Crypto Cards Gain Ground in Real-World Payments, Surging from $100M to $1.5B: Report

Crypto card funds jumped from $100M to $1.5B in 2025, surpassing P2P stablecoin transfers as the principle on-chain exercise driver.

Crypto-linked card funds have surpassed peer-to-peer (P2P) stablecoin transfers because the main driver of on-chain stablecoin exercise.

A brand new examine by blockchain analytics agency Artemis revealed that these transactions have quietly grown into an $18 billion market in 2025.

Crypto Card Funds Overtake P2P Transfers

The report showed that stablecoin volumes processed by way of crypto playing cards now surpass direct wallet-to-wallet transfers. Artemis knowledge highlighted that month-to-month digital funds rose from $100 million to over $1.5 billion in 2025, representing a mean annual development fee of 106% since 2023. Whole funds for the 12 months additionally reached $18 billion, practically matching the $19 billion in P2P stablecoin exercise.

Playing 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 way of early partnerships with crypto platforms and fintech issuers. Mastercard holds a smaller however rising share, expanding by way of direct change partnerships with companies akin to Revolut, Bybit, and Gemini.

Firms like Rain and Reap have additionally contributed to development, providing full-stack card issuance and providers that help prospects and companies.

Adoption Incentives

The expansion of crypto-linked fee playing cards is pushed by three essential incentives throughout the ecosystem. For CEXs and DeFi platforms, they’re primarily used as a strategy to entice and retain prospects.

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By rewarding on a regular basis spending with crypto, these platforms flip routine funds into long-term engagement. Gemini is a transparent instance; knowledge reveals that in Q3 2025, 56% of U.S. customers had been acquired by way of its bank card, and 75% of the overall remained energetic by quarter’s finish.

Crypto-native wallets and fintech platforms concern playing cards for various causes. For instance, self-custodial wallets akin to MetaMask and Phantom don’t earn custodial income and rely closely on cyclical earnings from swaps, bridging, and partnerships.

Subsequently, fee playing cards present a extra steady earnings by way of interchange charges and subscriptions, whereas encouraging common spending and decreasing the quantity of people that depart.

Some wallets have gone additional by launching native stablecoins, akin 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. Additionally, in Argentina, the place USDC accounts for 46.6% of stablecoin utilization, debit playing cards are extensively used as an inflation hedge.

Alternatively, in developed markets, they primarily goal high-value stablecoin holders in search of handy spending. The report concludes by noting that sooner or later, stablecoins will hold growing, and crypto playing cards will scale with them.