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People who travel are more likely to hop on the crypto train

The Future. A new study found that people who frequently travel  are also more likely to use cryptocurrencies. So, where are all the travel companies offering crypto services? While volatility is a likely barrier (a reservation in March could cost something entirely different in June), the space is ripe for a company to capture these intersecting demographics — and make a name for itself.

Planes, trains, and cryptocurrencies
There’s a similarity between those that go out of their comfort zone physically and those that do so financially.

• According to Pew Research Center, only about 16% of U.S. adults have bought, sold, or traded crypto.
• But Morning Consult found that around 25% of people who travel one to four times a year own Bitcoin.
• That same study found that people who took at least five trips a year are 33% likely to own Bitcoin.

After a Twitter poll put up by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky found that users’ top requested change is for the company to accept crypto, Morning Consult’s travel and hospitality analyst Lindsey Roeschke said, “Not only are Bitcoin owners more likely than the general population… to hold favorable views of the vacation rental brand than the average American, Airbnb users are [also] more aware of and more favorable toward Bitcoin than the general public.”

Fly DeFi
Those studies should spur travel companies to hop on the crypto bandwagon. But, so far, that hasn’t been the case.

• Only a few companies, such as CheapAir.com and Latvian airline airBaltic, support crypto payments.
• No major hotel chains, except those that are part of Expedia Group hotels on Travala.com, accept crypto.

And what about Airbnb? Chesky told The Verge that “We are definitely looking into it. Absolutely. Like the revolution in travel, there is clearly a revolution happening in crypto.”