Bitcoin payment revolution! Walmart OnePay can push $2 million on-chain transactions daily.

The new merchant and wallet integration indicates that checkout applications can quietly shift millions of dollars in daily Bitcoin payments and Ether traffic outside of the ETF pipeline. Walmart's OnePay collaborates with Zero Hash, allowing the application to support Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions, hosted wallets, peer-to-peer transfers, as well as on-chain deposits and withdrawals.

Walmart OnePay builds Bitcoin payment infrastructure

(Source: ZeroHash)

Crypto retail checkout now has two fast-moving levers: a merchant track that can reduce processing costs, and a consumer application that can toggle between crypto purchases and spending. Walmart's OnePay sits at the intersection of both, as its recent partnership with Zero Hash allows the application to support Bitcoin and Ethereum transactions, hosted wallets, peer-to-peer transfers, as well as on-chain deposits and withdrawals (if the operator enables these features).

According to the documentation from Zero Hash, the custody will be managed by Zero Hash entities, with execution supported by its affiliated liquidity services department. Pricing may include spreads and platform fees. The key point is whether external transfers are allowed, as the “walled garden” model concentrates balances in a hosted wallet. In contrast, the open model transfers some daily purchases to the public network, making trading activities publicly visible.

The distribution channel of OnePay is crucial for scaling. Synchrony is launching a Walmart card built into the OnePay application, which provides a native Wallet that allows for the addition of cryptocurrency funds and transfers later if the switch is turned on. According to Walmart's data, the company reports that its business extensively covers American households, which lowers the customer acquisition cost associated with payment applications at retail checkouts.

The conversion formula is simple: the number of eligible users multiplied by the activation rate, purchase occurrence rate, and average ticket price. If there are 10 million active users who meet the criteria, with half activating cryptocurrency, 1.0% of users making purchases monthly, and an average ticket price of $150, then the traffic means that the daily Bitcoin purchase amount is approximately $1.7 million to $2.5 million, depending on asset share.

The daily net flow of the U.S. spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) often reaches hundreds of millions of dollars. Therefore, compared to the intense trading periods of ETFs, this type of application-driven Bitcoin payment, while smaller in scale, is sustainable and comes from retail behavior rather than model-based allocators. This distinction is crucial because retail-driven purchases tend to be more stable and predictable, without the extreme volatility seen with institutional fund flows.

Shopify connects merchant checkout channels with US cryptocurrency exchanges

The checkout part of the story has already gone live elsewhere. According to Shopify and US compliant crypto exchanges, merchants can accept USDC within Shopify Payments on Base, using similar delayed capture, refund, and receipt agreements as with card operations, thus narrowing the operational gap between cryptocurrency and existing systems.

Users can purchase up to $100,000 per week and send cryptocurrencies to external wallets. In September, the company added peer-to-peer cryptocurrency functionality, which encompasses a broader product promotion as well as cost incentives for PYUSD. Cash App supports lightning network transfers and on-chain transactions within user limits. These product options transform the cryptocurrency export channels into bidirectional channels accessible to memory pools, providing predictable face value for merchants in the case of stablecoins.

The cost and delay factors are stable enough to constitute various scenarios. According to data from the L2fees dashboard, the average transaction fee for Ethereum is about 40 cents, while the fees for simple sending and exchanging on Layer 2 range from approximately 4 to 20 cents. Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network typically process payments in sub-seconds at very low costs, while on-chain confirmations still take about ten minutes on average, and the fees depend on the level of congestion.

Comparison of the Three Major Technical Paths for Bitcoin Payments:

Lightning Network: Sub-second confirmation, very low fees (usually less than 1 cent), suitable for small retail transactions.

Layer 2 (Ethereum): 4-20 cents fee, seconds confirmation, supports smart contracts and complex logic

Stablecoin: Predictable value, avoids price fluctuations, suitable for merchant settlement and cross-border payments.

This split sets up a practical menu for merchants: Bitcoin uses the Lightning Network, the Ethereum ecosystem uses Layer 2 or stablecoin tracks, and denominations similar to fiat currency use stablecoins.

Steak 'n Shake Case: Costs Down 50%, Performance Up 10.7%

Steak 'n Shake is a living case study of culture and operation. According to the company's statement at the launch of the Lightning Network on May 16, the chain's same-store sales grew by approximately 10.7% quarter-over-quarter, attributing this growth to Bitcoin users. The company's commentary stated that management indicated that the processing costs of Bitcoin payments are about 50% lower compared to credit cards, and on the day of Bitcoin's launch, it captured a share of global Bitcoin transactions.

The importance of this case lies not only in the numbers themselves but also in the fact that it validates the feasibility of Bitcoin payments in physical retail environments. A 50% cost saving is revolutionary for the fast food industry, where profit margins are typically in the single digits. Traditional credit card processing fees usually range from 2-3% of the transaction amount, while the fees for the Lightning Network are almost negligible. This cost advantage translates directly into increased profits or price competitiveness.

The communication surrounding the acceptance of Ethereum has not been formalized, which makes the optics of asset selection and the reactions it causes precede any technical differences on the ledger. For retailers, the technical issue is not whether Bitcoin or Ethereum can handle checkout payments, but rather which configuration can reduce refund friction, coordinate in the back-end system, and maintain unit economics.

Pricing and product design decisions adoption rate

Price disclosure will affect repeat behavior. According to Zero Hash, affiliated liquidity services can quote at a spread above the reference rate, and the platform can charge its own fees. Retail groups respond to round-trip costs, so a lower all-in spread combined with checkout rewards often increases purchase rates, while a higher spread suppresses repeat purchases.

KYC levels and rolling limits will be set based on transaction limits, but in practice, meaningful restrictions on network liquidity exist with external transfers, supported networks (such as Lightning and specific Layer 2 solutions), and any waiting periods related to card or ACH funds. Merchant readiness is no longer solely focused on raw throughput but is more centered around operations. According to Shopify, the framework covers refund processes, partial captures, and receipt statuses, all of which are control mechanisms built by card systems over decades.

For Bitcoin payments, the Lightning Network solves the issue of confirmation time for payment events, allowing merchants to transfer funds to a hosted wallet or settlement account later. For Ethereum, layer two networks and stablecoins reduce costs and delays to acceptable levels for consumers, while stablecoins avoid the price conversion steps of fiat currency businesses.

Retail optics will continue to influence which assets are positioned over the counter. Bitcoin has brought community vitality and transformed it into media revenue and early adoption, which was reflected in Steak 'n Shake this quarter. Ethereum has brought builder infrastructure and optionality through Layer 2 networks, which are cheaper and faster than their base layer. Stablecoins provide a third pathway, setting the decision-making framework as network currency rather than a choice of asset tribes.

For most large retailers, the actual outcome is a hybrid solution: an active Lightning Network for Bitcoin users, stablecoins for e-commerce and self-service terminals, and selectively supporting Ethereum routed through Layer 2 to meet cost and latency targets. The determination of whether retail demand reaches the public network is set by external transfers at the time of activation, which will be a key indicator in judging whether Bitcoin payments truly achieve “on-chain” status.