YouTube, Pokemon Cards and more.

For years, one of the simplest and most effective criticisms of cryptocurrency has been “where can you actually use it?” The same question was repeated over and over again.

Bitcoin (BTC) was established as a currency, but outside of a few new traders, it rarely behaved as one. The question has been steeped in bull markets and crashes, which reinforces the idea that crypto is held, traded or argued rather than used.

That looks different in 2025. Crypto is still not an everyday currency at the checkout counter, but is used in certain digital workflows, where speed or direct settlement is prioritized over familiarity.

Here are the places where people are actually using crypto today.

YouTubers and freelancers are paid in crypto

One of the most common ways people use crypto today is to receive payment and income online. Freelancers, contractors and creators use payments like USDC (USDC) or Tether's USDt (USDT) to settle payments directly between wallets without relying on traditional payment processors.

A recent example comes from YouTube. The world's largest video sharing platform has reportedly enabled US-based content creators to cash out using PayPal's stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD).

For customers and employers, this eliminates the delays, fees and transfer restrictions that often come with international payments. This model is especially common in remote work and the creative economy.

However, those who opt for crypto payments may still face problems when converting crypto to fiat. According to industry participants, banks continue to close or restrict accounts of crypto companies with little explanation, despite the crypto-friendly stance taken by the current US administration.

Use crypto to buy digital goods

In addition to paying individuals, crypto is used to settle payments with businesses. This is particularly common among online services with international customers, where traditional payment systems introduce conflicts due to fees, delays or regional restrictions.

Domain registrars, providers and privacy-focused software companies are among the most visible adopters. Providers like Mulvad VPN allow customers to pay using cryptocurrency, while Namecheap and Porkbun accept crypto for domain registrations and hosting services. On September 9, Namecheap CEO Richard Kirkendall said the company received a $2 million BTC payment for the domain sale.

Recently, major payments and trading platforms have started to integrate stablecoin payments. Stripe has enabled businesses to accept USDC payments and launched its own stable coin blockchain, Tempo public testnet. Shopify has tested stablecoin-based checkout options for merchants selling globally.

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A stable coin in the US due to the signing into law of the Genius Act has reduced uncertainty for some traders considering these pilots.

Digitization and extension of physical collections

Crypto has also been used to digitize collectible cultures that are thriving offline. In the year In 2025, demand for physical collectibles increased again due to renewed interest in Pokemon cards, Labubu figurines, and other toys.

Alongside that revival, digital and alternate versions of collections have gained traction as extensions of, rather than replacements for, physical collections.

Tokenized Pokémon-style cards and digital gachas — popular random item vending machines — have become popular ways for collectors to participate in familiar formats online, especially as marketplaces and communities shift from binders and display cases to apps and web platforms.

Crypto's niche in DeFi and GameFi

In decentralized finance (DeFi), users exchange tokens, pay dividends to farm, lend assets, or borrow against collateral via smart contracts.

Blockchain-based games work the same way. Blockchain and crypto often add economic layers to games running on Web2 infrastructure. Players use crypto to buy or trade in-game items and move assets between marketplaces.

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A popular model is a play-to-earn game where players earn crypto by playing the game. A well-known example is Axie Infinity, which was a major source of income for some communities during the outbreak in the Philippines. By 2025, gaming is more likely to provide additional income than a primary livelihood. Developers also face constant challenges, including cheaters using bots to farm rewards, taking value away from honest players.

According to Dapradar, World of Dipian, which operates on multiple chains including Ethereum and BNB Chain, leads blockchain gaming with more than 1 million unique active wallets interacting with the game. Treasure-collecting game Pixudi Runs, which runs on several chains such as Sei and Polygon, ranks second with nearly 570,000 wallets.

Organizations that run on the crypto onchain

Deeper in DeFi, crypto is used to organize decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). In these groups, tokenholders are members. They use their tokens to vote on proposals, approve spending, and decide how the organization is run. Votes are recorded on-chain, and once the proposal passes, actions such as payments or rule changes are carried out through smart contracts.

DAOs are mostly used to manage crypto-native projects. Participating usually means holding management tokens, exploring on-chain voting ideas, and managing a wallet. These requirements make DAO management impractical for most ordinary users.

As a result, DAOs remain mostly active human domains in the crypto ecosystem.

Crypto's current uses are broader than its early ambitions, and its development continues. Financial companies are using blockchain to simulate real-world assets, settle transactions with stablecoins, and test onchain versions of traditional financial products.

Other experiments, such as wallet-based identity systems and Bitcoin-backed lending, remain in their early stages. But they follow familiar patterns, with crypto mostly integrating with existing services and avoiding conflicts created by intermediaries.

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