Coinbase says Americans could have saved $74 billion on credit card fees with blockchain

Quick Take

  • In Coinbase’s latest “State of Crypto Report,” the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange said that blockchain technology could have saved Americans at least $74 billion on credit card transaction fees, amounting to average savings of $600 per household.
  • “At least three in five Americans want updates to the system that make it cheaper, faster, and more accessible,” according to the report.
  • Coinbase used research conducted by The Block Research.

Coinbase said Wednesday in its latest "State of Crypto Report" that blockchain technology could have saved American consumers billions of dollars. 

"In 2022, consumers could have saved at least $74 billion in credit card transaction fees by using blockchain technology," Coinbase said in the report. Pointing to frustration over fees, the crypto exchange said that "at least three in five Americans want updates to the system that make it cheaper, faster, and more accessible."

Coinbase derived the figure using publicly available data sourced from the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Census Bureau and the data analytics firm Statista. The Block Research also contributed to Coinbase's latest report.

Americans want a faster and cheaper system

Coinbase sees blockchain technology serving not only consumers but also businesses.

"Merchants spent more than $126 billion on fees to process credit card transactions," it said in its report, adding that amounts to their second largest cost after labor. "By using blockchain technology instead, they could have paid next to nothing."

Coinbase also said it found that more than 7o% of Americans desire an "updated financial system" that charges less in fees and works faster.

While Coinbase is expanding its reach outside of the U.S. in Europe and countries like Singapore and Brazil, the company generates the majority of its revenue in the U.S. The trading platform has been continuing to lobby the U.S. government for added clarity regarding the regulation of, and access to, digital assets.

Coinbase serves as custodian to most of the newly launched spot bitcoin ETFs offered by traditional financial firms including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and Grayscale Investments. The cumulative trading volume for spot bitcoin ETFs, which started trading last month, has surpassed $30 billion, according to Yahoo Finance data compiled by The Block. 


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© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

RT Watson is a senior reporter at The Block who covers a wide array of topics including U.S.-based companies, blockchain gaming and NFTs. Formerly covered entertainment at The Wall Street Journal, where he wrote about Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. and the creator economy while focusing primarily on technological disruption across media. Previous to that he covered corporate, economic and political news in Brazil while at Bloomberg. RT has interviewed a diverse cast of characters including CEOs, media moguls, top influencers, politicians, blue-collar workers, drug traffickers and convicted criminals. Holds a master's degree in Digital Sociology.

Editor

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