Bitcoin Customers Are
Better
A cross-merchant data study drawing from a subset of over 50,000 shoppers and 100,000 orders across the Oshi network.
~3x
Lifetime Value
vs. all other customers
+38%
First Purchase
higher spend on day one
~50%
More Repeat Purchases
higher return rate
About the Study
What we measured — and how
We analyzed order data across a subset of qualifying merchants on the Oshi network: over 50,000 shoppers and 100,000 orders. Merchants span food, skincare, coffee, lifestyle, and consumer goods. Bitcoin-focused venues were excluded to ensure all comparisons reflect normal retail.
A customer is classified as “Bitcoin-paying” if they used a Bitcoin payment gateway (Strike, BTCPay Server, OpenNode, IBEXPay, or Zaprite) for at least one order. Whether they're using a self-custodial wallet, Strike, Cash App, or any other Bitcoin-enabled app, the point is the same: they made a deliberate choice at checkout to pay with Bitcoin instead of a credit card. Under 1% of customers at these stores have done this.
For every metric we compared Bitcoin-paying customers against every other customer at the same stores. Not a pre-selected group, not loyalty members only. Every metric was computed at each merchant independently, then aggregated, to control for differences in price points between stores.
This is a correlational study. Bitcoin customers self-selected. They arrived with higher spending power. The data shows they are measurably better customers. It does not claim that accepting Bitcoin causes customers to spend more. The value is in identifying a pre-existing high-value segment.
The Profile
Who is the Bitcoin customer?
Paying with Bitcoin at an online store is not something that happens by accident. Whether they're using Strike, Cash App, or their own wallet, these customers are making a deliberate choice at checkout. Most stores don't even offer the option. The ones that do are attracting a very specific kind of buyer.
They have more purchasing power
Many Bitcoin holders have been saving in Bitcoin for years, outpacing inflation in a way that traditional savings accounts haven't. That wealth effect translates directly to how they shop. They're not anxious about a $150 order. They buy what they want.
They seek out quality, not deals
The Bitcoin community talks a lot about “low time preference” — thinking long-term, avoiding impulsive decisions. That extends to how they spend. These aren't customers who clicked through a retargeting ad or bought something on a whim at 2am. They research brands, they choose deliberately, and they're willing to pay full price for something they believe in.
They're deliberate by nature
It's widely observed in the Bitcoin community that its members disproportionately identify as INTJ and INTP personality types — analytical, strategic, research-driven. Community surveys suggest that as many as 29% of Bitcoin holders identify as INTJ, a personality type that makes up just 2% of the general population. That tracks with what the spending data shows: these aren't impulsive buyers. They research products, choose deliberately, and have low tolerance for anything that doesn't meet their standard. They're voting with what they consider the most pristine money in the world, and they do it intentionally.
You don't just get a customer. You get an ambassador.
When a Bitcoin user finds a business that accepts Bitcoin, there's a values alignment that goes beyond the product. They share it. They post about it on social media, they tell friends, they recommend you in group chats and communities. From day one, they're more invested in your success than a typical buyer.
Credit card companies have understood a version of this for decades: certain card types predict spending behavior. American Express holders spend differently than prepaid debit users, not because the card changes their behavior, but because the card choice reveals who they already are. Bitcoin payment is the same kind of signal. Major chains like Steak 'n Shake have already reported significant sales lifts after accepting Bitcoin. But until now, no one has quantified what's actually happening at the customer level.
What follows are six findings that do exactly that.
1. They Spend More From Day One
The spending gap doesn't build up over time. It's there from the very first order.
38% more on their very first purchase.
Before any reward has been earned, before any repeat-purchase dynamic has kicked in, Bitcoin customers are already spending significantly more than everyone else at the same store. At a ranch or meat shop, that might be the difference between a sampler box and a full order. At a skincare brand, it could be the difference between one product and a full routine.
Whether this is because they're inherently higher-value shoppers, or because the prospect of earning Bitcoin rewards encourages a larger first purchase, or both, the result for the merchant is the same. They show up and spend more from day one.
These are people who have been accumulating wealth in Bitcoin, often for years. When they decide to spend, they do it with purpose and without hesitation. And when they know they're earning Bitcoin back, they have even less reason to hold back.
2. They're Worth More Over Time
Across the same set of merchants, Bitcoin customers generate substantially more total spending, measured merchant by merchant to control for price point differences.
Nearly 3x the lifetime value.
Lifetime Value Comparison
Mean LTV at qualifying merchants. Median LTV: $204 (Bitcoin) vs. $117 (all others). Mean is used as the primary LTV metric, consistent with industry standard.
The gap isn't driven by a few large orders. Bitcoin customers spend more per visit and they visit more often. Those two things compound over time, which is why the lifetime value difference is so large.
