Author: Robert Hackett, Ryan Holloway, a16z
Compiler: Luffy, Foresight News
Stablecoins are increasingly being used for daily spending through card payments.
Crypto payment cards are no longer a novel niche product; the sector's monthly spending volume has now surpassed $750 million. These crypto payment cards allow users to directly spend their cryptocurrency at any offline or online merchant that accepts traditional card networks. Behind the scenes, the crypto assets (predominantly stablecoins) spent by the user are instantly converted into local fiat currency at the point of sale and settlement; for the receiving merchant, it's a standard card payment, with no awareness of the crypto assets used.
Users of crypto payment cards are not required to have a traditional bank account. Different products operate under varying models: some require users to deposit stablecoins with the card issuer; others support users holding their assets directly on-chain via self-custody wallets. Crypto payment cards essentially provide users worldwide with access to dollar-denominated account services, while also offering a practical and convenient payment solution for those holding stablecoins.
Trend of Crypto Payment Card Monthly Transaction Volume
According to Paymentscan's tracked on-chain activity data, the total monthly transaction volume for crypto payment cards reached $759 million in July 2026. This represents an increase of approximately 2.5 times compared to $306 million in the same month last year. Looking back to October 2023 when tracking began, the sector's monthly transaction volume was less than $1 million. (Note: The spending data for RedotPay, which ranks first in transaction volume, is publicly disclosed by the issuer itself and is not obtained via on-chain data scraping.)
The growth trend in the number of crypto payment card transactions largely aligns with the increase in transaction value. In July 2026, crypto payment cards processed nearly 9 million real-world transactions, compared to about 5.2 million transactions in the same month last year. This puts the average transaction value per card swipe at around $86.
Trend of Crypto Payment Card Monthly Transaction Count
In early 2024, crypto payment card transaction volume was heavily concentrated on one blockchain: Gnosis Chain, home to the well-known product Gnosis Pay, which was the first Visa co-branded card directly connected to self-custody wallets. As more crypto payment card products have launched, the blockchains used for payment card settlement have diversified.
Paymentscan's July data shows that the Optimism chain now handles roughly 29% of crypto payment card spending volume; the Solana and Base chains each hold a 19% share; while Gnosis Chain, the former leader, has seen its share decline to just 2%.
Share of Crypto Payment Card Spending Volume by Chain
The Euro-collateralized stablecoin EURe once dominated the crypto card spending market. In early 2024, it accounted for 88% of total crypto payment card transaction volume, with the vast majority of transactions occurring on the Gnosis Chain. By July of this year, however, EURe's market share had fallen to 2%.
Market dominance has now shifted to USD-denominated stablecoins. USDC facilitates 58% of crypto card spending traffic, while USDT accounts for 26%; in comparison, their shares were 48% and 7% respectively in the same period last year. Today, the vast majority of spending via crypto payment cards is conducted using dollar-pegged digital stablecoins.
Share of Crypto Payment Card Spending Volume by Stablecoin
When compared to traditional card networks, the crypto payment card market remains very small, as traditional networks process trillions of dollars in transactions monthly.
Nevertheless, the sector is experiencing strong growth momentum. Stablecoins continue to permeate the global financial system, and crypto payment cards leverage the already mature infrastructure of mainstream card networks to achieve real-world utility. Nearly all the crypto payment card products covered in this analysis operate on the Visa network.
Visa Dominates Crypto Payment Card Spending
Since the GENIUS Act, the crypto industry as a whole has accelerated its development, with crypto payment cards being a key component.
