"Stablecoin cards to upend the global payments market"

"Stablecoin cards" are expected to surge as a key buzzword poised to reshape the global payments landscape this year. The idea is that this model—preserving blockchain efficiency while offering consumers a familiar card-payment experience—could become a new standard for the fintech industry.

On the 9th (local time), Haseeb Qureshi, managing partner at Dragonfly, wrote on X that "stablecoin cards are growing like crazy globally," adding that "digital assets permeating deep into the payment flows of the global economy will be the biggest theme of this year."

He explained that "consumers don't even know there's a coin behind the payment stack," and that they "only experience the convenience of being able to buy and pay in dollars anytime, anywhere."

In fact, the sector’s growth is steep. Rain, a stablecoin payments infrastructure startup, recently secured US$250 million in funding. The round put Rain’s valuation at nearly US$2 billion.

The outlook for the stablecoin market is also bright. In a recent report, Bloomberg Intelligence forecast that stablecoin payment volumes will grow 81% per year on average, reaching US$56.6 trillion by 2030.

Still, views are divided on whether stablecoin cards can replace existing credit and debit cards in developed markets. Better Tomorrow Ventures took a skeptical stance, saying that "stablecoin payments still lack a loyal customer base or proprietary network effects, and incentives strong enough to pull consumers in are limited."

By contrast, Mason Nystrom of Pantera Capital said that "stablecoin payments offer merchants clear benefits such as instant settlement and chargeback prevention," predicting that "stablecoin rails will encroach on the entire fintech stack, and some incumbents will be displaced."