Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin's Rally Masks Uncomfortable Fact: Almost Nobody Uses It
- Merchant transactions account for 1.3% of economic activity
- Speculation remains the primary use, Chainalysis data show
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Bitcoin has a lingering problem that few people are talking about amid the renewed exuberance of the recent price surge.
Hardly anyone is using the world’s largest cryptocurrency for anything beyond speculation. Data from New York-based blockchain researcher Chainalysis Inc. show that only 1.3% of economic transactions came from merchants in the first four months of 2019, little changed over the boom and bust cycles of the prior two years.