If the crypto industry is showcasing unprecedented growth in terms of rising market map, it implies that the crypto payments niche is expanding in tandem. Artemis, a blockchain analytics platform, published a report on the $18 billion market growth for crypto cards. The analysts called the report “comprehensive” in relation to the massive growth of crypto cards in the industry.
The core point here is not the sole performance of crypto cards. Rather, it’s their rivalry with the P2P stablecoin payments systems. According to the report, the volume of crypto card-related activities increased by more than 106% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
For newbies, crypto cards are like other payment cards, but they are connected to your digital assets and allow you to spend crypto on regular merchants, online shopping, groceries, and more. When you tap your card at checkout, the app that issued it instantly converts your cryptocurrency into fiat currency.
So, what’s happening with crypto cards?
The crypto industry showed profound growth last year with major crypto adoption and integration. Although the total market cap declined 10.4% year-over-year (YoY), crypto trends in 2025 showed the industry’s expansion in “asset creation, asset accumulation, and asset utilization”, said Alana Levin, a crypto analyst.
When focusing on crypto cards, their growth can be connected to the overall crypto development in 2025. But how? Crypto-related activities like institutional adoption, partnerships, integration, buying and selling, launches, and government-backed crypto activities are a testament to the overall growth of the industry.
How do crypto cards compete with P2P stablecoin payments?
Stablecoin payments and crypto cards look similar on the surface; however, they differ in slightly different ways. Most of the crypto cards are integrated with Visa or Mastercard, which work at any merchant instantly.
Notably, the global crypto card value reached nearly $1.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to surge to $220 billion by 2033. So, why are crypto cards expanding?
Accessibility
Typically, crypto card users do not have to know much about crypto wallets and transaction fees, because the crypto you save in your account is converted into fiat currency you pay at checkout. Merchants do not have to directly adopt crypto.
Meanwhile, in the case of stablecoin payment, both the sender and receiver should own a crypto wallet. The receiver often converts the stablecoins received to fiat – higher friction and more steps.
In short, crypto cards grow in terms of ease of use and mainstream adoption.
Speed and settlement
P2P stablecoin payment usually depends on the underlying blockchain platforms. Usually, blockchains are faster in processing transactions; however, it varies on different blockchains. On the other hand, transaction settlement in crypto cards happens off-chain, meaning card networks like Mastercard and Visa convert crypto to fiat.
Retail access
P2P stablecoin payment works only at checkouts where merchants accept stablecoins, whereas crypto cards are accepted where Mastercard or Visa is accepted.
Growth and network effects
As crypto cards do not consist of direct crypto involvement, it is easy to scale the network growth. However, P2P stablecoins rely on wallets, liquidity, blockchain, and user familiarity, making them more difficult to scale.
Some leading crypto cards
A recent report by CryptoSavingExpert revealed that Visa crypto card spending surged by 525% from $14.6 million to $91.3 million last year, surpassing previous levels.
Here are some top names in crypto cards.
- EtherFi, a Visa-backed crypto-native card, has gained top growth of $55.4 million in annual expenditure.
- Visa-backed Cypher Card
- Mastercard-backed Bybit Card
- Crypto.com Visa Card
- Revolut crypto card
- Phantom Cash debit card, a Visa-linked prepaid crypto debit card. At the moment, the card is only available virtually.
Crypto cards are exponentially growing, becoming far more widely used, with payment networks integrating crypto, consumers relying on it, and merchants accepting crypto payments. Besides, regulation is one of the anchors that keep the crypto cards, including stablecoin cards, and the industry steady.
