Stablecoin Card Spending Doubles as Crypto Payments Hit Mainstream

Retail spending through stablecoin-linked payment cards has more than doubled over the past year — a clear sign that digital assets are increasingly being used as a practical payment tool rather than purely as an investment vehicle.

John Timoney, head of strategic partnerships at payments infrastructure provider Rain, said at Consensus Miami 2026 that retail stablecoin card spend had grown by 105% to 106% in the past 12 months as more consumers use blockchain-based balances for everyday purchases.

It cannot be a coincidence that such a rapid rise in usage has come alongside increasing demand for cards that allow users to spend stablecoins such as Tether and USD Coin directly from digital wallets.

In turn, merchants continue to receive fiat currency through existing payment networks. Rain, which partners with Mastercard and provides infrastructure for stablecoin card issuers, has integrated with traditional card rails rather than attempting to replace them, tapping into their global merchant reach and sparing retailers from handling crypto settlement or volatility.

“The card networks over decades have rolled up hundreds of millions of merchants,” Timoney said. “Rain explicitly did not want to reinvent the wheel.”

Timoney noted that while globally stablecoin cards account for less than 1% of overall card spend, some regions — particularly those with high demand for dollar-linked payment tools — would see significant increases in stablecoin use.

He predicted that in Latin America, some markets would soon see a double-digit market share for stablecoin cards.

Beyond consumer convenience, stablecoin settlement allows transactions to clear outside traditional banking hours, including weekends and holidays, reducing trapped capital.

Usage patterns are increasingly resembling conventional card activity, with spending spread across everyday merchant categories rather than crypto-native services.