Stablecoin-funded card payments crossed a major threshold in July 2026, with tracked crypto-linked card spending reaching $1.04 billion, according to data from Paymentscan cited by venture firm a16z and reported by CoinDesk. That monthly total is more than triple the $306 million recorded a year earlier, while the number of tracked transactions surpassed 10 million. The average transaction size climbed to approximately $86, up from about $59 in July 2025, indicating that crypto-backed cards are increasingly used for routine purchases rather than occasional large off-ramps.
The composition of spending underscores the shift toward digital dollars. USDC accounted for 50.8% of tracked card volume in July, while USDT represented 20.3%. Together, dollar-backed stablecoins funded more than 70% of all tracked transactions. USDC's share rose from roughly 48% a year earlier, and USDT expanded sharply from about 7%. By contrast, the euro-backed EURe stablecoin, which had once represented about 88% of tracked card spending in early 2024, fell to less than 2% of July volume.
The market remains concentrated among several platforms. RedotPay generated $395.1 million of July spending, followed by EtherFi with $100.3 million and KAST with $89.6 million. Those three platforms accounted for roughly 77% of all tracked volume. Visa said in June that it had more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs live or in development worldwide. Its partner StraitsX reported that transaction volume on its card infrastructure rose 40-fold between the fourth quarters of 2024 and 2025.
Everyday purchase categories are driving growth. Binance said card users in Brazil increased 53% from launch through the second quarter of 2026, with volume up 80%, led by ride-hailing, food delivery, groceries, restaurants and online subscriptions. Kraken's Krak Card saw weekly payments more than double to 8.3 per user, with retail and store purchases making up 59.3% of spending. Oobit reported active Brazilian users spent around $400 across 20 transactions monthly, with groceries at 35%, while in Argentina food represented 41% of transactions and 72% of payments used USDT. Coinbase said about 16% of combined card transaction volume involved USDC, and active Coinbase One cardholders spent roughly $3,000 per month; Coinbase also holds $20 billion in USDC across its products, up 44% over the past year.
Analysts note that merchants generally do not need to accept USDC or USDT directly. Crypto cards connect a user's digital balance with existing payment rails, so stablecoins increasingly fund familiar card networks rather than replacing them. That removes friction for supermarkets, restaurants and online retailers, and helps explain why cards are scaling faster than direct stablecoin checkout. With lower-GDP markets contributing heavily to growth, a stablecoin balance can function as immediately spendable dollar-denominated savings. The next indicator to watch is transaction frequency rather than another headline volume record: if more than 10 million monthly purchases continues to rise while average transaction sizes stay modest, it would confirm crypto cards are becoming recurring payment instruments.
