I don't think merchant adoption was ever going to be the silver bullet that some thought it would be and they'll probably continue dropping like flies.

None of them can solve the straightforward and insurmountable issue which is BTC is wonderful for the merchants, and a shite proposition for customers unless they already have BTC.

Nobody wants to buy something to buy something. On top of that there's the volatility (for the customer), the pain of getting hold of it which usually has a premium and then storing it safely.

The people who already have it are reluctant to let go of it much of the time and they're mainly first worlders with other options anyway.

The fee thing may well have added to the demise but the fundamental turn offs are the same for all crypto no matter what the fee or coin is.

Storj is a separate thing and it sounds like the right choice for them. Circle's a darned shame for the average person but I'm not surprised by that either.

At this stage of the game a vast amount of shit is being slung at the wall. Most of it will slide off again.