It’s no longer a question of if crypto will change retail — it already is. From luxury boutiques to fast food chains, merchants across the country are embracing cryptocurrency as a powerful new way to connect with modern consumers. The idea that accepting crypto is too risky or too complicated is outdated. Today’s crypto-to-cash platforms make it safe, fast, and seamless, with no exposure to volatility or regulatory headaches.
A whopping 65 million Americans own crypto, and according to Capital One, 80% would like to use it for daily purchases. What’s more, customers who pay with crypto spend twice as much as those who swipe a credit card.
For luxury retailers in particular, crypto presents a rare opportunity to stand out, future-proof their business, and reach a new generation of affluent, digital-first buyers. High-end jewellers, exotic car dealerships, and upscale hospitality brands are among the early adopters leading the charge. By enabling crypto payments that convert instantly to cash, they’re tapping into a global market of eager spenders — and positioning themselves as forward-thinking innovators in a competitive space.
Luxury Stores Unlock the Spendable Value of Crypto
As an example, Leon Diamond, a high-end jeweller based in New York City’s iconic Diamond District, is among the first luxury retailers in the U.S. to embrace crypto-to-cash transactions. Through PDX Beam, the store now offers its clients the ability to pay in digital currencies like Bitcoin, Solana, and Dogecoin, while the store itself receives instant cash in USD. For customers, this means that buying a $2 million green diamond is just a few taps away, and for Leon Diamond, it means no risk or dealing with crypto volatility.
Store owner Avi Davidoff says the move was driven by evolving customer expectations. “Crypto has had its ups and downs, but it’s definitely here to stay,” Davidoff explains. “With tools like PDX Beam acting as a mediator, the process becomes seamless. It’s easier for some clients to part with crypto that they’ve seen grow quickly than their traditional savings. That’s opening up a whole new market for us.”
Retail Industry Sees Swath of Early Adopters
In the past few months, my company has already rolled out beta testing of our PDX Beam gateway with dozens of establishments across different retail sectors, including high-end jewelry stores as well as luxury brand car dealerships. These businesses are accepting crypto payments through the platform and seeing firsthand how it taps into a fresh pool of customers.
In Florida, an international fast food chain will set up a regional crypto-to-cash pilot program across an initial 10 stores in the Miami-Dade area. The chain operates over 6,800 company-owned and franchised stores across the U.S., and its payment processor services more than 100,000 branded retail outlets nationwide. As these pilots roll out, they’re expected to bring crypto payments into the fast-food mainstream.
It’s not just the POS end of the retail industry, either. A $7.5 billion institution has signed an agreement for gateway-based payment processing that will clear more than $60 million annually, while a private equity firm will use a gateway to process crypto payments for retail businesses it owns, among other services.
No Downside: Retailers Avoid Exposure or Risk
For retailers, the biggest fear has always been the volatility and complexity of crypto. But modern crypto-to-cash gateways take on all that risk. At checkout, when the customer pays in crypto, the system instantly converts it to local currency from the customer’s wallet. Merchants never see or touch the crypto. They get paid directly in dollars (or any local currency) — typically within seconds.
This removes all the volatility risk for the retailer. It also eliminates the need for merchants to manage crypto accounts or wallets, sidestepping a major compliance headache. Meanwhile, these blockchain-based transactions slash the chance of chargeback fraud, adding another layer of security.
A New Era for Lower Fees and Faster Cash
With our crypto payments platform, we also address a big problem with today’s credit card system: the steep price tag: 3-4% fees for most businesses, and up to 7% for “risky” sectors such as cannabis sales. These fees carve away at already slim margins, and merchants are feeling the pinch.
Crypto payments processed through these gateways bypass the legacy banking intermediaries, drastically reducing transaction costs. Settlement is also lightning-fast. Instead of waiting days for funds to clear, merchants can see the cash in their account in real time or the same day, helping to put an end to cash flow headaches.
Future-Proofing Retail
Crypto is no longer just a speculative investment. It’s becoming a true medium of exchange. With new payment conversion platforms, we have a bridge between the consumers’ digital-first mindset and real-world commerce. It’s never been easier to tap into this growing 21st-century market.
New York-based Shane Rodgers is a former investment banker and CEO of PDX Global, whose PDX Beam crypto-to-fiat gateway is currently in beta.
