high-risk accounts starting at T+3 to T+5. A merchant processing USD 2 million monthly may have USD 200,000 stuck in transit at any moment, and weekend deposits can remain unavailable until Tuesday. In Argentina, the December 2023 one-off peso devaluation of 54% showed how quickly trapped local currency can lose value. Meanwhile, Asia’s payment market is fragmented, with domestic systems creating cross-border friction, as Alipay+ Global Growth Centre General Manager Danny Chung noted.
Crypto rails can reduce this timing gap where local rules permit. Once a transaction is confirmed, funds can be credited almost instantly, and merchants can automatically convert incoming crypto to stablecoins or fiat. Brazil has taken the opposite path: SPA Ordinance 615/2024 prohibited crypto deposits, and online betting went offline in September 2026.
Adoption data points are strong. Eightcap reported stablecoins represent 10%–20% of global deposits and up to 40% in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Chainalysis found Asia-Pacific on-chain crypto value received rose 69% year over year to USD 2.36 trillion in the 12 months to June 2025, while Latin America grew 63%. Crypto processor B2BINPAY says it supports more than 50 digital assets, has processed USD 7.9 billion in incoming transactions, and charges fees starting at 0.4%–0.5%, falling to 0.25% for coins and 0.35% for stablecoins above USD 5 million monthly volume. The company and other crypto processors also advertise no rolling reserve, unlike traditional providers that may hold 5%–10% of sales for 90–180 days.
Still, consumer trust remains a hurdle. NMI’s 2026 Crypto at Checkout Survey of 3,001 U.S. adults found 34% would likely use cryptocurrency for holiday purchases if retailers accepted it, and 30% preferred a crypto-accepting retailer over an otherwise identical one. Gen Z showed the strongest preference at 49%, followed by Millennials at 44%, Gen X at 25%, and Baby Boomers at 9%. Existing crypto owners demanded more transparency: 76% wanted exact dollar costs including fees before payment, 72% valued straightforward refunds, and 74% preferred a familiar provider. Fraud and scams were the top concern at 34%, followed by uncertainty about how crypto payments work at 30% and price volatility at 27%.
NMI’s illustrative USD 100 transaction shows potential savings: a card fee of 2.9% plus USD 0.30 costs the merchant USD 3.20, while a 1% crypto fee costs USD 1.00, saving USD 2.20 per purchase or USD 22,000 across 10,000 transactions before conversion and compliance costs. Merchants can limit exposure through automatic fiat conversion, stablecoin settlement, or direct crypto custody, with providers such as Stripe, Coinbase Commerce, and BitPay offering different structures. However, the survey captures stated preferences rather than actual purchases, so merchants should pilot crypto checkout and track incremental sales, settlement delays, and refund costs before expanding.
