Stablecoin card spending hits $18B annualized, Nium launches dual-network card platform, X tests Visa debit card
Crypto card spending now exceeds $18 billion on an annualized basis, nearly matching peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers at $19 billion. In Southeast Asia, StraitsX reported a 40x surge in transaction volume and 83x increase in card issuance between 2024 and 2025. RedotPay alone processed over $2.95 billion in card volume in 2025. The ‘invisible stablecoin’ thesis, where users don’t know they’re using crypto, is playing out fastest in Asia.
Source: CoinDesk Related: RedotPay.
San Francisco-based Nium launched the first enterprise platform to span both Visa and Mastercard simultaneously for stablecoin-funded card programs. Businesses can issue spending cards on both networks through a single API, cutting time-to-market from months to days. The platform manages cross-border settlement and network compliance in a single layer, a significant infrastructure step toward mainstream stablecoin card issuance.
X is developing a payments product integrating peer-to-peer payments, wallet services, and a Visa debit card tied to user accounts. Currently in limited external testing, the product offers annualized yields of up to 6% on cash balances. If launched at scale, it could bring crypto-adjacent card features to X’s 500M+ user base, a major potential disruption to the crypto card market.
Market Context: Stablecoin card spending crossing the $18B annualized mark is a milestone. Cards remain the primary way to spend stablecoins because they run on existing Visa and Mastercard rails and require zero new merchant integrations. The ‘invisible stablecoin’ thesis, where users don’t even know they’re using crypto, is playing out fastest in Southeast Asia, where StraitsX’s Thai QR-code payments and Solana expansion are paving the way.