Crypto Card Spending Nears $18 Billion Annually as Stablecoins Enter Everyday Payments

Sunday 18 January 2026 09:04

Spending through cryptocurrency-linked cards has recorded strong growth, reaching an annual level approaching $18 billion, signaling a clear shift in the role of stablecoins from peer-to-peer transfer tools toward widespread use in everyday global payments.

Monthly crypto card spending rose from approximately $100 million in early 2023 to more than $1.5 billion by the end of 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate exceeding 100%. This rapid expansion has brought crypto card payments close to the volume of direct peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, which currently stand at around $19 billion annually — a segment that experienced relatively limited growth during the same period.

Crypto cards remain the most widely adopted method for stablecoin-based payments, as they operate through traditional payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard, eliminating the need for merchants to upgrade their technical infrastructure to accept digital currencies directly.