Stablecoin Holders Want to Spend; Crypto Cards Rise

A July report by PYMNTS Intelligence and Paymentology, From Asset to Everyday Money: Making Digital Currencies Spendable, published August 17, 2026, found that 42% of stablecoin holders want to use digital assets for major purchases while 28% currently do.

The report identified a 14-percentage-point gap between intent and use. It also found that 71% of stablecoin holders would spend balances through a linked debit card and 77% would open a crypto or stablecoin wallet through a bank or fintech app they already use.

Card-transaction data show growth in spending. Crypto payment cards processed roughly $759 million in July 2026 across nearly 9 million transactions, up from $306 million and 5.2 million transactions in July 2025. The average card purchase in July was about $86.

Dollar-denominated stablecoins accounted for most card volume in July: USDC made up about 58% and USDT about 26%, together roughly 84% of activity. Euro-backed EURe accounted for about 2% of card spending.

Card programs were concentrated by issuer in July. RedotPay reported $395.1 million in card volume, EtherFi reported $100.3 million and KAST reported $89.6 million. RedotPay’s figures are self-reported rather than observed on-chain.

The report placed the recent card growth in context. Monthly crypto card spending grew roughly fifteenfold between early 2023 and late 2025, reaching an annualized rate near $18 billion. Stablecoin supply passed $300 billion and transaction volume exceeded $27 trillion during 2025.

Researchers identified limited merchant acceptance, transaction costs and uneven user experience as the main frictions between holding stablecoins and routine spending. Linked debit cards route transactions over established card networks, allowing merchants to receive funds through existing processes without adding on-chain checkout options.

Some card products present self-custodial stablecoin balances as a payment card to the user while keeping the blockchain mechanics behind the scenes. Programs offering spendable cashback rather than traditional points have attracted consumer spending onto stablecoin rails.

Activity was concentrated in markets where access to dollars is limited and local currency volatility is higher, according to the report. The report also noted data-quality caveats: several large issuer figures are self-reported while other volumes are tracked observationally, and monthly crypto card volumes remain small compared with legacy card networks that process trillions annually.