As of 2020, one cannot easily transact with cryptocurrency for many purchases.

Judge as of October 2020. True: surveys or industry data show only a small share of merchants accepted cryptocurrency for ordinary goods and services (for example, under about 5% of major retailers), so most everyday purchases could not easily be paid in crypto. Mostly true: acceptance was limited but significant through intermediaries (such as gift cards and payment processors), so 'not easily' is somewhat overstated for some categories. Mixed: crypto could be used for a substantial share of purchases through widely available tools, but with notable friction. Mostly false: crypto spending was broadly convenient through mainstream processors and cards, with only niche exceptions. False: crypto was widely and easily accepted for most purchases.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 [PDF] Bitcoin Sentiment Tracker - Payments Canada Payments Canada / CorbinPartners Inc. · August 2020

   “Bitcoin economic activity continues to be dominated by exchange trading. This suggests Bitcoin’s top use case remains speculative, and the mainstream use of Bitcoin for everyday purchases is not yet a reality.”

2. E2 HSB Survey Finds One-Third of Small Businesses Accept Cryptocurrency Business Wire (for Hartford Steam Boiler, part of Munich Re) · 15 January 2020

   “At least one-third of U.S. small and medium-sized businesses accept cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services, a survey released today by HSB, part of Munich Re, has found, with newer companies up to twice as likely to trade in digital credits.”

3. E3 PayPal Pushes Crypto Further into the Mainstream Hunton Andrews Kurth (blockchain legal resource) · 22 October 2020

   “In addition to peer-to-peer payments, using cryptocurrency to pay merchants is not one of the initial functionalities of the new service.”

4. E4 Million-Dollar Bitcoins in 2020: What Will It Take For John McAfee To Be Right? BeInCrypto · 22 March 2019

   “At the moment, actually exchanging your Bitcoin for goods and services is a challenging endeavor in most cases, typically requiring either a Bitcoin debit card or a special payment app to pay in places that don’t directly accept Bitcoin.”

Payments Canada's August 2020 merchant study (E1) found that Bitcoin activity was still mostly exchange trading and that "mainstream use of Bitcoin for everyday purchases is not yet a reality." In October 2020, PayPal's new crypto service did not yet let users pay merchants (E3). Earlier, paying with crypto was described as challenging in most cases, though possible through crypto debit cards or payment apps (E4). That points to limited acceptance with some workarounds through intermediaries. An HSB survey reporting that one-third of US small businesses accept crypto (E2) cuts against the claim, so the evidence fits mostly true better than fully true.