Stablecoin-linked card spending reached a record $1.17 billion through Sept. 30, surpassing August's completed total and marking the highest monthly figure in Paymentscan's displayed series. Cuy Sheffield, head of Visa's crypto unit, described the category as being in "hyper growth mode," as issuers increasingly connect dollar-denominated tokens to existing card networks rather than waiting for merchants to accept crypto directly.

The growth is occurring without a corresponding increase in payment frequency. Paymentscan recorded 11.0 million transactions in September, down slightly from 11.07 million in August. That decline, set against rising dollar volume, lifted the implied average transaction size to roughly $107.

Active addresses also slipped, to 283,761 from 287,634, though the metric understates user counts. Paymentscan tracks addresses rather than individuals, and RedotPay — the largest program in the dataset — does not report an active-address figure to the platform. The September numbers therefore show a market moving more money through fewer recorded payments, at least before the month closes.

Base leads chain activity

Coinbase-backed Base has become the largest blockchain venue for stablecoin card spending. Paymentscan's on-chain-only data showed $788.9 million of September spending across tracked networks, with Base accounting for $216.8 million, or 27.5% of the total. Optimism followed at $127 million and Solana at $109.3 million.

Stellar processed $69.3 million, Polygon $50.9 million and Ethereum $49.5 million, while Plasma contributed $38.3 million. A further $127.8 million was spread across 11 other chains.

Those 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 dominates card programs

At the card-program level, RedotPay leads by a wide margin. The program recorded $401.9 million in spending over the latest 30-day period, equivalent to roughly $4.9 billion annualized. EtherFi ranked second with $127.4 million, about $1.5 billion annualized, followed by KAST at $113.1 million, or $1.4 billion.

Karta and Wirex One rounded out the top five, with $48.7 million and $46.9 million of 30-day volume respectively, translating to annualized run rates of approximately $592.8 million and $570.4 million.

Growth was uneven across the group. RedotPay's 30-day volume rose 3%, while EtherFi climbed 20.3%, KAST gained 11.1%, Karta increased 14.4% and Wirex One jumped 40.1%, according to Paymentscan.

The durability question

Even at these run rates, the payment rail remains a fraction of the traditional card market. Tiger Research argues the more important question is whether crypto-card providers can convert transaction volume into a durable financial relationship.

The structural parallel is the debit card before its commercialization in the 1990s. Crypto cards can ride existing payment networks and sidestep the merchant-acceptance bottleneck that has slowed direct crypto payments for years. But salary deposits, recurring expenses and primary-account relationships remain largely outside their control.

That dynamic reframes the next phase of competition. Headline payment volume is increasingly a solved problem for the sector; the open question is whether issuers can capture everyday financial activity in markets where banks and global payment firms have yet to match their reach. September's record total, built on larger transactions rather than more users, suggests issuers are now being tested on exactly that conversion.