In 2025, stablecoins processed $33 trillion in payments, while Visa handled around $15 trillion. This is no longer a projection or a future scenario, but a confirmed market reality. On-chain infrastructure has not only caught up with traditional systems, but has effectively surpassed them in volume and continues to grow at 30\u201350% year over\u00a0year.<\/p>\n
However, if you look beyond infrastructure, it becomes clear that users themselves have not fully made the shift. Despite the scale, the product layer, especially crypto cards, is still in a phase of adaptation and market\u00a0fit.<\/p>\n
According to Artemis, crypto card payment volume grew from around $100 million per month in early 2023 to approximately $1.5 billion. That is strong growth, but still early compared to the broader\u00a0market.<\/p>\n
This is exactly why I launched a campaign on CoinMarketCap. Not to speculate, but to understand real user behavior through structured polls.<\/p>\n
The poll structure was intentional. I designed it as a user journey, moving from initial motivation to decision-making factors, then to drop-off triggers, and finally to actual\u00a0usage.<\/p>\n
This approach allows us to move beyond surface-level numbers and understand behavioral patterns.<\/p>\n
The results around cashback were very telling. 41.3% of users selected 3\u20134% consistent cashback as the key reason to switch, while higher percentages with conditions received significantly less interest.<\/p>\n
This reflects a clear shift. Users are no longer chasing maximum upside. They are choosing predictability.<\/p>\n
The \u201cup to 10%\u201d narrative is losing credibility because users perceive it as conditional and unreliable. In reality, users are leaning toward a more traditional financial mindset, while still expecting crypto-level benefits.<\/p>\n
When it comes to real usage, priorities become even clearer. 40.8% selected instant payments, while 32.7% chose no hidden\u00a0fees.<\/p>\n
Design, UI, and extra features barely influence decision-making.<\/p>\n
This aligns with broader market data. Around 45% of crypto card transactions in Europe are under \u20ac10, with an average transaction size of about \u20ac23. These are everyday payments where speed and predictability matter far more than aesthetics.<\/p>\n
The strongest signal came from the drop-off question. 34% of users would stop using a card due to withdrawal issues, while 27.7% would leave because of hidden\u00a0fees.<\/p>\n
This highlights a critical insight. Users may tolerate volatility or imperfect UX, but they will not tolerate losing control over their\u00a0funds.<\/p>\n
This is where crypto cards still lag behind traditional banking, not in technology, but in perceived trust.<\/p>\n
When asked what makes a card their main one, responses were split between cashback (35.1%), trust (28.4%), and no freezes\u00a0(27%).<\/p>\n
This reveals an important dynamic. Cashback attracts users, but trust keeps\u00a0them.<\/p>\n
Retention is not driven by incentives, but by reliability.<\/p>\n
When we move from intention to behavior, the gap becomes obvious. Only 35.1% of users actively use crypto cards, while the majority keep them as a backup\u00a0option.<\/p>\n
This is the core insight from week one. Crypto cards are not yet a primary payment tool. They are a secondary layer, something users keep \u201cjust in\u00a0case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adoption is growing rapidly. Spending through Visa-linked crypto cards increased by 525% in 2025, even during periods of high volatility in BTC and\u00a0ETH.<\/p>\n
This points to a deeper shift. Crypto is gradually transitioning from a speculative asset to a functional payment\u00a0tool.<\/p>\n
In Europe, this trend is especially visible. Crypto card issuance grew by 15%, and a significant share of transactions now comes from everyday spending categories such as groceries, restaurants, and entertainment.<\/p>\n
At the same time, 73% of all transactions are conducted in stablecoins, reinforcing their role as the core payment layer within\u00a0crypto.<\/p>\n
From an infrastructure perspective, direct stablecoin acceptance by merchants does not yet offer enough advantages for mass adoption.<\/p>\n
However, the combination of crypto cards and stablecoins creates a functional model. Cards provide global acceptance, while stablecoins enable efficient storage and transfer of value, especially in cross-border use\u00a0cases.<\/p>\n
This hybrid model is currently driving the fastest\u00a0growth.<\/p>\n
After week one, it is clear that on-chain payments have already surpassed traditional systems in scale, yet users have not fully transitioned to crypto\u00a0cards.<\/p>\n
The limitation is not technological. It is product-driven.<\/p>\n
Users are looking for a combination of three things: crypto-level returns, banking-level reliability, and the simplicity of familiar payment experiences.<\/p>\n
No single product has successfully combined all three yet. That is why the market remains\u00a0open.<\/p>\n
Now the real question is what week two will reveal, as we go deeper into behavior and real usage patterns.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss the next round of polls on CMC<\/a>. This is where we start to see the line between curiosity and actual adoption\u00a0\ud83d\ude80<\/p>\n What Did Week 1 of the CMC Crypto Card Campaign Show? My Breakdown of Results<\/a> was originally published in Coinmonks<\/a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Market Context: Where We Actually Are Right\u00a0Now In 2025, stablecoins processed $33 trillion in payments, while Visa handled around $15 trillion. This is no longer a projection or a future scenario, but a confirmed market reality. On-chain infrastructure has not only caught up with traditional systems, but has effectively surpassed them in volume and continues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":144432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-144431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=144431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/144432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=144431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=144431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=144431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}