Stablecoins Fail to Disrupt Card Networks as Expected

The stablecoin market has failed to disrupt traditional card networks as expected. Instead of routing around middleman fees, data from July shows that stablecoins are being used to fund cards through existing Visa and Mastercard rails.

The milestone that matters is the $1.084 billion in stablecoin card top-up volume reached in July, a 15.9% monthly gain. This figure measures how stablecoins are loaded onto crypto-linked cards, which users then spend just like any other card.

The activity is concentrated on cheap and fast blockchains, with TRON alone handling $311.2 million in stablecoin card top-ups in July. Combined with BNB Chain's $140.9 million, these two networks account for more than 40% of all card top-up activity.