AI and payments are driving digital asset adoption: report
A new report has identified artificial intelligence (AI) and payment use cases as the biggest drivers of digital asset adoption among retail consumers.
The report, compiled by Reown and public opinion analytics company YouGov, leaned on the responses of 1,000 digital asset users in the United Kingdom and the United States. Per the report, digital asset adoption has risen steadily over the last 12 months, with 34% of respondents confirming active usage.
While digital asset trading is the leading vertical in adoption, the report noted that 27% of respondents use digital currencies for payments. The joint study predicts that payments will leapfrog digital asset trading to become the leading adoption driver before the end of the decade.
Currently, digital payments surpass decentralized finance (DeFi) applications like yield farming and staking, with the report predicting the gap to significantly increase within 24 months.
Analysts say AI functionalities for digital asset users will smooth the curve for increased adoption. The joint study pointed to the perks of personalization, fraud detection, and improved customer support for a wholesome user experience.
'Payments bring real-world demand,' said Reown CEO Jess Houlgrave. 'AI improves the experience. We don't see one displacing the other.'
Among decentralized applications (dApps), AI-themed projects are jostling with DeFi for dominance in the ecosystem, while AI job listings have leapfrogged distributed ledger technology (DLT) in recent months.
Apart from AI, the wide acceptance of stablecoins is also driving metrics for payments. While a cross-section of respondents are turning to stablecoins to fight against the volatility of digital assets, others are adopting them for cross-border payments.
'On-chain payments are no longer an edge case,' said Houlgrave. 'From real-world remittances to stablecoin rails powering embedded finance, we're witnessing a shift.'
Broader digital payment market to spike
Experts have tipped digital payments to outperform alternative methods in the coming year, driven by government initiatives and changing consumer behaviors. One report predicts that U.S. digital payments will exceed $3.8 trillion in 2025, while Africa is forecasted to record volume exceeding $1.5 trillion by the end of the decade. In terms of demographics, Gen Alpha is leading the charge for digital payments, followed by Gen Zs and Millennials. Several countries have begun reducing the value-added tax (VAT) on digital transactions to stimulate e-payments and reduce reliance on cash.
AI adoption triggers heightened internet growth in China
Meanwhile, as China continues to extend its lead over its peers in the digitization race, experts say adopting AI is spurring internet growth.
According to a report, the local internet ecosystem has recorded significant upticks since the start of the year, playing a key role in China's economic development. A group of experts highlighted the links between AI adoption and internet growth at the 2025 China Internet Conference.
In one presentation by the Internet Society of China, AI adoption level in the Asian superpower has soared to nearly 250 million, representing 17% of the national population. Analysts disclosed that the surge is intricately tied to the perks of lowering operational costs and improving production efficiency.
In the coming months, Chinese authorities have unveiled plans to extend the footprint in emerging technologies, turning their sights to novel information infrastructure for widespread integration. China's Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Zhang Yunming confirmed the government's plans to improve AI adoption across key economic sectors, particularly emerging industries.
Chinese authorities are eyeing the prospects of key breakthroughs in pivotal internet-based sectors with 5G and 6G tipped to record a wave of AI-backed innovation. Furthermore, there are plans to pursue AI integration in quantum computing, quantum information, and Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
Wu Hequan, a Chinese Academy of Engineering professor, revealed that AI use makes up 48% of all global internet traffic. While AI chatbots are leading the field, Hequan opined that AI agents capable of executing tasks will flip the reliance on large language models (LLMs).
360 Security Group estimated that the flippening can happen as early as 24 months, with employees embracing AI agents to increase productivity metrics. Amid the reliance on the internet, a report has tagged AI agents as the missing link in enterprise blockchain.
China's AI industry explodes with activity
Despite the U.S. embargo on selling high-level semiconductors to China, the Asian superpower has made impressive strides in the industry. After the green light from regulators, AI models are recording high utility in multiple sectors, including healthcare, education, finance, and automobiles.
In early June, Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) turned to AI to improve its legacy search engine product amid increasing competition from chatbots. Chinese researchers have scored wins with the rollout of an AI-based nuclear warhead inspector and a platform to track global AI research, dubbed Supermind.
In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI .
Watch: AI is for 'augmenting' not replacing the workforce
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