Global spending on stablecoin-linked payment cards is on track to quadruple over the next two years, hitting an annual run rate of $50 billion by 2028, according to new projections from Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments firm RedotPay.
The forecast, released Tuesday, comes on the back of a record-breaking month for the sector: stablecoin card spending topped $1 billion in July alone, according to data compiled by crypto payment card analytics firm Paymentscan. That single-month milestone underscores how quickly dollar-pegged digital tokens are moving from crypto-native trading pairs into everyday retail spending.
From Trading Tool to Payment Rail
Stablecoins — cryptocurrencies pegged to a stable asset, most commonly the U.S. dollar — were originally built to give crypto traders a way to park value without leaving the blockchain. Increasingly, though, they are becoming a payment rail in their own right, used for cross-border transfers, corporate treasury management, crypto settlement, and as a hedge against currency volatility in emerging markets.
Card products that let users spend stablecoins directly at ordinary merchants — converting the tokens to fiat at the point of sale — have been a key driver of that shift, turning a largely back-office crypto instrument into something consumers can tap at a checkout counter.
Latin America and Africa Lead the Charge
RedotPay pointed to Latin America as the current epicenter of stablecoin card adoption, with Africa close behind.
“Latin America has the highest adoption and greatest potential for growth at the moment, followed by Africa,” said Jonathan Chan, co-founder and head of partnerships at RedotPay.
Notably, Chan said the markets growing fastest aren’t necessarily the ones with the deepest existing crypto penetration. Instead, adoption is being driven by a specific combination of local conditions.
“The fastest markets aren’t necessarily those with the highest crypto penetration,” Chan said. “The growth is driven by the confluence of several factors: real payment pain, easy stablecoin access, strong fiat off-ramps, and regulatory clarity.”
That framing suggests the next wave of stablecoin card growth may come less from crypto-enthusiast hubs in Asia or North America and more from economies where traditional banking and currency infrastructure creates genuine friction for everyday users — friction stablecoins are well-positioned to solve.
RedotPay’s Own Numbers
RedotPay, which counts more than 8 million users worldwide, said its total annualized payment volume — combining card spending with account top-ups — currently exceeds $14 billion, giving the company a substantial vantage point on where the broader market is heading.
Why It Matters for Asia
While RedotPay’s growth thesis centers on Latin America and Africa, the trend has direct relevance for Asia’s own stablecoin ecosystem. Regional fintechs and exchanges have been racing to launch or partner on stablecoin-linked card products, and RedotPay itself operates out of Hong Kong, one of Asia’s more active regulatory sandboxes for digital-asset payments. As regulatory clarity improves across parts of Asia and fiat off-ramps mature, the same conditions RedotPay cites as growth drivers elsewhere could accelerate adoption closer to home.
If the $50 billion projection holds, stablecoin cards would move from a niche crypto product to a payment method with real scale — one that banks, card networks, and regulators across emerging and developed markets alike will be watching closely over the next two years.
This article is based on reporting by Reuters (Rae Wee, reporting; Lincoln Feast, editing), published August 25, 2026.