The stablecoin market has achieved a historic milestone with monthly card spending reaching $789 million in September 2025, marking a 49x increase from $16 million in early 2025, according to AMBCrypto. The latest data shows stablecoin market cap now hovering above $310 billion, with the market adding over $1 billion in liquidity in less than 72 hours as of October 2025. This represents the highest monthly spending level ever recorded and demonstrates the rapid acceleration of stablecoin adoption beyond trading and settlement into everyday payments. USDC emerged as the dominant force in card spending with $423 million in September, capturing 54% market share and significantly outpacing USDT's $135 million performance, with the overall crypto market cap also rising alongside this liquidity expansion.
Visa has reported nearly 200% year-over-year growth in payment volume across its stablecoin-linked card programs, with more than 160 consumer and business programs operating worldwide as of October 2025. According to Visa's latest business-payments update, business and commercial programs generated approximately 17% of Visa stablecoin-linked card volume during fiscal 2026 year-to-date, demonstrating the growing enterprise adoption of stablecoin payments. Visa's stablecoin settlement volume recently passed a $20 billion annualized run rate, representing a more than 15-fold increase from the previous year. The company's stablecoin settlement activity had passed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times its year-earlier level, with Visa's stablecoin settlement volume recently passed a $20 billion annualized run rate globally. Card adoption has continued outside traditional crypto trading platforms, with Bridge-powered stablecoin cards live in 18 countries and plans to expand to more than 100 countries by the end of 2026, covering more than 175 million merchant locations.
The stablecoin card segment reveals a bifurcated market structure where USDC dominates regulated fintech and consumer rails while USDT maintains overall global market leadership. USDT still holds 84% market dominance with $182 billion in transfer volume according to Visa data, compared to USDC's $32.6 billion activity representing 15% market share. However, USDC has gained significant ground with 57% market share dominance in the card segment, demonstrating its competitive advantage in regulated payment infrastructure. USDC gained $881 million over 90 days in Q3, the largest increase among major stablecoins according to RWA Foundation's report, while RLUSD followed with $765.3 million in deposits. The MiCA transition window ending in 2025 has contributed to USDT's declining market share from 49% in January 2026 to 17% for the remainder of the year, with platforms like Revolut delisting USDT for non-compliance. This regulatory shift has created opportunities for USDC to establish stronger positions in regulated markets.
Allium's September report estimated that stablecoin payment volume reached between $401 billion and $527 billion during the first eight months of 2026, representing growth of 42% from the comparable period using the lower estimate methodology, while the upper methodology produced growth of as much as 63%. The research separates payments from the much larger amount of stablecoins moving between exchanges, DeFi applications, trading accounts and blockchain infrastructure, with Allium estimating total stablecoin transfers at $85 trillion from January through August. Payments accounted for as much as 13% of the adjusted economic activity, with business-to-business transactions forming the largest payment lane at an estimated $137 billion to $153 billion. Service-fee payments accounted for $56 billion, payroll for $43 billion and supplier payments for $28 billion, while consumer retail purchases totaled approximately $19 billion. Cross-border use was particularly high in B2B transfers, with 43% of geographically identified business-to-business payment volume crossing national borders, the highest cross-border share among payment categories studied.
The latest funding data reveals a strategic pivot toward non-custodial coordination layers and gasless UX models that reduce friction for cross-border and agent-driven transactions, according to Asia Funding Weekly. HIFI's $7 billion annualized processed volume signals mainstream stablecoin settlement demand ahead of tokenized treasury expansion. XStable, a DeFi/RWA trading platform, raised multi-million dollars with backing from YZi Labs, Sui Foundation, Taisu Ventures, and Catcher VC, positioning itself for $100 million daily volume in Asia's institutional demand for on-chain macro assets. Visa has been expanding services designed for business uses, with its Visa Direct stablecoin work allowing eligible businesses and financial institutions to use stablecoins in cross-border payment funding. The company has separately tested direct stablecoin payouts for creators, gig workers and other recipients, where a U.S. business can fund a payment through Visa Direct while an eligible recipient chooses to receive a dollar-backed stablecoin such as USDC in a supported wallet. The improved liquidity at both macro and on-chain levels is likely to create sustained demand for Bitcoin and catalyze Q4 momentum across the crypto ecosystem.
