Stablecoin Payments Become ‘Invisible’ as Crypto Card Usage Surges in Southeast Asia
By Francisco Rodrigues | Edited by Aoyon Ashraf
Published March 29, 2026 | Updated March 30, 2026
In Southeast Asia’s rapidly evolving payments landscape, stablecoin-based transactions are becoming seamlessly integrated into everyday commerce, effectively turning the underlying crypto technology ‘invisible’ to end users. Singapore-based fintech company StraitsX is at the forefront of this transformation, experiencing extraordinary growth in its stablecoin card program as it powers a surge in crypto-backed payments across the region.
Explosive Growth in Stablecoin Card Transactions
Between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the same period in 2025, StraitsX recorded a staggering 40-fold increase in card transaction volume, accompanied by an 83-fold rise in the number of cards issued, according to Tianwei Liu, co-founder and CEO of StraitsX. These figures highlight one of the fastest-growing stablecoin card ecosystems in Southeast Asia.
This rapid expansion coincides with StraitsX’s partnership with RedotPay, a major player in the crypto card space that launched its offering late in 2024. In 2025 alone, RedotPay processed over $2.95 billion in card volume — more than four times the combined total of its 13 nearest competitors. This positions StraitsX’s infrastructure at the heart of a dominant crypto payment hub in the region.
Riding the Wave of Crypto Card Adoption
Industry-wide, crypto card transactions have been growing exponentially. Artemis Analytics estimates global monthly crypto card volumes surged from approximately $100 million in early 2023 to over $1.5 billion by the end of 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 106%. Dune Analytics notes a 420% increase in onchain crypto card spending within 2025 alone, with Visa capturing over 90% of this volume. Visa’s stablecoin-linked card spending reached an annualized run rate of $3.5 billion by late 2025—a 460% year-over-year increase.
Visa’s dominant role underscores the mainstream acceptance of stablecoin payments, which blend crypto technology with familiar payment rails while maintaining user experience consistent with traditional cards.
Invisible Tech Powering Everyday Payments
StraitsX’s role is primarily infrastructural; the company does not operate consumer-facing apps but serves as a Visa BIN sponsor, enabling partners such as RedotPay and UPay to issue stablecoin-backed cards. When a cardholder taps or scans to pay, stablecoins settle the transaction in real time, with funds converting instantly to the local currency on the merchant’s side.
“We aim to make the stablecoin layer invisible,” Liu explained. “No user cares about whether a payment runs on stablecoins or fiat; they only care if the payment goes through.”
With nearly $30 billion in cumulative stablecoin transactions already processed, StraitsX envisions stablecoins functioning as essential yet unnoticed infrastructure—like fiber-optic cables, ubiquitous but unseen.
Pioneering New Use Cases on the Solana Blockchain
Looking ahead, StraitsX plans to launch two stablecoins, XSGD and XUSD, on the Solana blockchain in partnership with the Solana Foundation. This marks the first instance of these tokens operating natively on a high-speed blockchain and will enable machine-to-machine micropayments compliant with the x402 standard.
“When fees drop close to zero, you can move very small amounts of money frequently,” Liu noted. “Payments start to resemble internet data flows — continuous, low cost, and embedded directly into applications.”
Already, XSGD leads the Southeast Asian non-USD stablecoin market, commanding over 70% market share and maintaining a reliable 1:1 peg to the Singapore dollar, verified by monthly audits. Earlier this year, the Singapore dollar reached an 11-year high against the US dollar, underscoring the relevance of XSGD’s peg.
Expanding Cross-Border Payments and Regional Reach
StraitsX is expanding beyond Singapore with cross-border payment corridors, starting with Thailand through Project BLOOM, a regulatory initiative from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. This corridor enables Thai travelers to use KBank’s Q Wallet to pay Singapore merchants in their local currency. Behind the scenes, the transaction converts from Thailand’s Q-money to StraitsX’s XSGD stablecoin, streaming financial flows invisibly.
This model mirrors user-friendly integrations like GrabPay and Alipay+, which require no new user behaviors. Since rollout, merchants have reported a 400% increase in transaction volume, and unique user transactions have grown sixfold monthly. Further deployments are planned for Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Visa’s Perspective: Stability Meets Innovation
Adeline Kim, Visa’s country manager for Singapore and Brunei, emphasized that stablecoin-backed cards maintain the same customer experience as traditional cards, including chargeback protections and fiat settlements.
“It’s like driving an electric car versus a car that runs on fuel on the same highway,” Kim remarked. “The vehicle is different, but the road signs, toll booths, and rules don’t change.”
Full-stack crypto card issuers like Rain and Reap have similarly scaled rapidly, reaching annualized volumes of $3 billion and $6 billion respectively. Remittances form a key use case, with stablecoins dramatically lowering costs compared to the average 6.49% fee charged for sending $200 internationally.
The Future of Stablecoin Payments
Kim predicts future stablecoin cards will evolve beyond simple transactions, incorporating real-time spending insights, cross-border benefits, and personalized rewards. Nonetheless, Liu remains focused on one fundamental goal: to make stablecoin infrastructure so seamless it disappears.
“The best stablecoin infrastructure is one people don’t see. The transaction just works,” he reflected.
About StraitsX
StraitsX is a fintech company headquartered in Singapore specializing in stablecoin payment infrastructure across Southeast Asia. The company provides essential backend technology that enables partners to issue stablecoin-backed cards, facilitating fast, local currency settlements backed by crypto assets.
Contact: For more information, visit StraitsX website.
This article is part of ongoing coverage on the evolving stablecoin payment ecosystem in Southeast Asia and beyond.