Private aviation is growing. The private jet charter services market was valued at USD 16.38 billion in 2025 and estimated to grow from USD 17.67 billion in 2026 to reach USD 25.79 billion by 2031. In Q1 2025 alone, 900,221 business jet departures were recorded globally, a 3% increase year-on-year. The client base is expanding.
At the same time, a structural shift in wealth creation over the past decade has produced a new class of ultra-high-net-worth individuals - technology founders, early-stage venture investors and digital asset fund managers - whose liquid capital is held, in part, in digital form. According to the Henley & Partners Crypto Wealth Report 2025, approximately 241,700 individuals globally hold cryptocurrency assets worth more than $1 million, a figure that grew by roughly 40% year-on-year and represents a combined holding of approximately $3.3 trillion.
These are not speculative retail investors but sophisticated allocators of significant capital, and they are already flying privately.
This presents a real opportunity for operators and now is the time to ensure they are set up to transact with this lucrative customer base, crucially, in the way they expect.
For this client segment, converting digital assets into fiat to execute a wire transfer is not a minor friction. It can trigger a taxable event, introduce settlement delays and signal to a financially sophisticated individual that the business they are dealing with has not kept pace with how capital actually moves in their world. In an industry where client relationships are built on precision, responsiveness and the elimination of inconvenience, that signal is costly.
The luxury sector has already internalised this lesson as its UHNW clientele puts increasing value on customer experience. This has prompted bespoke, ultra luxury brands, such as the world’s premier, high-tech luxury automotive ecosystem duPont Registry, and private aviation charter ACASS and marketplace Jetraft to offer digital asset payment solutions. What’s more, clients who can settle a superyacht charter, a fine art acquisition or a premium property transaction using digital assets are increasingly applying that same expectation to aviation.
The long-term outlook for private aviation remains positive as the UHNW population continues to grow globally, particularly across Asia and the Middle East. The operators and brokers who build digital asset payment capability now will capture a disproportionate share of this segment before their competitors recognise what they are losing.
The infrastructure exists. The client demand is already present. The businesses that act now will be the ones defining the future of luxury aviation.
To learn how digital asset payment acceptance can help you unlock access to the underserved UHNW client base, contact us.
Nigel Brook-Walters
Chief Revenue Officer, COINPAYMENTS
nigel.brook-walters@coinpayments.net
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