What is driving the surge in stablecoin card usage in Southeast Asia?

StraitsX reported a 40x increase in transaction volume and an 83x rise in issued cards between Q4 2024 and Q4 2025. This growth is driven by increasing adoption of crypto-backed payment cards. It reflects rising demand for seamless, low-cost cross-border payments.

What does it mean that stablecoin payments are becoming “invisible”?

“Invisible” means users do not realise they are using stablecoins when making payments. Transactions settle in stablecoins in the backend, but users see and spend local fiat currency. This improves user experience and reduces friction.

How does StraitsX’s business model work?

StraitsX provides infrastructure rather than consumer-facing apps. It acts as a backend provider enabling partners like RedotPay to issue stablecoin-backed cards. This allows real-time settlement while maintaining a familiar payment experience.

How significant is RedotPay’s role in this ecosystem?

RedotPay processed over $2.95 billion in card volume in 2025. This makes it one of the dominant players in the crypto card space. Its scale highlights the growing demand for stablecoin-based payments.

How fast is the overall crypto card market growing?

The broader crypto card market has expanded rapidly, with global monthly volumes rising from about $100 million in 2023 to over $1.5 billion by 2025. Visa-linked stablecoin card spending alone reached a $3.5 billion annualised run rate. This indicates strong industry-wide momentum.

What are XSGD and XUSD, and why are they important?

XSGD and XUSD are stablecoins issued by StraitsX, pegged to fiat currencies. They will launch on the Solana blockchain to enable faster and cheaper transactions. These tokens are key to scaling payment infrastructure and new use cases.

What is the significance of launching on Solana?

Solana offers high-speed and low-cost transactions, making it suitable for payments and micropayments. This allows stablecoins to be used more frequently and in smaller amounts. It supports new applications like machine-to-machine payments.

How could stablecoin cards impact traditional payment systems?

Stablecoin cards can reduce transaction costs and improve cross-border payment efficiency. They may compete with traditional remittance and card networks. However, they often still rely on partners like Visa, so integration rather than disruption is likely in the near term.

Image for illustrative purposes only. Not a real photo.

Stablecoin cards surge as payments go invisible

Written by Isaac FrancisPublished Mar. 30 2026Last Updated Mar. 30 2026

StraitsX has recorded a 40-fold increase in stablecoin card transaction volume and an 83-fold rise in issued cards between Q4 2024 and Q4 2025, highlighting rapid adoption in Southeast Asia.

The Singapore-based firm powers infrastructure for partners like RedotPay, which processed over $2.95 billion in card volume in 2025, as stablecoins increasingly operate behind the scenes in everyday payments.

Rather than focusing on consumer apps, StraitsX provides backend systems that enable real-time stablecoin settlement while users transact seamlessly in local currencies.

“No user cares about whether a payment runs on stablecoins or fiat; they only care if the payment goes through,”

Said StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu.

The company plans to expand further across Asia, including Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, while launching XSGD and XUSD stablecoins on the Solana blockchain to support faster and cheaper transactions.

Growth in the broader crypto card sector has also accelerated, with global volumes rising sharply and Visa-linked stablecoin card spending reaching a $3.5 billion annualised run rate.

StraitsX aims to make stablecoin infrastructure effectively invisible, positioning digital assets as embedded financial rails rather than standalone consumer-facing products.