NEW YORK–Retail spending through stablecoin-linked payment cards has more than doubled over the past year, reflecting the growing use of digital assets as a payment tool rather than solely as an investment vehicle, according to a new report.
John Timoney, head of strategic partnerships at payments infrastructure provider Rain, said during Consensus Miami 2026 that retail stablecoin card spending increased between 105% and 106% over the past 12 months as consumers increasingly used blockchain-based balances for everyday purchases, BankingExchange reported.
According to BankingExchange, the growth has coincided with rising demand for payment cards that allow consumers to spend stablecoins such as Tether and USD Coin directly from digital wallets.
BankingExchange reported that merchants continue to receive traditional fiat currency through existing payment networks, even when consumers use stablecoins for purchases. Rain, which partners with Mastercard and provides infrastructure for stablecoin card issuers, has integrated its technology with traditional card payment rails rather than attempting to replace them.
‘Did Not Want to Reinvent the Wheel’
“The card networks over decades have rolled up hundreds of millions of merchants,” Timoney said, according to BankingExchange. “Rain explicitly did not want to reinvent the wheel.”
BankingExchange said Timoney noted that stablecoin-linked cards still account for less than 1% of overall global card spending, but he predicted stronger adoption in regions with significant demand for dollar-linked payment tools.
According to BankingExchange, Timoney said some markets in Latin America could soon see stablecoin cards achieve double-digit market share.
As the report noted that stablecoin settlement offers merchants and businesses the ability to process transactions outside traditional banking hours, including weekends and holidays, potentially reducing trapped capital and improving liquidity.
The report further noted that usage patterns for stablecoin cards are increasingly resembling traditional consumer card activity, with purchases spread across common retail merchant categories rather than concentrated in crypto-related services.
