Alisa Davidson
Revealed: January 16, 2026 at 6:01 am Up to date: January 16, 2026 at 6:01 am
Edited and fact-checked:
January 16, 2026 at 6:01 am
In Transient
Artemis’ report reveals that crypto playing cards are rapidly rising, bridging stablecoins and digital belongings into on a regular basis commerce, and are prone to stay important at the same time as direct stablecoin acceptance expands.
Institutional-grade analytics supplier Artemis has launched a brand new report titled “Stablecoin Funds at Scale: How Playing cards Bridge Digital Belongings and International Commerce,” analyzing the rapidly increasing position of cryptocurrency playing cards in digital funds. Cryptocurrency playing cards permit customers to spend stablecoins and different digital belongings at conventional retailers, rising as one of many fastest-growing segments within the funds sector.
The report notes that transaction quantity for cryptocurrency playing cards surged from roughly $100 million per thirty days in early 2023 to over $1.5 billion by late 2025, reflecting a 106% compound annual progress price. Annualized, this positions the market above $18 billion, approaching the dimensions of peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, which grew solely 5% over the identical interval to $19 billion.
Artemis highlights that cryptocurrency card infrastructure spans three layers: international fee networks reminiscent of Visa and Mastercard, card program managers and issuers, and the consumer-facing merchandise themselves. Whereas Visa and Mastercard keep near-equal program counts—every exceeding 130—Visa dominates greater than 90% of on-chain card transaction quantity by early partnerships with infrastructure suppliers.
The report emphasizes the rise of full-stack issuers, together with Rain and Reap, which mix program administration and card issuance by direct principal membership, bypassing conventional issuing banks and capturing better economics per transaction.
Geographically, the report identifies stablecoin card adoption the place digital belongings handle sensible monetary wants. In India, with $338 billion in cryptocurrency inflows, the main target is on cryptocurrency-backed bank cards amid a commoditized debit ecosystem by way of UPI.
In Argentina, the place USDC represents 46.6% of stablecoins, stablecoin debit playing cards present a hedge in opposition to inflation within the absence of other digital rails. In developed markets, the chance lies much less in fixing unmet wants and extra in serving a high-value consumer phase underserved by conventional monetary merchandise.
Crypto Playing cards Stay Key As Stablecoin Funds Develop, Bridging Digital Belongings And Actual-World Commerce
As stablecoin adoption accelerates, fee innovation is step by step shifting from card-based digital commerce towards direct stablecoin acceptance. Main networks together with Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, and Stripe are growing infrastructure that enables retailers to simply accept digital {dollars} natively, promising decrease charges and quicker settlement. Nevertheless, this raises a important query: if retailers can settle for stablecoins instantly, will cryptocurrency playing cards stay related?
Regardless of the potential of stablecoin-native funds, cryptocurrency playing cards proceed to carry strategic significance as a consequence of entrenched community results. Card networks and issuers function throughout greater than 150 million service provider places globally, supported by a long time of funding in POS programs, service provider agreements, regulatory approvals, and client belief. Establishing comparable stablecoin acceptance would require intensive {hardware} integration, service provider onboarding, treasury changes, and compliance measures, making a full transition a multi-year, presumably decade-long course of.
Past transaction routing, card networks present companies reminiscent of fraud safety, dispute decision, unsecured client credit score, rewards applications, and buy protections, options that stablecoin funds at present provide in restricted kind. Credit score availability, particularly, stays a sturdy benefit for playing cards, supporting cash-flow administration and client adoption. Operational constraints additionally gradual service provider adoption of latest fee strategies, as POS programs, accounting, and tax infrastructure are optimized for playing cards.
Whereas stablecoin-based P2P and B2B funds are increasing in cross-border commerce, digital companies, and underserved markets, they’re unlikely to switch card networks within the close to time period. Playing cards retain benefits for on a regular basis client spending, credit score and rewards, retailers hesitant to combine new programs, regulated jurisdictions, and customers preferring abstracted interfaces. Stablecoins excel in high-value B2B funds, cross-border transactions, crypto-native commerce, and markets with out established card infrastructure.
Trying forward, stablecoin fee quantity is predicted to develop alongside bettering infrastructure and direct service provider acceptance. Cryptocurrency playing cards will proceed to scale in parallel, leveraging current service provider networks to bridge digital belongings into on a regular basis commerce and serving because the infrastructure for the subsequent part of stablecoin adoption.
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About The Writer
Alisa, a devoted journalist on the MPost, makes a speciality of cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a eager eye for rising developments and applied sciences, she delivers complete protection to tell and interact readers within the ever-evolving panorama of digital finance.
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Alisa, a devoted journalist on the MPost, makes a speciality of cryptocurrency, zero-knowledge proofs, investments, and the expansive realm of Web3. With a eager eye for rising developments and applied sciences, she delivers complete protection to tell and interact readers within the ever-evolving panorama of digital finance.
Extra articles
