Artemis Crypto Payment Card Report: $18 Billion Market Size, The Silent Explosion of Crypto Payments

marsbit2026-01-21 tarihinde yayınlandı2026-01-21 tarihinde güncellendi

Özet

Artemis Research reveals that the crypto payments card market has grown into a $18 billion industry, with monthly transaction volumes increasing 15-fold since early 2023. The report breaks down the crypto card stack into three layers: Networks (Visa and Mastercard), Issuers & Program Managers (e.g., Baanx, Bridge), and Consumer Apps (wallets and exchanges like MetaMask and Phantom). Visa dominates with over 90% of on-chain card transaction volume, largely due to early infrastructure partnerships. A key structural shift is the rise of full-stack issuers like Rain and Reap, which now issue cards and settle directly as Visa Principal Members—bypassing sponsor banks for greater control and better economics. Geographic usage varies: In India, crypto cards serve as collateralized credit solutions, while in Argentina, they function as inflation-hedged stablecoin debit cards. In developed markets, crypto cards target high-value users who hold significant stablecoin balances and seek to spend them. The report concludes that as stablecoin adoption grows, crypto cards will scale accordingly, acting as essential infrastructure for bringing digital dollars into the real economy.

Author: Artemis

Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide:

Crypto payments are undergoing a silent "great power shift." The latest research from Artemis shows that the crypto card market has surged from the fringes in early 2023 to a massive $18 billion annualized size, with monthly transaction volume increasing 15-fold in just two years.

This article deconstructs the three layers of the crypto payment stack and reveals a surprising figure: Visa accounts for over 90% of on-chain card transaction volume. More importantly, the industry is experiencing a structural shift towards "full-stack issuance." Companies like Rain and Reap are bypassing traditional banks by connecting directly to Visa, completely rewriting the economic model. From crypto-collateralized credit in India to daily stablecoin payments in Argentina, crypto cards are becoming key infrastructure for bringing digital dollars into the real world.

Full text as follows:

Big news: We just released the industry's most detailed research report on Crypto Cards.

Not because it's a niche market, but because it has quietly grown into an $18 billion market. In early 2023, monthly transaction volume for crypto cards was only around $100 million. Today, that number has exceeded $1.5 billion.

To do this, we spent weeks digging deep into the data, the infrastructure, and the companies actually building this stack. Here are our key findings:

First, let's look at what's actually happening. Crypto cards aren't about replacing Visa or Mastercard; they're about leveraging them.

Stablecoins fund the transactions, and Cards provide the merchant acceptance environment.

The stack is divided into 3 layers:

  • Network Layer: Visa, Mastercard
  • Issuers & Program Managers Layer: Baanx, Bridge, etc.
  • Consumer Apps Layer: Wallets, Exchanges (e.g., MetaMask, Phantom)

This is precisely where the power struggle is most intense.

Although both Visa and Mastercard each have over 130 crypto partnerships...

Visa accounts for over 90% of on-chain card transaction volume. The reason lies in its early and deep partnerships with the Infrastructure Layer.

The biggest structural shift: Full-stack issuers.

Companies like Rain and Reap can now issue cards and settle directly as Visa Principal Members.

No sponsor bank needed. More control. Better economics.

Geographic distribution reveals the real use cases. India: With $338 billion in cryptocurrency inflows. The opportunity here is crypto-collateralized credit (because UPI has already won in debit payments). Argentina: The practical application is stablecoin debit cards as an inflation hedge.

In developed markets, crypto cards don't solve a "critical need."

They target a new, high-value user base: those who already hold significant stablecoin balances and want to spend them.

Our view is simple: Stablecoins will continue to grow, and crypto cards will scale accordingly.

They are the infrastructure for bringing digital dollars into the real world.

This post is just the key highlights. Read the full report for the complete deep dive.

İlgili Okumalar

In Conversation with Ray Dalio: We Are Currently in an AI Bubble, with 1% of My Portfolio in Bitcoin

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, warns in an interview that the current AI boom shows classic bubble characteristics, which could lead to significant economic downturns as seen in past cycles like 1929 or 2000. He explains that speculative enthusiasm, fueled by debt and overvaluation, often precedes a crash when rising rates or taxation force asset sales, causing widespread losses and recession. Dalio also outlines his "Big Cycle" theory, describing an approximate 80-year pattern where widening wealth gaps, massive government deficits, and shifting geopolitical power (like China's rise) create internal conflict and global instability. He emphasizes that we are in a late-cycle, transitional phase where traditional powers like the US and UK face decline. For personal wealth protection, Dalio advises diversification beyond cash into assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, and particularly gold, which he prefers over Bitcoin. While he holds about 1% of his portfolio in Bitcoin as a non-printable hard asset, he views gold as more secure from technological or governmental threats. Regarding AI's impact, Dalio believes it will disproportionately benefit capital owners, worsening inequality by replacing both physical and cognitive labor. He suggests that human intuition and emotional intelligence, combined with AI, will be key for future workers. On taxation, Dalio argues that wealth taxes are impractical and risk triggering asset sell-offs, reducing productive investment. He points to the UK as a cautionary example of debt, low productivity, and political strife. Geopolitically, Dalio foresees a more regionalized world, with the US showing weakness in prolonged conflicts like with Iran, akin to past imperial declines. The ideal outcome, he suggests, is coexisting powerful blocs (e.g., Americas, China-Asia Pacific) without major war.