Why this matters
Most customer acquisition strategies optimize for one dimension: either getting customers who spend more per order, or getting customers who buy more frequently. Bitcoin customers deliver both at the same time. That's what makes the lifetime value gap so large: it's the result of two advantages compounding, not a single big-ticket purchase inflating the average.
3. They Come Back More Often
Bitcoin customers are significantly more likely to make a repeat purchase, and this holds across the merchants in the study.
0%
Bitcoin Customers
make a repeat purchase
0%
All Other Customers
make a repeat purchase
Nearly 3 out of 4 regular customers make one purchase and never come back. The majority of Bitcoin customers return. Combined with higher spend per order, this compounds the lifetime value gap on both dimensions.
Why this matters
These customers didn't land on your store through an algorithm or a flash sale. They found you, chose you, and came back because they meant it the first time.
The fact that you accept Bitcoin already signals to them that you're aligned on at least some of their values. Layer a Bitcoin rewards program on top of that, and you've given them no reason to go anywhere else. They're earning Bitcoin from a brand they already trust, buying products they already like. If your product is good, this customer is yours to keep.
4. They're More Reachable
Bitcoin users are generally more privacy-conscious than the average consumer. They're more likely to use encrypted email, VPNs, and privacy-focused tools. You might expect them to avoid opting into marketing. The opposite is true.
0%
Bitcoin Customers
opt into marketing
0%
All Other Customers
opt into marketing
Despite being a more privacy-aware audience, Bitcoin customers opt into marketing at a significantly higher rate. They want to hear about new products, promotions, and what the brand is doing. They're choosing to stay connected.
Why this matters
A privacy-conscious customer who opts into your marketing is telling you something powerful: they trust you, and they want a relationship with your brand. That's not something you get from a discount-driven buyer. When a Bitcoin customer gives you permission to reach them, it's a deliberate choice, and it means your email and SMS campaigns are reaching someone who actually wants to hear from you.
6. Even in a Down Market, They're Still Your Best Customers
The most common concern merchants raise about Bitcoin customers is volatility. If Bitcoin's price drops, do these customers disappear? Do they stop spending?
The premium shrinks in down months but never closes.
We classified each month in the study as “up” (Bitcoin's price rose more than 5%), “down” (fell more than 5%), or flat, then compared the spending premium in each environment, merchant by merchant:
BTC Customer Spending Premium by Market Condition
Median of per-merchant median spending premiums. Merchant-adjusted to control for store mix.
When Bitcoin's price is rising, the wealth effect is real. These customers feel wealthier, and they spend accordingly. But when the price falls, they don't vanish. They still spend 39% more than everyone else at the same stores. The premium contracts, but it never comes close to zero.
Why this matters
Bitcoin's price will go up and it will go down. That's not a risk to your business. Even in the worst months, these are still your highest-spending customers. The volatility concern assumes that Bitcoin customers are only valuable when the market is hot. The data shows the opposite: they're valuable in every environment. The floor is still higher than everyone else's ceiling. And the good news is that Bitcoin is rarely flat. It's volatile — which means most of the time, you're in one of the two environments where the premium is strongest.
Putting It Together
The Compound Effect
Each of these findings is significant on its own. But the real story is how they multiply.
A customer who spends 38% more on their first order is valuable. A customer who also returns 50% more often is even more valuable. Layer on a widening spend gap over time, an 84% marketing opt-in rate, and a spending premium that holds even when Bitcoin's price is falling, and the nearly 3x lifetime value gap isn't just a single data point. It's the mathematical inevitability of compounding advantages across every dimension of customer value.
This is what makes Bitcoin customers different from other “high-value segments” that businesses typically target. A customer acquired through a premium ad placement might spend more on their first order but churn at the same rate as everyone else. A loyalty program might improve repeat rates without changing per-order spend. Bitcoin customers deliver on all dimensions simultaneously, and they self-identify at checkout.
What This Means
The Opportunity for Merchants
Bitcoin customers are a small but measurably superior customer segment. They spend more on day one, come back more often, and generate nearly 3x the lifetime value of a typical shopper. But here's something worth noting: every merchant in this study has a Bitcoin rewards and loyalty program active. These results don't come from simply adding a payment button. They come from merchants who fully committed to serving this customer.
Why Bitcoin rewards, not just Bitcoin payments
Accepting Bitcoin gets you in the door. But a Bitcoin rewards program is what makes you visible to this segment and keeps them coming back. It signals something that traditional loyalty programs don't: that you understand what these customers value.
These are customers who think long-term. They save in Bitcoin because they believe it holds and grows in value over time. Offering them points that expire, or cashback in a currency that loses purchasing power every year, is misaligned with who they are. Offering them Bitcoin back on their purchases speaks their language. It tells them you get it. The reward itself is as high quality as the products they're buying from you.
