For years, the popular narrative surrounding cryptocurrency has remained the same: it’s primarily used for trading, speculation, or holding onto it “until the value goes up,” but that perspective is quickly becoming outdated. Real-world usage is surging, and the data proves it.
At CoinsBee, the number one online platform for buying gift cards with crypto, we’ve processed over 2 million transactions, and what we’re seeing is clear: people are actively choosing to spend crypto on goods, services, entertainment, and even daily essentials.
Across the globe, users are skipping the fiat conversion and going straight to checkout, buying groceries, topping up mobile phones, gaming online, and even sending digital gifts. From Sao Paulo to Berlin to Bangkok, these aren’t fringe use cases—they represent a growing global shift in consumer behavior.
As one of the largest platforms for buying crypto gift cards and prepaid services, CoinsBee is uniquely positioned to offer insights into how users are integrating crypto into their everyday lives.
This article delves into real, anonymized spending data to reveal how modern crypto e-commerce is shaping the next phase of adoption, and how these patterns reveal how people are incorporating crypto into their everyday lives.
Overall Spending by Category
When we break down over 2 million anonymized orders placed on CoinsBee, one pattern stands out: crypto isn’t just being held; it’s being used in volume.
1. E-Commerce
This category includes household names such as Amazon, Zalando, IKEA, and Decathlon, where users routinely convert digital assets into prepaid balances via crypto gift cards.
These cards are then redeemed to buy everything from kitchen appliances to sneakers. For many, it’s the simplest way to translate volatile tokens into practical, everyday purchases with no bank involved and no exchange delay.
2. Gaming
Hot on its heels is gaming, a category that has long overlapped with the early crypto community. When combined with entertainment, this broader digital content category accounts for well over half of all crypto spending.
The appeal is obvious: instant delivery, global access, and a seamless way to use crypto for subscriptions, in-game currency, and downloadable content. These are low-friction, high-frequency transactions, perfectly suited to the crypto payment model.
3. Lifestyle
What’s most exciting, though, is the fast growth of what we call lifestyle spending, which includes gift cards for food delivery and restaurants, mobility, and grocery shopping, provided by platforms like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Deliveroo.
These categories, while smaller in monetary value, are growing fast and steadily. In the past, cryptocurrency was primarily used for digital transactions. Today, it’s being used to buy lunch, grab a ride across town, or cover the weekly shop.
These aren’t aspirational or luxury items—they’re practical, everyday needs.
This shift in behavior tells us something critical: the role of crypto in consumer life is evolving. It’s no longer limited to speculative trading or high-tech circles; it’s moving into the territory of mainstream spending, the kind that happens weekly, or even daily.
We’re seeing users from dozens of countries using CoinsBee to access day-to-day services with digital currencies. Be it Dogecoin, Bitcoin, or Solana, they’re choosing to spend crypto on the same things they used to pay for with fiat and doing so without friction, fees, or third-party delays.
E-commerce, gaming, and lifestyle services now dominate modern crypto usage. This isn’t a fringe experiment, but rather a clear shift toward mainstream behavior. What we’re seeing are real-world applications of crypto that are practical, scalable, and powered by everyday demand, enabled by flexible crypto e-commerce tools like CoinsBee.
Top Brands by Turnover
When analyzing how people spend crypto at the brand level, some patterns are exactly what you’d expect, whereas others offer fresh insight into how deeply integrated crypto has become in users’ daily lives.
At the very top, Amazon dominates, with a transaction volume that’s several times larger than the next competitor. Whether users are shopping for electronics, fashion, home essentials, or gifts, Amazon is the most popular destination for crypto-powered purchases.
Its global reach and vast product catalog make it the most versatile option on CoinsBee. For many, it’s the easiest way to turn digital assets into something tangible without ever converting to fiat.
Right behind Amazon, a cluster of gaming platforms consistently ranks among the top destinations for crypto spenders. Steam, Roblox, PlayStation, and Xbox are some of the biggest beneficiaries of this behavior. These platforms are digitally native, have long embraced virtual currencies, and offer a near-endless supply of in-game content.
CoinsBee users frequently buy gift cards with crypto for these services to access currency packs, battle passes, downloadable expansions, and monthly subscriptions. Many make repeat purchases, using crypto as a reliable entertainment budget.
Equally prominent are mainstream tech platforms such as Google Play, Apple, and Spotify, which also rank near the top. These services anchor our digital lives—from mobile apps and cloud storage to music and film streaming—and their high turnover reflects the convenience of using crypto for recurring payments.
For some users, especially those in underbanked regions, these platforms also represent an on-ramp to the global digital economy. They enable access to essential tools and entertainment without a credit card or bank account, reinforcing the value of crypto e-commerce in lowering entry barriers.
Beyond the digital space, mobility and delivery apps like Uber, Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Deliveroo are among the most frequently purchased crypto gift cards.
These services enable users to convert cryptocurrency into real-world convenience by ordering food, booking a ride, or managing everyday logistics. It’s a clear sign that crypto is no longer just used behind a screen.
One of the more revealing trends comes from adult content platforms, such as OnlyFans, which appear in the top tier of the turnover. Though rarely discussed in mainstream media, these services are widely used and demonstrate the appeal of crypto’s core benefits: privacy, speed, and financial independence.
The demand here is consistent and global, pointing to unfiltered user behavior that often goes unreported in traditional spending studies.
This diverse mix of top brands—ranging from “serious” utilities like Amazon and Uber to leisure platforms like Steam and Spotify—demonstrates how people are adopting crypto not for a single reason, but across a broad spectrum of needs. Rather than occasional experiments, these transactions demonstrate how cryptocurrency is becoming an integral part of daily life.
From gaming nights and online subscriptions to shopping sprees and ride shares, CoinsBee’s top-performing brands reflect how deeply embedded digital currencies have become.
