Stablecoin card spending hits record $1.17 billion in September

Paymentscan tracked about $1.17 billion in stablecoin card spending through September 30, already above August's completed total and the highest monthly figure in its displayed series. Stablecoin cards remain a fraction of the traditional card market. Visa crypto unit head Cuy Sheffield described stablecoin-linked cards as being in "hyper growth mode." Sheffield said issuers increasingly connect dollar-denominated tokens to existing card networks rather than wait for merchants to accept crypto directly. Paymentscan recorded 11.0 million transactions in September, down from 11.07 million in August. The implied average transaction size rose to about $107. Active addresses slipped to 283,761 from 287,634. Paymentscan counts addresses rather than individual users, and RedotPay does not report an active-address figure on the platform. Before the month closes, September's figures show more money moving through fewer recorded payments. Paymentscan's on-chain-only data showed $788.9 million in September spending across tracked networks. Coinbase-backed Base led with $216.8 million, or 27.5% of that total. Optimism recorded $127 million, and Solana recorded $109.3 million. Stellar recorded $69.3 million, Polygon $50.9 million, Ethereum $49.5 million and Plasma $38.3 million. Another $127.8 million was spread across 11 other chains. The on-chain figures differ from Paymentscan's broader $1.13 billion September total, which can include issuer-supplied off-chain, clearing or settlement data depending on the program. RedotPay led tracked card programs with $401.9 million in spending over the latest 30 days, equivalent to about $4.9 billion annualized. EtherFi ranked second with $127.4 million over 30 days, or about $1.5 billion annualized. KAST followed with $113.1 million over 30 days, or $1.4 billion annualized. Karta recorded $48.7 million in 30-day volume, with an annualized run rate of about $592.8 million. Wirex One recorded $46.9 million in 30-day volume, with an annualized run rate of $570.4 million. According to Paymentscan, RedotPay's 30-day volume rose 3%. EtherFi's rose 20.3%, KAST's rose 11.1%, Karta's rose 14.4% and Wirex One's rose 40.1%. Tiger Research argues that crypto-card providers must turn spending growth into durable financial relationships. Crypto cards can use existing payment networks without requiring merchants to accept crypto directly. However, salary deposits, recurring expenses and primary-account relationships remain largely outside the card providers' control. The next phase of competition may depend less on payment volume than on whether issuers can capture everyday financial activity.