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Forty-two percent of stablecoin holders say they want to use digital assets for major purchases, while 28% actually do, according to research from PYMNTS Intelligence and Paymentology published in coverage on August 17, 2026. That 14-point gap is the clearest measure yet of how far intent runs ahead of use.
The same research found that 71% of stablecoin holders would spend their balances through a linked debit card, and 77% of consumers would open a crypto or stablecoin wallet through a banking or fintech app they already use.
Card data suggests that demand is beginning to convert. Crypto payment cards processed a record $759 million in July, roughly 2.5 times the $306 million recorded a year earlier, across nearly 9 million purchases.
The average crypto card purchase in July was about $86, a figure closer to groceries and restaurants than to treasury movement.
Key Takeaways
- 42% of stablecoin holders want to make major purchases with digital assets, while 28% currently do.
- 71% would use a linked debit card to spend stablecoin balances if one were available.
- 77% would open a wallet through an existing bank or fintech app rather than a crypto-native product.
- Crypto card spending hit a record $759 million in July, up roughly 2.5 times year over year.
- Merchant acceptance and user experience remain the constraints, not consumer interest.
What the Research Found
The report, titled From Asset to Everyday Money: Making Digital Currencies Spendable, is the July edition of the Payments Innovation Tracker series. Its central finding is that the barrier to stablecoin spending has shifted from curiosity to infrastructure.
Limited merchant acceptance, transaction costs, and uneven user experiences separate ownership from routine use. Consumers hold the assets and want to spend them, and the routes from wallet to completed transaction remain narrow.
The distribution finding is the one with the clearest commercial implication. When 77% of consumers say they would open a stablecoin wallet through their existing banking or fintech app, it suggests banks and fintechs do not need to persuade customers into an unfamiliar financial environment; they need to add a feature to a familiar one.
The scale context frames why this matters now. Monthly crypto card spending grew roughly fifteenfold between early 2023 and late 2025, reaching an annualised rate near $18 billion, while stablecoin supply passed $300 billion and transaction volume exceeded $27 trillion during 2025.
What Cardholders Are Actually Doing
Separate data from a16z crypto and Paymentscan puts numbers against the intent. July 2026 crypto card spending reached $759 million across nearly 9 million purchases, up from $306 million and 5.2 million transactions a year earlier.
The average transaction of roughly $86 is the most informative figure in the dataset. That is everyday retail behaviour rather than large transfers, which supports the argument that card rails convert holding into spending.
Dollar stablecoins dominate the activity. USDC accounted for about 58% of card spending and USDT roughly 26%, together 84% of volume, while euro-backed EURe collapsed from around 88% of the market in early 2024 to about 2%.
Program concentration remains high, with RedotPay leading at $395.1 million in July, followed by EtherFi at $100.3 million and KAST at $89.6 million. Card products competing on rewards have pulled spending onto stablecoin rails, a pattern visible in our KAST review, where spendable cashback rather than points is the central claim.
Why the Card Is Winning the Last Mile
The linked card solves the acceptance problem without asking merchants to change anything. Conversion happens at the point of sale, the transaction routes over established card networks, and the merchant receives funds through processes already in place.
That design explains the 71% figure. Consumers are not asking for a new payment method; they are asking for their existing payment method to draw on a different funding source, which is a materially easier product to adopt than a native on-chain checkout.
The same logic drives the products to win in this category. Self-custodial balances that spend through card networks, as in our MetaMask Money Account coverage, present as a payment card to the user while the stablecoin mechanics stay invisible.
Emerging markets are doing much of the work. The largest card programs concentrate their user bases in regions where dollar access is scarcest and local currencies are least stable, which is where a spendable digital dollar solves a problem rather than offering a convenience.
Why This Matters for Stablecoins
The 14-point gap between wanting and doing is a market sizing exercise as much as a research finding. If the constraint is genuinely infrastructure rather than interest, then closing it converts existing holders into transacting users without acquiring anyone new.
The finding also reframes what stablecoin adoption means. Supply has contracted since May while transaction volumes have climbed, and consumer research showing intent to spend supports the reading that stablecoins are functioning increasingly as payment instruments rather than parked capital.
The honest caveat is scale. At $759 million monthly, crypto cards remain a rounding error against traditional networks processing trillions, so this documents a direction rather than a competitive threat.
Data quality is worth noting as well. RedotPay's figures are self-reported rather than observed on-chain despite representing roughly 52% of tracked volume, and the company serves over 5 million verified users across more than 100 countries with local corridors detailed in our RedotPay and Ripple coverage.
Conclusion
The research and the card data tell one story from two directions. Consumers say they want to spend stablecoins; cards are the route they name, and card volume is setting records.
What separates this from earlier adoption narratives is that the friction has been located precisely. It is not education, regulation, or volatility; it is merchant acceptance and the number of steps between a balance and a purchase.
The institutions positioned to close that gap are the ones consumers already use. Seventy-seven percent would open a stablecoin wallet inside their existing banking app, which means the next phase of adoption likely runs through incumbent distribution rather than around it.
FAQ:
1. What did the PYMNTS and Paymentology research find?
The report found that 42% of stablecoin holders want to use digital assets for major purchases, while 28% currently do, a 14-point gap. It also found that 71% would spend stablecoins through a linked debit card and 77% of consumers would open a crypto or stablecoin wallet through an existing banking or fintech app.
2. How much is being spent on crypto cards?
Crypto payment cards processed a record $759 million in July 2026, roughly 2.5 times the $306 million recorded a year earlier, across nearly 9 million purchases at an average of about $86 per transaction. Monthly crypto card spending grew roughly fifteenfold between early 2023 and late 2025.
3. Which stablecoins do people spend?
USDC accounted for approximately 58% of crypto card spending in July 2026, and USDT for about 26%, together 84% of the volume. Euro-backed EURe, which held around 88% of the market in early 2024, has fallen to roughly 2% as dollar-denominated tokens took over the category.
4. What is stopping people from spending stablecoins?
The research points to limited merchant acceptance, transaction costs, and uneven user experiences rather than a lack of consumer interest. Linked cards address this by converting digital assets at the point of sale and routing transactions over established card networks, so merchants receive funds through processes they already support.
5. Which crypto card programs are the largest?
RedotPay led July 2026 with $395.1 million in spending, followed by EtherFi at $100.3 million and KAST at $89.6 million, together roughly 77% of tracked volume. RedotPay's figures are self-reported by the issuer rather than observed on-chain, which is a meaningful caveat given its share of the total.
Disclaimer:
This content is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice; no material herein should be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument, and readers should conduct their own independent research or consult a qualified professional.
