Author
Karim Boussaada
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partner
The cryptocurrency payments landscape has undergone a seismic shift, with cryptocurrency card volumes growing from around $100 million per month at the start of 2023 to over $1.5 billion at the end of 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 106% that now rivals peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, according to a comprehensive report from Artemis Analytics.
This explosive growth positions cryptocurrency cards as a major bridge between digital assets and everyday commerce, with annual volumes exceeding $18 billion, while traditional peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers grew only 5% to $19 billion over the same period.
Visa has become a dominant force in cryptocurrency card infrastructure, capturing more than 90% of card volume on the blockchain through early partnerships with emerging software managers and integrated issuers.
Artemis noted that the payments giant’s strategy of engaging infrastructure providers such as Rain and Reap has proven more scalable than Mastercard’s approach to direct exchange partnerships.
Integrated card issuers are reshaping the card economy
Cryptocurrency card infrastructure spans three critical layers (payment networks, card issuing platforms, and consumer-facing products), with the most significant development being the emergence of integrated issuers with direct primary memberships to Visa.
Companies like Rain and Reap have successfully integrated traditional card issuing credits by combining BIN sponsorship, registered lender status, and direct settlement from the Visa network into single platforms, allowing them to capture economic returns that were previously spread across multiple intermediaries.
Spending on stablecoin-linked Visa cards reached $3.5 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, recording 460% year-over-year growth, although it still represents around 19% of total cryptocurrency card settlement volume.
Centralized exchanges use cards as user acquisition channels, with platforms like Gemini experiencing continued losses from credit card schemes to drive user engagement with the platform.
DeFi protocols like Ether.fi offer structurally higher fiat yields through token rewards, offering yields of around 4.08% while increasing the overall value of the protocol through collateralized borrowing features.
Geographic opportunities are concentrated where stablecoins solve real problems
It is worth noting that India and Argentina stand out as outliers globally, with USDC approaching parity with USDT in terms of market share, providing very different opportunities for crypto card adoption.
India saw $338 billion in cryptocurrency inflows in the 12 months ending June 2025, but harsh tax policies pushed most of the activity overseas, creating massive pent-up demand for compliant crypto products that was limited by regulatory tensions rather than user interest.
Argentina’s opportunity revolves around stablecoin debit cards to protect against inflation, as there is no competing digital infrastructure, while India’s potential lies in cryptocurrency-backed credit cards, given that the Unified Payments System (UPI) has made the debit feature a universally available product.
However, Artemis noted that in developed markets, the opportunity lies in attracting a high-end, high-value segment of users with a higher level of financial sophistication and growing digital assets, rather than solving unmet payment needs.
For example, the mature credit card market in the United States. Despite significant growth in credit card revenue across all issuers, a new sector is emerging.
Consumers now hold large stablecoin balances and increasingly expect seamless spending capabilities, creating opportunities for traditional issuers who combine the advantages of scale with the native capabilities of stablecoins before crypto-native competitors strengthen their relationships with users.
Cards remain strategic despite local admission campaign
As major networks including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe build merchant acceptance infrastructures built natively on stablecoins, three structural realities suggest that cryptocurrency cards will retain their strategic importance.
Artemis noted that network effects spanning 150 million commercial locations worldwide remain exceptionally difficult to replicate, requiring years of coordinated investment in infrastructure that native stablecoin systems must rebuild from near-zero commercial coverage.
Card networks bundle the services consumers expect, such as fraud protection, dispute resolution, unsecured credit, rewards programs and purchase protection, that stablecoin payments cannot easily replicate.
Notably, earlier this month, Anthony Yim, co-founder of Artemis, noted that DeFi traders prefer USDC because “ Frequently moves in and out of positions “, while wider adoption reflects” An unstable geopolitical landscape “Stimulating demand for the digital dollar.
The total value of global stablecoin transactions will reach $33 trillion in 2025, a 72% year-over-year increase, with Bloomberg Intelligence forecasting it will reach $56 trillion by 2030.
Revolut’s stablecoin payments volumes alone grew 156% to around $10.5 billion, with daily transactions between $100 and $500 accounting for 30-40% of the platform’s activity.
Despite their growing demand, big banks have stepped up their resistance to yield stablecoins, warning they could drain billions of dollars from traditional deposits.
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan warned that up to $6 trillion could be moved to stablecoins, while JPMorgan’s Jeremy Barnum warned of “creating a shadow banking system” without prudential safeguards.
This opposition contributed to the Senate Banking Committee delaying planned discussion of a comprehensive bill to structure the cryptocurrency market after Coinbase withdrew its support, with committee Chairman Tim Scott citing ongoing bipartisan negotiations over provisions that would restrict stablecoin income payments.
