Crypto Cards Gain Ground in Real-World Payments, Surging from $100M to $1.5B: Report
Crypto-linked card funds have surpassed peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transfers because the main driver of on-chain stablecoin exercise.
A brand new research by blockchain analytics agency Artemis revealed that these transactions have quietly grown into an $18 billion market in 2025.
Crypto Card Payments Overtake P2P Transfers
The report showed that stablecoin volumes processed by crypto playing cards now surpass direct wallet-to-wallet transfers. Artemis information highlighted that month-to-month digital funds rose from $100 million to over $1.5 billion in 2025, representing a median annual progress charge of 106% since 2023. Total funds for the yr additionally reached $18 billion, practically matching the $19 billion in P2P stablecoin exercise.
Cards have emerged as the principle user-facing entry level, with networks like Visa or Mastercard getting used for acceptance, whereas stablecoins proceed to function the settlement layer.
Visa dominates the section, processing greater than 90% of such transactions by early partnerships with crypto platforms and fintech issuers. Mastercard holds a smaller however rising share, expanding by direct trade partnerships with corporations equivalent to Revolut, Bybit, and Gemini.
Companies like Rain and Reap have additionally contributed to progress, providing full-stack card issuance and providers that assist clients and companies.
Adoption Incentives
The progress of crypto-linked cost playing cards is pushed by three most important incentives throughout the ecosystem. For CEXs and DeFi platforms, they’re primarily used as a manner to appeal to and retain clients.
By rewarding on a regular basis spending with crypto, these platforms flip routine funds into long-term engagement. Gemini is a transparent instance; information reveals that in Q3 2025, 56% of U.S. customers had been acquired by its bank card, and 75% of the entire remained lively by quarter’s finish.
Crypto-native wallets and fintech platforms situation playing cards for various causes. For instance, self-custodial wallets equivalent to MetaMask and Phantom don’t earn custodial income and rely closely on cyclical revenue from swaps, bridging, and partnerships.
Therefore, cost playing cards present a extra secure revenue by interchange charges and subscriptions, whereas encouraging common spending and lowering the quantity of people that depart.
Some wallets have gone additional by launching native stablecoins, equivalent to MetaMask’s mUSD and Phantom’s CASH, designed particularly to fund their utilization.
In rising markets, these monetary instruments function infrastructure for accessing digital {dollars}. In India, the place crypto flows exceed $338 billion, crypto-backed bank cards supply new alternatives in a market the place UPI has commoditized debit. Also, in Argentina, the place USDC accounts for 46.6% of stablecoin utilization, debit playing cards are extensively used as an inflation hedge.
On the opposite hand, in developed markets, they primarily goal high-value stablecoin holders searching for handy spending. The report concludes by noting that in the long run, stablecoins will maintain growing, and crypto playing cards will scale with them.
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