Your customers don't need to understand Bitcoin to benefit from it. But the ones who do are worth nearly 3x more.
For most of your existing customers, a Bitcoin rewards program works like any other loyalty program. They earn, they redeem, they come back. But some will get curious. They'll notice their rewards appreciating. They'll start paying attention. And over time, a portion of them will begin to look more like the high-value segment described in this study. Meanwhile, the customers who already value Bitcoin will find you because you're speaking their language.
Accept Bitcoin, attract premium customers
Low cost to add. The customers it attracts are worth nearly 3x more.
A growing segment
Bitcoin adoption is growing. More people hold Bitcoin today than at any point in history, and the trend is accelerating. That means the high-value customer segment described in this study isn't static. It's expanding. Merchants who position themselves now are building a relationship with a customer base that will only get larger and more valuable over time.
Be discoverable to this segment
Join a rewards network that surfaces your store to thousands of Bitcoin buyers already looking for you.
An investment in customer quality
A Bitcoin rewards program doesn't just attract the customers described in this study. It starts putting your existing customers on the same path. When a regular customer earns Bitcoin rewards, they begin engaging with Bitcoin for the first time. They see their rewards appreciate. They start to understand why this community is so intentional about how they spend. Over time, some of them start to look more like the high-value segment in this data.
It's not a cost. It's an investment in customer quality that compounds over time.
Invest in customer quality
Introduce your existing customers to Bitcoin rewards. Over time, they start behaving like this segment.
Build a pipeline that compounds
Every customer earning Bitcoin rewards is a future member of your most valuable segment.
The window is open
Right now, the number of merchants offering Bitcoin rewards is small. Hundreds of thousands of stores run the same tired points programs that customers ignore. Very few are doing anything to reach the Bitcoin segment. That's an advantage for merchants who move now.
Early movers get to build loyalty with this customer base before it becomes crowded. As Bitcoin adoption grows and more merchants catch on, the opportunity to stand out will shrink. The merchants who are already there, already earning trust, already showing up in Bitcoin rewards networks, will have a head start that's hard to close.
Getting started is simple. Oshi connects to your existing store, lets you offer Bitcoin rewards to every customer, and makes you discoverable to the highest-value customer segment we've ever measured.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Across over 50,000 shoppers at qualifying merchants on the Oshi network, customers who paid with Bitcoin generated nearly 3x the lifetime value, spent 38% more on their first purchase, and were roughly 50% more likely to make a repeat purchase. These are merchant-adjusted figures controlled for store differences.
They spend slightly less in down months, but they still outperform every other customer segment. In months when Bitcoin's price fell more than 5%, Bitcoin customers still spent 39% more than everyone else at the same stores. The premium shrinks but never disappears.
No. We use median values as the primary metric for per-order comparisons, which represent the typical customer and are resistant to outlier effects. The merchant-adjusted median gaps hold across the middle of the distribution. This is a population-level difference, not an outlier effect.
We controlled for this directly by computing every metric at each merchant independently, then aggregating. The gaps reported are within-store differences. Bitcoin customers don't just shop at different stores. They spend more at the same store.
This is a correlational study, not a causal one. Bitcoin customers arrive with higher spending power. They don't spend more because they paid with Bitcoin. They spend more because they are a distinct customer segment with higher purchasing intent, and Bitcoin is how you identify them.
If you want access to a customer segment that spends nearly 3x more over their lifetime, returns more often, and opts into marketing at higher rates, accepting Bitcoin is a low-cost way to attract them. Payment processors like Strike, BTCPay Server, OpenNode, and Zaprite make setup simple.
Under 1% of customers at the merchants in this study pay with Bitcoin today. But the customers who do are worth nearly 3x more in lifetime value. A small segment that generates outsized revenue per customer is exactly the kind of segment worth targeting, particularly when the cost of accepting Bitcoin is near zero.
A Bitcoin rewards program gives customers real Bitcoin (sats) back on their purchases, similar to cashback or loyalty points. The difference is that Bitcoin rewards can appreciate in value over time, which gives customers a reason to engage with the program at a higher rate than traditional points-based systems.
Methodology
This study analyzed order data across a subset of qualifying merchants on the Oshi network. Bitcoin-focused venues, where the majority of customers already pay with Bitcoin, were excluded.
Bitcoin-paying customers were identified by payment gateway name (Strike, BTCPay Server, OpenNode, IBEXPay, Zaprite). Voided, refunded, and wholesale outlier orders were excluded. Customers whose only orders came through marketplace channels were also excluded, as they never had the option to pay with Bitcoin.
All primary metrics were computed at each merchant independently, then aggregated using both mean and median. Customer identification uses anonymized platform-assigned identifiers. No personally identifiable information was used in the analysis. Both median and mean values are reported for all primary metrics.
All figures reflect a single data snapshot from March 2026.
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