Spending through crypto payment cards crossed the $759 million mark in July 2026, recording a 2.5-fold jump compared to the same period last year. This figure was recorded in the latest report by a16z crypto, which uses the Paymentscan instrument to track on-chain crypto card activity traffic across various blockchain networks. This jump in transaction volume is a sign that users are beginning to see digital assets as a daily medium of exchange, rather than just dormant savings.
The frequency of card swipes by users also continues to grow. The number of monthly purchases approached 9 million transactions throughout July, leaping from 5.2 million transactions in the same month of the previous year. Although the combined spending nominal ballooned sharply, the size of each swipe remained within the reasonable range of retail spending limits. The average purchase value hovered around $86 per transaction, indicating that crypto is starting to be widely used to finance small-scale daily retail needs.
Dollar Rules Supreme, Euro Knocked Out
Payment settlement pathways are now heavily dominated by the movement of dollar-pegged assets. USDC handled 58% of all crypto card spending volume in July. Second place was occupied by USDT with a 26% share, making these two stablecoins sweep 84% of total transactions. A year earlier, USDC’s share was still at 48% and USDT stood at 7% - positioning the Tether-issued asset as the holder of the largest share growth record over the last 12-month period.
The surging dollar spending volume took an immediate toll on the euro side. The EURe token plummeted severely from a dominant 88% position in early 2024 to just 2% in July. The shifting user landscape also hit the prestige of legacy networks. Gnosis, a blockchain network that once dominated card settlements in the early market cycle era, also declined drastically and is now left with only a 2% share of transaction volume.
That void was immediately filled by layer-2 networks and fast alternative chains. Optimism surged ahead, processing 29% of crypto card volume to take the top spot. The subsequent ranks were held equally by Solana and Base, each settling 19% of the monthly on-chain activity share.
Still in Infancy Compared to Conventional Networks
Despite the series of metric increases, the scale of today’s crypto card market remains much smaller than that of conventional payment networks. Traditional transaction systems in the fiat realm routinely process trillions of dollars in monthly turnover, serving as a stark reminder of how long a road web3 market participants have to travel in the real world.
Infrastructure developers continue to release new innovations to bridge that gap. This August, the Morph project launched a new self-custodial model designed to settle direct business retail payments. The presence of this independent framework serves as a test for the crypto industry in handling commercial trade volume, which will eventually determine whether cryptocurrencies can challenge the scale of hegemony of legacy card-issuing giants.
As reported by crypto.news.
Read also: What Is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