These are authentic, everyday examples of real-world crypto use cases, made possible by the convenience of crypto gift cards and a seamless experience that allows for easy spending of crypto anytime, anywhere.
Order Size Insights
When it comes to how people spend crypto, not all transactions are created equal. Order size reveals a great deal about user intent, and the data from CoinsBee paints a clear picture of two very different, yet equally important behaviors: occasional big spenders and consistent micro-purchasers.
At the high end of the spectrum are travel purchases, which top the list in terms of average order value. These transactions frequently involve hotel bookings, airline gift cards, or comprehensive travel platforms, and regularly average in the hundreds of dollars per order.
In this context, crypto goes beyond being a simple payment tool. It’s often the fastest, most private, and sometimes the only way to access services across borders.
But while these large transactions generate high turnover, they are far less frequent than everyday purchases. In fact, the actual transaction volume on CoinsBee originates from repeat purchases in everyday categories, such as mobile recharges and entertainment.
These orders often total just a few dollars each, but they occur with remarkable frequency. Whether topping up a phone plan, buying in-game currency, or renewing a Netflix subscription, users are returning week after week to cover the basics, using crypto in a way that mirrors everyday spending behavior in fiat.
This long tail of repeat micro-purchases is one of the strongest indicators of real adoption. The data suggests crypto is moving past one-off cash-outs and becoming something people rely on regularly.
A $10 Spotify card here, a $15 Roblox credit there—it adds up. These patterns suggest a shift in mindset: users increasingly see crypto not as an investment to be locked away, but as a fluid, spendable resource.
Interestingly, order size also maps closely to user confidence. New users often start small, testing the waters with a minor recharge or streaming service. As they become more comfortable navigating crypto e-commerce, they graduate to larger transactions, eventually using CoinsBee to book $300 travel packages or cover recurring monthly expenses.
This behavioral ladder is typical in digital payments and equally relevant to crypto gift cards.
More importantly, the data underscores a critical truth: crypto’s long-term viability depends on how easily and frequently it can be used, rather than just held or traded. And this is where CoinsBee excels, by offering a practical, low-barrier way to turn digital currency into day-to-day value.
Significant transactions may make headlines, but the foundation of adoption is built on consistent, everyday spending. Whether it’s a weekend getaway or a weekly gaming habit, users are building routines around crypto and choosing to spend not just when they have to, but because it aligns with their lifestyle.
These are the patterns that signal maturity, pointing toward the rise of crypto as digital cash, which powers the small moments that make up everyday life.
Transaction Volumes
When analyzing crypto usage patterns, it’s tempting to focus on large, high-value purchases, but if you want to understand actual adoption, volume matters more than value. And in that regard, CoinsBee’s data makes one thing unmistakably clear: users aren’t just spending big, they’re spending often.
Mobile recharges are the single biggest category by number of transactions, with tens of thousands of small, high-frequency orders placed across dozens of countries. These top-ups typically cost between $5 and $15, but they occur with clockwork regularity.
In many parts of the world, mobile data is a lifeline, and where traditional banking fails or fees run high, crypto provides a fast, accessible, and borderless solution. Each small recharge may be insignificant in isolation, but together, they represent a powerful behavioral trend.
Right behind mobile top-ups are purchases in gaming and entertainment, each category logging well over 50,000 transactions. Users are consistently buying PlayStation credits, Steam wallets, Roblox coins, and Spotify subscriptions. These aren’t occasional one-offs; they’re habitual, recurring purchases.
The sheer frequency reflects crypto’s natural fit for digital goods—fast, convenient, and frictionless. It also reinforces the idea that crypto adoption is strongest where online interaction is already the norm.
Then there’s the steadily rising trend of lifestyle spending. While essentials like food and restaurants don’t yet match gaming in terms of raw volume, they’ve shown consistent growth throughout the past year.
Gift cards for services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Just Eat, and even local grocery chains are increasingly appearing in more wallets. This uptick points to something much bigger than digital entertainment: it indicates that people are turning to crypto for everyday necessities.
These micro-transactions, typically ranging from $5 to $30, form the foundation of practical, habitual spending. They’re how users begin to spend crypto not as an investment, but as money—to recharge a SIM card, grab lunch, or stream a show.
They’re choosing to do so with the help of crypto gift cards, which eliminate the need for fiat conversion and give them full control over how and where their digital assets are used.
Thanks to CoinsBee’s broad support for cryptocurrencies—from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Solana, Litecoin, and Dogecoin—accessibility isn’t limited to early adopters or technical users. Anyone with a wallet and a need can plug into this growing network of crypto e-commerce. The process is instant, secure, and global.
What pushes crypto forward isn’t a headline-making splurge but the steady stream of small payments. Data, dinner, or digital music—it’s these ordinary choices that show where things are headed, with CoinsBee making them easy.
Conclusion
The data speaks for itself: crypto is no longer just a speculative asset or a long-term investment strategy. With more than 2 million anonymized transactions on CoinsBee, it’s clear that people around the world are choosing to spend crypto habitually.
From high-value travel bookings to $10 Spotify subscriptions and mobile top-ups, digital currencies are powering everyday purchases across all categories. This is already happening through a wide network of crypto gift cards, accepted by major global brands and local favorites alike.
These aren’t isolated cases; they’re signals of a broader shift. As crypto becomes more accessible and practical, platforms like CoinsBee are leading the way, helping users navigate crypto e-commerce and tap into real-world use cases that are simple, useful, and friction-free.
Whether you’re a merchant, a service provider, or a user, the message is clear: adoption moves forward when you take part.Looking to get more out of your crypto? Explore the CoinsBee catalog and start using it for the things you actually need. And if you’d like to dive deeper into the world of crypto, our blog is the perfect place to start.
