Visa crypto card spending soars by 525%: The tipping point for stablecoin payments has arrived

2025 will be a turning point for crypto payments. The total annual net spending on Visa crypto cards soared from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million in December, a 525% increase. This is not just a numerical jump but a key signal that stablecoin payments are transitioning from a trading tool to a daily consumption tool. When traditional payment giants start taking crypto cards seriously, it indicates that the market has moved from proof of concept to real-world application.

Specific Scenes of Consumption Explosion

On-chain data shows that the six crypto cards partnered with Visa exhibited a typical acceleration curve in 2025.

How exaggerated is this growth? To put it in perspective, traditional payment apps usually take 2-3 years to grow from 10 million to 50 million daily active users, while Visa crypto cards achieved a sixfold increase in spending in just one year.

Project performance shows a clear Matthew effect:

• EtherFi leads absolutely, with an annual spending of $55.4 million, nearly equal to all other projects combined
• Cypher ranks second, with $20.5 million in spending
• The remaining four projects (GnosisPay, Avici Money, Exa App, Moonwell) are in the catching-up stage

This structure reveals a reality: crypto applications with a stable user base and clear product positioning are more likely to scale in real payment scenarios. EtherFi’s lead is mainly due to its large user base accumulated within the liquidity staking ecosystem, users who naturally need payment tools to spend on-chain earnings.

Why Now? Three Key Drivers of Stablecoin Payments

Shift in User Mindset

In 2024, the debate was still whether “crypto is a payment tool,” but by 2025, users have voted with their feet. According to relevant reports, the total market cap of stablecoins in 2025 broke through $310 billion for the first time, and daily settlement volumes began to rival traditional payment giants. This means on-chain payments are no longer niche experiments but a real market demand.

After earning yields or trading on-chain, users need a convenient way to convert these assets into daily spending power. Visa crypto cards fill this gap—no complicated exchange processes, no waiting for settlement cycles, just swipe and spend.

Strategic Shift of Traditional Payment Giants

Visa is not passively following but actively engaging. According to the latest news, US banks can now settle directly using USDC stablecoins on the Solana blockchain. Meanwhile, Visa is using Ethereum and has established a stablecoin consulting team as of December 2025, dedicated to helping institutions design, issue, and manage stablecoin products.

The logic behind these moves is clear: the efficiency advantages of stablecoin payments (instant settlement, global liquidity) have been validated. Visa needs to shift from a “disrupted” to a “participant” role.

Enhancement of Ecosystem Integrity

Projects like EtherFi are driving crypto card consumption because the entire ecosystem chain has been closed: users generate yields on-chain → manage via wallets → spend with Visa cards → complete real-world purchases. This closed loop was fragmented in 2024 but has become relatively mature by 2025.

The Essential Shift from Trading Tool to Payment Tool

The most important significance of this growth is not the numbers themselves but the change in use cases.

In the past, stablecoins were mainly used as intermediaries in exchange trading and DeFi collateral. Now, daily payments have become a new main scenario. This indicates that stablecoins are completing an upgrade from “financial tools” to “payment tools”—a critical step in any payment innovation.

When crypto card spending soared from $14.6 million to $91.3 million, it reflects that millions of users are starting to buy coffee, book flights, and pay bills with stablecoins. The accumulation of these small, daily transactions is the true force rewriting the payment landscape.

Key Focus Points for 2026

Based on current trends, several directions deserve ongoing attention in 2026:

Application Scaling

Visa’s stablecoin consulting team suggests more institutional applications will launch. We expect to see more banks, payment platforms, and e-commerce platforms offering their own stablecoin payment solutions in 2026.

Maturity of User Education

As giants like Visa promote crypto cards, user education costs will drop significantly. We anticipate exponential growth in crypto card users in 2026.

Cross-Chain Payment Integration

The six crypto cards currently cover multiple blockchains, but cross-chain payment experiences are not yet seamless. In 2026, standardization of cross-chain payment protocols may emerge, further lowering user barriers.

Increased Competition

The influx of new projects like AIDpay indicates market opportunities are being recognized. More projects will launch Visa crypto cards, leading to fiercer competition, which will ultimately improve user experience.

Summary

The 525% growth in Visa crypto card spending in 2025 marks a new phase where crypto payments are becoming practical and scalable. This is not a speculative frenzy but a genuine demand release—when enough users start paying daily expenses with stablecoins, cryptocurrencies truly become a payment tool.

The participation of traditional payment giants accelerates this process further. Visa’s shift from a cautious observer to an active participant itself demonstrates everything. In 2026, the growth potential of stablecoin payments remains huge, with the key being application scaling and continuous user experience optimization.