Crypto payments have become more popular, especially following the bull market run in 2021. There are now millions of merchants worldwide accepting cryptocurrency payments through direct and indirect integrations. Even big corporations have jumped on the bandwagon.

Nevertheless, crypto payments still remain in their very early stages. There are still a good number of places worldwide where users cannot pay for goods and services using cryptocurrencies. However, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin expects this to change soon.

Crypto Is Going Mainstream

In a recent interview, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin shared his thoughts regarding crypto payments and how fast he expects them to grow. The founder spoke at a session during the Korea Blockchain Week 2022 that kicked off on Sunday. Mostly focusing on Ethereum, Buterin shared that crypto payments would be going mainstream, and the why was actually because of the Ethereum Merge.

The Merge is expected to happen sometime in September, and it is expected to make the Ethereum network faster and cheaper to use. The founder expects the network upgrade to bring Ethereum fees down to as low as $1 after the Merge is completed. This will be achieved “by making improvements to efficiency and accessibility of the crypto,” according to Buterin.

Ethereum devs have been hard at work for about two years now with their efforts regarding the Merge. Buterin also highlights this in his speech, pointing to the fact that rollups were a part of the developments being made to make the network faster and cheaper to use.

Market cap at $1.17 trillion | Source: Crypto Total Market Cap on TradingView.com

Making It Better For Everyone

The fee structure which Vitalik Buterin highlights during his speech has been one of the major hindrances to total mainstream crypto payment adoption. Now, when it comes to larger transactions, a $20 fee may seem inconsequential. But the problem arises when a coin like ETH needs to be used for smaller payments such as everyday purchases.

Buterin pointed to the fact that such transactions are not accessible to people living in low-income countries. “Many people around the world are quietly using crypto for international payments already,” the founder said. “For lower-income countries, a lot of opportunities for crypto payments lie ahead as well, which have the benefits of digital technology — efficiency and safety.” For this reason alone, restructuring the network to make room for cheaper transaction fees going into the cents must be achieved. 

Buterin expects transaction fees to drop to 0-25 cents after the rollups are implemented. But going forward, the founder believes that the network can reach as low as 5 cents and lower with further improvements.