Stablecoins Move Into Daily Life via Cards: Where Did the $1.04 Billion Spend Go?

Spending via crypto cards more than tripled over the past year, reaching $1.04 billion in July 2026, according to new data showing that stablecoins have moved into daily payments such as groceries, transportation, and dining.

According to Paymentscan data shared by a16z, this total consisted of more than 10 million tracked transactions. Dollar-backed stablecoins funded 70 percent of the transactions.

More than half of the transaction volume occurred with USDC. This dollar-backed stablecoin took a 50.8 percent share in July, while USDT remained at 20.3 percent. A year ago, these rates were approximately 48 percent and 7 percent, respectively. The average payment amount also rose from $59 to $86.

Stablecoins are being used for daily shopping

Crypto cards allow users to spend their stablecoin or other crypto balances on existing payment networks like Visa and Mastercard. The balance is converted into local currency during the transaction, and the payment is completed even if the merchant does not directly accept crypto.

According to Visa’s June data, more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs have been launched or are under development worldwide. Transaction volume on the card infrastructure of Visa partner StraitsX increased 40-fold between the last quarter of 2024 and the last quarter of 2025.

Daily use is more clearly visible in Latin America. According to Oobit data, active users in Brazil spend an average of $400 per month, while groceries accounted for 35 percent of regional transactions. In Argentina, 72 percent of payments were made with USDT, with the share of dining expenses reaching 41 percent. Binance reported that the number of card users in Brazil increased by 53 percent and transaction volume by 80 percent. The number of weekly payments on Kraken’s Krak Card also rose to 8.3 per user.

77 percent of the tracked volume occurred through RedotPay, Ether.fi and KAST. It was noted that RedotPay data was self-reported by the platform. The share of the Euro-backed EURe dropped from 88 percent in early 2024 to less than 2 percent in July.