Global payment giants have been supporting the development of the cryptocurrency sector for many years. This strategy involves issuing crypto cards, the volume of which has exploded over the past year at Visa. We take stock of the situation.
Crypto cards: a success story that continues to grow
The debate surrounding cryptocurrencies is evolving as their adoption grows, to the point where the persistent questioning of their monetary status has been swept aside in favor of regulatory management of this coming wave, mainly in order to prepare and protect the global economy.
This is a reality that payment giants have been trying to embrace for many years, both to offer their innovative services in this sector and to ensure they retain a role in an ecosystem that can do without intermediaries of this kind.
In this field, crypto cards have been a major success, particularly since their issuance accelerated during the last bull market of 2020/2021 with the active support of global leaders Visa and Mastercard.
This trend has clearly not slowed down in 2025, according to a recent analysis published on the X network by Alex, an account specializing in digital currency research and payment data for the Dune Analytics website, with Visa posting an annual increase of 550%.
Looking at the analytics data for six Visa crypto cards, we see rapid growth: from $14 million at the beginning of 2025 to $91 million (based on six cards) in December 2025, an increase of 550%.
Alex
By way of comparison, Mastercard posted a total of $24.8 million for December for Metamask, Ready, Holyheld, Bitget Wallet, Exodus, and Kardpay crypto cards, representing an annual increase of 230%.
Cryptocurrencies are becoming essential for payments
More specifically, the analysis is based on the spending volumes of six crypto cards issued by Visa on behalf of the Gnosis Pay, EtherFi Cash, CypherHQ, Avici Money, ExaApp, and Moonwell DeFi card projects, incorporating officially confirmed data.
This highlights the “rapid adoption of crypto cards by users” for everyday purchases, as well as the “strategic importance of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins for Visa’s global payment ecosystem.”
Indeed, the current boom in stablecoins—the vast majority of which reflect the US dollar exchange rate—is clearly accelerating the adoption of cryptocurrencies in payment processes, to the point of raising growing concerns in jurisdictions such as the European Union and China.
It is important to remember that most crypto cards rely on an automatic crypto-to-fiat conversion system at the time of payment, but also that purchases made are not exempt from capital gains tax.
