Monthly stablecoin card spending reached a record $1.17 billion through Sept. 30, according to data from Paymentscan, driven by issuers linking dollar-denominated tokens directly to established card networks. Cuy Sheffield, head of crypto at Visa, described stablecoin-linked cards as being in "hyper growth mode" as providers bypass the need to wait for merchants to accept crypto directly.
Average Transaction Size Rises as Base Dominates Blockchain Activity
While monthly volume reached new highs, payment frequency saw a slight contraction. Paymentscan recorded 11.0 million transactions in September, down from 11.07 million in August, pushing the implied average transaction size up to about $107. Active addresses dipped to 283,761 from 287,634, though this metric excludes user figures from market leader RedotPay, which does not report active address data on the platform.
On-chain tracked spending across blockchains reached $788.9 million in September, distinct from the broader $1.13 billion September total that includes off-chain settlement figures. Coinbase-backed Base captured the largest share of on-chain spending at $216.8 million (27.5%), followed by Optimism at $127 million and Solana at $109.3 million. Stellar processed $69.3 million, Polygon logged $50.9 million, Ethereum handled $49.5 million, and Plasma contributed $38.3 million, with another $127.8 million spread across 11 other blockchains.
RedotPay Leads Program Volume Amid Broader Market Expansion
At the issuer level, RedotPay maintained its dominance with $401.9 million in 30-day spending—up 3%—representing an annualized run rate of approximately $4.9 billion. EtherFi ranked second with $127.4 million (+20.3%, $1.5 billion annualized), followed by KAST at $113.1 million (+11.1%, $1.4 billion annualized). Karta generated $48.7 million (+14.4%, $592.8 million annualized), while Wirex One saw $46.9 million (+40.1%, $570.4 million annualized).
This growth in retail card rails comes as digital assets face evolving liquidity rules, including recent regulatory proposals such as the Federal Reserve stablecoin payout rule designed to manage exchange reserves.
Key Takeaways:
- Monthly stablecoin card spending hit $1.17 billion in September across 11.0 million transactions.
- Base processed $216.8 million (27.5%) to lead all blockchains in on-chain card volume.
- RedotPay generated $401.9 million in 30-day spending to remain the top card program.
Why It Matters
Stablecoin cards are successfully driving consumer adoption by piggybacking on existing Visa and Mastercard payment networks rather than waiting for direct merchant integration. However, as Tiger Research highlighted, the next competitive hurdle for issuers is moving beyond discretionary payments to capture primary financial services, such as salary deposits and recurring bill payments. If issuers can convert headline spending into long-term banking relationships, stablecoin cards could anchor mainstream crypto utility in emerging markets.
