Crypto Card Spending Tops $1 Billion Monthly for First Time
Gate Research reports July spending hit $1.038B across 10.5M transactions; cumulative 2026 volume already exceeds 2025 total. RedotPay leads with 56% share, while structural risks remain.
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Crypto-linked payment cards processed more than $1 billion in a single month for the first time in July, according to analytics firm Gate Research. The monthly volume reached $1.038 billion across 10.5 million transactions, the firm said.
Cumulative spending over the first seven months of 2026 totaled $5.48 billion, already exceeding the $3.8 billion recorded during the entire 2025 calendar year. Gate Research’s tracked projects have now cleared over $10 billion in cumulative volume since March 2023.
Market share remains concentrated among a few issuers. RedotPay accounted for roughly $6 billion in cumulative processed volume, or nearly 56% of the total tracked by Gate Research. Ether.fi and KAST followed with $754 million and $684 million respectively. Smart-contract-based self-custody alternatives such as MetaMask and Gnosis Pay have also increased their share of decentralized payment activity, the report said.
The report identified two main technical frameworks. Prepaid systems require users to manually convert tokens to fiat before spending. Instant-spend architectures deduct and convert tokens in real time at the point of sale. Users have broadened their spending patterns beyond retail micropayments to include airfare, hotel bookings, software subscriptions and cross-border transfers, Gate Research noted.
Platforms like Gate have integrated their cards with spot account balances and yield programs, allowing funds to be debited directly without intermediate custody transfers. The company also offers tiered cashback rewards of up to 8%.
Risks and Compliance
Despite the volume surge, the report flagged structural risks. Reliance on traditional banking partners, exposure to stablecoin issuer solvency and regional regulatory disparities remain vulnerabilities. During the final quarter of 2026, issuers plan to review their infrastructure under new financial oversight frameworks in Europe and Asia, the report said.
Separate data from Paymentscan showed a record single-day volume of $36.82 million on July 20, with KAST leading that day’s activity. Kraken launched a debit card in the UK and European Economic Area, and Flexa expanded its crypto payment network to 37 SEPA countries in early July.
The milestone comes as institutions test broader integration of digital assets into everyday spending, though the infrastructure still depends on traditional payment rails and stablecoin liquidity.
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