Stablecoin card programs process record $1.17 billion in September spending

Stablecoin-linked cards processed a record $1.17 billion in spending in September, even as the number of individual transactions declined, signaling that issuers are finding traction by routing dollar tokens through existing card rails. The figures matter because they show crypto-linked payments scaling through infrastructure banks and networks already control, rather than through direct merchant adoption of crypto.

• Paymentscan recorded $1.17 billion in stablecoin card spending through September 30, above August’s completed total.
• Monthly transactions slipped to 11.0 million from 11.07 million in August, pushing average transaction size to about $107.
• RedotPay led all card programs with $401.9 million in 30-day volume, equivalent to roughly $4.9 billion annualized.

• $1.17B stablecoin card spending tracked by Paymentscan through September 30
• 11.0M September transactions, down from 11.07 million recorded in August
• $401.9M RedotPay’s 30-day card volume, the largest of any tracked program
• 27.5% Base’s share of $788.9 million in on-chain stablecoin card spending

Stablecoin card spending is accelerating toward new highs even as the payment rail still processes a fraction of what traditional card networks move each month, according to reporting by CryptoSlate. Data from Paymentscan shows $1.17 billion in spending through Wednesday, September 30, already above August’s completed total and the highest monthly figure in the platform’s displayed series. Cuy Sheffield, head of Visa’s crypto unit, pointed to the trend in a post on X.

hyper growth mode

Cuy Sheffield, head of Visa’s crypto unit

Spending hits $1.17 billion as transaction count slips to 11.0 million

Issuers are increasingly connecting dollar-denominated tokens to existing card networks rather than waiting for merchants to accept crypto directly. That approach has pushed monthly volume to its highest tracked level without a matching rise in payment frequency.

Paymentscan recorded 11.0 million transactions in September, down from 11.07 million in August, even as total spending climbed to a series high. The drop in transaction count alongside higher spending lifted the implied average transaction size to about $107. Active addresses also slipped, to 283,761 from 287,634, though Paymentscan counts wallet addresses rather than individual users and that figure is incomplete.

RedotPay, the market’s largest tracked card program, does not publish an active-address figure on the platform. That leaves September showing a market moving more money through fewer recorded payments, at least before the month’s final tally closes.

Base captures 27.5% of on-chain spending as RedotPay leads card programs at $401.9 million

Coinbase-backed Base has become the largest blockchain venue for stablecoin card spending, according to Paymentscan’s on-chain-only data, which showed $788.9 million moving across tracked networks in September. Base accounted for $216.8 million, or 27.5% of that total, ahead of Optimism 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 and another $127.8 million spread across 11 other chains.

Those on-chain figures differ from Paymentscan’s broader $1.17 billion September total, which can include issuer-supplied off-chain, clearing or settlement data depending on the program.

At the card-program level, RedotPay led with $401.9 million in spending over the latest 30-day period, equivalent to roughly $4.9 billion annualized. EtherFi ranked second at $127.4 million, or about $1.5 billion annualized, followed by KAST at $113.1 million, or $1.4 billion annualized. Karta and Wirex One rounded out the top five with $48.7 million and $46.9 million in 30-day volume, annualizing to roughly $592.8 million and $570.4 million respectively.

Growth rates varied widely across the group. RedotPay’s 30-day volume rose 3%, while EtherFi gained 20.3%, KAST climbed 11.1%, Karta increased 14.4% and Wirex One jumped 40.1%, Paymentscan’s data showed.

Tiger Research asks whether issuers can capture everyday financial activity

Tiger Research argues the more consequential question is whether crypto-card providers can convert rising spending into a durable financial relationship with users. Like debit cards before their commercialization in the 1990s, crypto cards can ride existing payment networks and sidestep the merchant-acceptance bottleneck that has limited direct crypto payments. Salary deposits, recurring bills and primary-account relationships, however, remain largely outside issuers’ control.

That leaves the next phase of competition focused less on headline payment volume and more on whether issuers can capture everyday financial activity in markets where banks and global payment firms have not yet matched that reach.

The BlockWest read. We’d watch the $107 average ticket size more closely than the $1.17 billion headline, since it points to small, recurring purchases rather than large transfers. If issuers convert that behavior into payroll deposits and bill payments, the stablecoin reserves backing those cards become a stickier balance-sheet item for issuers like Circle and Tether. Until salary flows move onto these rails, this volume looks like spending money, not parked money.

Paymentscan’s September figures remain provisional until the month’s final tally closes, and RedotPay has not disclosed plans to publish an active-address metric that would show how many people, rather than wallets, sit behind the record volume.

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