A contractor finishes a job on Friday. The crew wants to get paid, customers want to settle invoices, and business partners want access to money over the weekend.
These are ordinary business problems, happening on a regular basis. But the tools available to help solve them are changing.
More than 67 million Americans now hold crypto—that’s one in four Americans, up from one in five adults last year, according to our new report. That growth is beginning to show up where you might not expect: on job sites, in family-run businesses, and in day-to-day trades operations.
We found that construction workers account for 13% of U.S. crypto holders who are employed full-time. And among construction workers who hold crypto, 37% also accept it as a form of payment.
That suggests that some Americans are beginning to treat digital assets as a business tool. For people who make their living building, fixing, and running their own businesses, that shift makes intuitive sense.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF OWNERSHIP
Tradespeople tend to understand ownership in a tangible way. You own your tools, your truck, your customer relationships. You may even own the company itself.
Money has historically worked differently. It has generally lived in a bank account. It moves through financial institutions and is accessible based on the institution’s hours and systems.
Crypto changes that architecture. It gives people another way to hold and move money digitally, with 24/7 access. That doesn’t make crypto inherently better than a bank account or a credit card, or even cash. It transforms crypto into a business tool—and the value of any tool depends on the job you need it to do.
FROM PERSONAL FINANCES TO BUSINESS LEDGERS
Jake, a general contractor and owner of Marin Design and Build in California, and Clayton, a master plumber who runs his family’s 80-year-old Texas plumbing company, Yell4George, came to crypto from very different places.
Jake wanted more control over his time. When he began researching crypto, he found flexibility in being able to access and move his assets when he chooses, whether for investing, paying for work, or planning for retirement. Clayton first heard about crypto through a podcast and spent a year researching before he bought his first digital asset. More than a decade later, his company keeps crypto on its books alongside its other assets.
Their experiences reflect a broader trend. More than half (54%) of crypto holders in our report say digital assets have increased their sense of financial independence, up from 49% last year, while 42% say they provide greater security and control over their money. For Clayton, that control extends to his business. He accepts crypto alongside cards, checks, and cash, giving customers payment options. For Jake, it means having another option for managing his schedule and finances.
Neither business owner is trying to replace his existing financial systems. They are simply adding another tool to their toolbox. Their experiences represent crypto’s growing presence in small businesses: It’s not a full-blown transformation of how companies operate, but an additional option some owners find useful.
THE NEXT USE CASE MAY BE OPERATIONAL
Business owners who hold crypto are also considering how digital assets could fit into other operations. About 37% plan to offer crypto as a payment option to employees within the next year, according to our report.
For businesses that rely on subcontractors, distributed teams, or workers who need to move money quickly, the ability to send a digital asset at any hour could be useful.
The point is that business owners are using it to solve specific problems more efficiently.
PRACTICAL ADOPTION
There is a tendency to judge new financial technology by its most visible enthusiasts. But what’s more telling is what happens when ordinary people begin incorporating it into their everyday routines.
A contractor accepting a customer’s crypto payment or a worker receiving money outside traditional banking hours aren’t flashy use cases, and that’s why they matter.
The same is true of the broader crypto economy. Our data shows that the technology supports an estimated 232,000 jobs across industries, generating an estimated $55 billion in economic activity, with $31 billion in annual worker income. Crypto is increasingly connected not only to companies that build blockchain products, but to the broader businesses and workers participating in the economy around them.
Businesses in the trades tend to be practical by necessity, as new technology has to earn its place by saving time, creating flexibility, attracting customers, simplifying a process, or otherwise making the business more efficient. Crypto is being evaluated against that same standard.
PRACTICAL USE COMES WITH UNDERSTANDING
About 72% of crypto holders say they remain concerned about scams and security, even though 77% in our report describe their overall experience with crypto as positive. Those two findings can coexist. People can find a technology useful while still wanting better protections. That may be the most important lesson as crypto moves from the wallet into the workplace.
The businesses and workers adopting new financial tools shouldn’t have to choose between innovation and common sense. They need clear information about how the technology works, what risks come with using it, and what protections are available. This is why crypto’s next chapter may be about helping people understand where it fits into their lives and businesses.
Clayton didn’t start accepting crypto because someone handed him a playbook. He did his own research and decided it made sense for him. He gradually incorporated it into his business. That is how adoption often happens. It is one business owner finding a tool that works for them.
Ali Tager is vice president of external affairs at the National Cryptocurrency Association.
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