Stablecoins are starting to look less like a trading tool and more like money people use for routine card payments. In a crypto card spending analysis released by the a16z crypto team, based on data from Paymentscan, monthly crypto card spending reached $759 million in July. That was roughly 2.5 times the $306 million recorded a year earlier. When the tracking began in October 2023, the figure was still below $1 million.
USDC and USDT made up more than 80% of spending
According to a16z, dollar stablecoins were the main force behind the increase. USDC accounted for about 58% of crypto card spending, while USDT represented about 26%. Together, the two tokens made up more than 80% of the total.
By network, Ethereum Layer 2 Optimism processed about 29% of crypto card transaction volume in July. Solana and Base each handled about 19%, while Gnosis, which had been the dominant network in early 2024, dropped to about 2%.
Merchants receive a standard card payment
Most of the cards are tied to the Visa network. When consumers use them, merchants receive what looks like an ordinary credit card payment and do not need to know that a stablecoin sits behind the settlement. ABMedia said this is one route by which stablecoins are entering daily spending without much visible friction. It also referred to an earlier Chain News report saying Rain’s stablecoin payments had reached more than 100,000 merchants.
Still a small market, with caveats in the data
a16z said crypto cards are still a very small market compared with traditional card networks, which process trillions of dollars every month.
The firm also said the largest program in the dataset, RedotPay, used spending figures that were self-reported by the issuer, so the numbers should be read with some caution.
Even so, the rise from less than $1 million at the start of tracking to more than $750 million a month now points to a shift in how stablecoins are being used, from speculation and transfers toward real-world purchases such as coffee and household goods.