Visa and Bridge, a fintech firm owned by Stripe, plan to bring stablecoin-linked payment cards to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026, with the first rollout already covering 18 nations across Latin America.
Why Traditional Finance Is Winning The Crypto Payments RaceGrocery runs and restaurant bills are now among the most common uses for crypto-linked cards, according to data from OKX’s European card product. In January, supermarket purchases made up over a quarter of all transactions on the OKX card, followed by restaurants at 18% and online shopping at 13%.
BREAKING: Cumulative crypto card payment volumes have reached a record $7.8 billion, with monthly volumes now up +230% since May 2025.
Crypto card adoption has rapidly accelerated in 2026 due to growing access to stablecoins as a payment rail through crypto cards.
Stablecoins Driving The SurgeStablecoin access is widely credited for accelerating the trend. More cardholders can now spend dollar-pegged digital assets in place of traditional currency, pushing adoption at a faster pace than in previous years.
The Kobeissi Letter put it plainly: crypto card adoption has rapidly picked up in 2026 because more people can spend stablecoins the way they spend cash. The cards are running on familiar payment networks — not replacing them.
Visa holds a commanding position in this space, capturing roughly 90% of crypto card transaction volume through partnerships with blockchain-native companies. One of those partners is Jupiter Global, the payments project tied to the Jupiter decentralized exchange on the Solana network.
Expansion Plans Signal Broader AmbitionsArgentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Chile are among the countries already included in the Visa-Bridge rollout. Asia-Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East are next, reports say, with expansion targeted before the year is out.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