marsbit4 dk önce

In Conversation with Ray Dalio: We Are Currently in an AI Bubble, with 1% of My Portfolio in Bitcoin

marsbit4 dk önce

Daily 7.2 Trillion KRW: Foreign Capital's Record Net Buying on Friday! Wall Street Says Headwinds for Korean Stock Fund Flows Have Subsided

South Korean stock market sees a dramatic shift in fund flows. On July 31, foreign investors made a record net purchase of approximately KRW 7.2 trillion in KOSPI stocks, marking a fundamental reversal from the persistent large-scale net outflows seen in previous months. This contributed to a significant narrowing of foreign net selling in July to KRW 9.8 trillion, down sharply from KRW 48.4 trillion in June and KRW 44.5 trillion in May. Simultaneously, domestic institutional pressure eased. South Korean pension funds and asset managers turned to a net buying position in July, purchasing KRW 1.0 trillion worth of KOSPI shares, contrasting with net sales in May and June. Market volatility is expected to be dampened by new financial regulations. Effective July 31, the Financial Services Commission tightened access for retail investors to single-stock leveraged ETFs by raising the minimum cash deposit requirement. Trading volumes for these products subsequently dropped to about 50% of their monthly average. Citigroup Research maintains its year-end KOSPI target of 10,000 points. The firm cites several supportive factors: the substantial easing of headwinds from capital outflows, a robust fundamental outlook for the semiconductor sector, historically low market valuations, strong economic fundamentals, and the potential for policy support from financial authorities if needed.

marsbit5 dk önce

Daily 7.2 Trillion KRW: Foreign Capital's Record Net Buying on Friday! Wall Street Says Headwinds for Korean Stock Fund Flows Have Subsided

marsbit5 dk önce

Breaking! OpenAI's Next-Gen AI Solves 10 Fields Medal-Level Problems

OpenAI's next-generation AI model Astra achieves breakthroughs in 10 long-standing mathematical conjectures. The results, including constructing the first known infinite, finitely presented non-sofic group—resolving a major question since 1999—and advancing the high-dimensional sphere packing problem beyond a 46-year-old barrier, are detailed in a 249-page paper. Key proofs have been formally verified using Lean 4. The AI also refuted a rigidity conjecture by Fields Medalist Alain Connes. According to OpenAI, generating these proofs cost under $2,000. Experts describe the findings as potentially Fields Medal-worthy and a landmark moment for both mathematics and AI, showcasing the model's ability to produce profound, human-like reasoning across diverse fields like group theory, geometry, and operator algebras.

marsbit1 saat önce

Breaking! OpenAI's Next-Gen AI Solves 10 Fields Medal-Level Problems

marsbit1 saat önce

How to Make Yourself Irreplaceable by AI Forever

This article argues that the primary threat from AI is not job replacement, but remaining trapped in "wage slavery"—financial dependence on employers. The path to becoming irreplaceable is not resisting AI, but becoming an "unemployable" individual who builds their own meaningful enterprise. The author identifies five key elements for this: Agency (acting without permission), Taste (judging what's worthwhile), Persuasion, Persistence, and Iteration. The solution is to stop being a "pawn" in someone else's game. To start, you must fundamentally change your identity and environment, then engage in rapid, real-world trial and error. While both coding and creating media (content) are powerful, content is more crucial. AI can generate assets, but true value lies in subjective, human-driven content that builds trust and narrative. The actionable advice is to carve out 15 minutes to answer foundational questions: 1) Uncover your "raw material"—what you know deeply or solve effortlessly. 2) Define your contrarian perspective—what common beliefs you think are wrong. The intersection of these answers is your direction. Finally, you must launch by publishing your first core idea immediately, using the feedback to iterate and develop the skills needed for a self-directed life and career.

marsbit2 saat önce

How to Make Yourself Irreplaceable by AI Forever

marsbit2 saat önce

Thanks to Dice Rolls, Bitcoin Keys Are Stored Offline, But Not Everyone Will Do It

The article discusses using dice rolls to generate secure Bitcoin wallet seeds, providing entropy independent of potentially flawed hardware random number generators. It explains that each fair dice roll offers about 2.585 bits of entropy, with around 50 rolls needed for a standard 12-word seed phrase and 99+ recommended for higher security. This method gained attention after a vulnerability was revealed in some Coldcard hardware wallets, where a faulty firmware RNG (dating back to 2021) compromised generated keys. The analysis notes that while a dice-generated main seed was safe from this specific flaw, other Coldcard functions (like creating paper wallets, backup keys, or passwords) could still be vulnerable if they used the defective RNG. The piece argues that while dice-based entropy is technically robust, the manual process is error-prone, tedious, and unrealistic for most new users, who might make mistakes in recording or inputting rolls. It concludes that while manual entropy generation should remain an option for advanced users, the long-term goal is to develop reliable, user-friendly hardware and software that securely generates randomness without requiring specialized knowledge. Coldcard users are advised to check their firmware version and replace any secondary secrets (like paper wallet keys) created with vulnerable devices, while also considering multi-signature setups with devices from different manufacturers for added security.

cryptonews.ru5 saat önce

Thanks to Dice Rolls, Bitcoin Keys Are Stored Offline, But Not Everyone Will Do It

cryptonews.ru5 saat önce

İşlemler

Spot
活动图片