These days, there are more avenues than ever before to spend cryptocurrency, and they seem to be popping up every other day. In many cases, these don’t refer to large purchases but everyday expenses that we usually take care of with fiat.

Sheetz customers can now get in on the action thanks to a new partnership between the convince store chain and Flexa, a payment processor. Flexa is now allowing users to spend cryptocurrency at Sheetz locations as easily as they would others and so far, customers have had a positive response. 

The New Partnership

Sheetz and Flexa initially rolled out this initiative at select locations, letting customers buy items using crypto. Following a positive response, this is being expanded to its over 750 locations. Because the Flexa system is already compatible with the existing in-store point-of-sale (POS) systems, store managers do not need to overhaul their current setup. Plus, customers have more options in terms of payment, and this can go on to drive crypto adoption.

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“We’ve always been committed to giving our customers more payment options, and our expanded partnership with Flexa allows us to do just that,” said Ryan Sheetz, executive vice president of marketing and supply chain for the chain.

The company also ran a promotion to celebrate and raise awareness about these new options. Through November 13, 2024, customers were given the chance to save $20 per purchase if they used the Flexa app. They can also rack up points in the My Sheetz Rewardz loyalty program, regardless of whether they pay using crypto or fiat currency.

The Flexa team has further highlighted the growing demand for stablecoin use cases and how this initiative is helping to cater to this need.

The Growing Use of Crypto

Sheetz is but one example of a growing number of avenues for crypto use. Crypto assets have proven themselves to be both profitable investment vehicles and viable spendable currencies and thus, we’re seeing them being used more. On the investment end, there are more active crypto wallets than ever before, as well as growing institutional support. 2024 saw the approval of a spot ETF for both Bitcoin and Ether, and more tokens are rumoured to be getting the same treatment by 2025.

Consumers are either buying tokens directly and reselling once the price goes up or even buying at the presale stage. Crypto presales are the sales of new crypto assets at a discounted price before they are rolled out to exchanges, and these have proven to be high in demand. Presales like Pepe Unchained and BlockDAG dominated in 2024, raising millions in the process. And as crypto analyst Kane Pepi writes, popular crypto presales continue to rake in money across sub-niches. Crypto investors and amateur enthusiasts alike who do their homework in advance have provenly been able to purchase some prominent coins early and diversity their investments. 

Then we have things like gambling, which have traditionally been done with fiat currencies but are seeing a bigger crypto presence. The chance to win crypto tokens that might appreciate in value, enjoy more privacy as you gamble, and complete transactions faster has proven to be a big draw for players.

When we enter the realm of domestic purchases, however, a difference becomes obvious. The Flexa app team specifically noted a demand for stablecoin transactions as opposed to use with speculative cryptos. Stablecoins are cryptos whose value is tied to more traditional assets and currencies. USDT, for example, is pegged to the price of the US dollar and others are tied to things like gold, stocks, and so on. The appeal of holding stablecoins and using them to buy things at a convenience store is that their value does not fluctuate the way it would with Bitcoin or Ether.

As cryptos become more widely used for non-speculative reasons, stablecoin use can be expected to increase.

Conclusion 

Sheetz is now the latest in a long line of merchants that now accept cryptocurrency for its products. The growing popularity of the asset class as a whole means that its use cases are being further explored. Not only is crypto seeing both individual and institutional investment but its domestic use is on the rise. 

As 2025 rolls around, we can expect to see more merchants turn their attention to crypto and more consumers support them.