Stablecoin Cards Drive $500M in Monthly StraitsX Payments
StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu said the company processes more than $500 million in monthly payments through stablecoin-backed Visa cards, with about 85% of transactions below $50. The small purchases include groceries and household essentials, signalling that stablecoin cards are being used for everyday spending rather than only crypto trading.
From Q4 2024 to Q4 2025, StraitsX card transaction volume grew 40-fold and cards issued rose 83 times. Partner RedotPay processed more than $2.95 billion in card volume through StraitsX in 2025. The company says it has handled nearly $30 billion in cumulative stablecoin transactions and reported over $6 billion in annualized card gross transaction value in Asia.
A Visa partnership announced in October 2026 aims to expand stablecoin card issuance to more than 100 markets. StraitsX provides regulated payment infrastructure and issues XSGD and XUSD. The expansion could broaden access to stablecoin payments, but depends on local regulations and operational execution.
Neutral
The announcement is broadly positive for stablecoin adoption, but its direct effect on crypto trading and market stability is likely neutral. The reported growth in StraitsX card payments points to practical demand beyond trading, while the Visa partnership could extend access to stablecoin payments across more markets. However, the figures are company-reported operating metrics, not evidence of immediate demand for volatile crypto assets. Stablecoins are designed to track fiat currencies, so greater card use does not necessarily translate into buying pressure for BTC, ETH or other tokens.
In the short term, traders may view the figures as supportive of the payments and stablecoin-infrastructure sector, but the news alone is unlikely to move broad crypto prices. Similar payment-network and stablecoin adoption announcements have often strengthened the long-term adoption narrative without causing a sustained market-wide rally. Traders are more likely to watch follow-up indicators such as transaction growth, card usage, stablecoin supply and any changes in exchange liquidity.
Longer term, the Visa expansion could support wider stablecoin use, especially where access to US dollars through traditional banking is limited. That could improve the sector’s utility and attract fintech partners. The main risks are regulatory differences across more than 100 target markets, the practical pace of rollout and reliance on partners such as RedotPay for a substantial share of volume. These factors make the development constructive for payment infrastructure, but not a clear directional signal for the wider crypto market.