How Visa and Mastercard became the default rails for stablecoin spending

Source: Yellow Original Title: How Visa and Mastercard Became the Default Rails for Spending in Stablecoins

Original Link: Crypto-linked payment cards are becoming the dominant way stablecoins are used in everyday commerce, highlighting how digital dollars are scaling globally without displacing existing card networks, according to a new Artemis report.

The report shows that cryptocurrency card volumes have grown from approximately $100 million per month at the beginning of 2023 to over $1.5 billion per month by the end of 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of over 100%.

On an annualized basis, crypto card spending already exceeds $18 billion, rivaling peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers, which only grew marginally during the same period.

More than reflecting speculative activity, the data points to a structural shift in how consumers and platforms choose to transact with stablecoins.

Why Stablecoins Are Scaling Through Cards and Not at Checkout

Although stablecoins were designed to enable direct, peer-to-peer payments without intermediaries, the fastest-growing use case relies on traditional card rails. Instead of native stablecoin payment systems at checkout, users opt for card products that allow them to store value in stablecoins while spending through existing merchant infrastructure.

Artemis attributes this trend to the integrated advantages of card networks, including near-universal merchant acceptance, fraud protection, dispute resolution, rewards programs, and access to credit.

These features remain difficult to replicate at scale for native stablecoin payment rails, especially in developed markets where card infrastructure is already deeply entrenched.

As a result, cards continue to offer the lowest friction pathway for consumer spending, even as the underlying settlement layer evolves.

Behind-the-Scenes Settlement Changes

The report argues that stablecoins are gaining traction not at the point of sale but behind the scenes.

In most crypto card transactions today, digital assets are converted to fiat currency before settlement, making the payment indistinguishable from a standard card transaction from the merchant’s perspective.

At the same time, native stablecoin settlement is expanding rapidly.

Visa has reported annualized spending of several billion dollars linked to stablecoin cards, though it still accounts for a minority of total crypto card volume.

Artemis noted that direct merchant acceptance of stablecoins faces a prolonged adoption curve due to network effects, operational complexity, and regulatory friction.

Until these barriers are overcome, crypto cards are likely to remain the primary bridge between stablecoins and real-world commerce, scaling alongside adoption rather than being replaced by it.