Payments made with cryptocurrency cards operating on the Visa network saw a sharp increase: transaction volume grew by 525% in 2025. According to data from Dune Analytics and a Cointelegraph report, the combined volume of six major cards rose from $14.6 million in January to $91.3 million in December. This growth was notably driven by the Ether.fi card, which accounted for over 60% of the total volume and set a benchmark for similar products.
Growth of Visa Cryptocurrency Card Payments
Data indicates a widespread increase in the use of cards linked to blockchain projects: the nominal transaction volume grew more than fivefold over the year. The growth was steady throughout the year, reflecting not a one-time surge in demand but accelerating adoption of payment solutions based on digital assets. This success confirms that such cards have started functioning within the familiar fiat payment cycle thanks to Visa’s infrastructure.
Factors Driving the Growth
The source outlines several key drivers that collectively created conditions for explosive growth. These include improved regulation in certain jurisdictions, enhanced user experience, and faster cryptocurrency-to-fiat conversion processes directly at the point of sale.
- Increased regulatory clarity, providing greater confidence to issuers and users.
- Instant conversion of cryptocurrency to fiat by the issuer, eliminating volatility risk for merchants.
- Visa’s partnership model with blockchain projects: Visa provides the network and compliance, while projects bring innovation and communities.
Ether.fi’s Market Dominance
According to Dune Analytics, the Ether.fi card accounted for the lion’s share of the total volume — about $55.4 million, roughly 61% of the December figure, confirming a market share above 60%. Ether.fi is currently positioned as a product that addresses liquidity challenges for Ethereum stakers by offering a unique combination of features.
The key feature of the Ether.fi card is the ability to spend the value of restaked ETH while continuing to earn staking rewards and EigenLayer points. This allows users to access liquidity without needing to withdraw their staking positions.
Impact on Traditional and Decentralized Finance
The rise in card payments creates ripple effects for traditional finance: banks and card issuers are compelled to reconsider their strategies regarding digital assets and customer products. Visa’s partnerships with crypto projects demonstrate how reliable payment infrastructure can be combined with crypto innovations to scale without obvious security compromises.
For the DeFi ecosystem, this validates the concept of "liquid restaking": products that make complex positions spendable in the real economy gain a clear advantage. As these off-ramps grow, competitive dynamics in the transaction services market shift, lowering barriers for everyday crypto asset usage.
Why This Matters
If you operate between 1 and 1000 mining devices and live in Russia, this news highlights that cryptocurrency is becoming more practical for direct payments. The ability to convert coin value at the moment of purchase through the card issuer simplifies spending earnings on familiar goods and services.
Additionally, the emergence of cards supporting staking assets shows liquidity can be accessed without selling coins on exchanges. This is convenient if you hold part of your revenue in ETH and want to cover operational expenses without exiting staking.
What to Do?
Assess how important instant access to funds is for you: compare fees, conversion times, and terms of crypto-enabled cards. Pay attention to how providers implement conversion and protect users from volatility, since merchants typically receive fiat from the Visa network.
If considering cards that allow spending restaked ETH, check conditions for preserving staking rewards and integration with protocols like EigenLayer. To understand capital flows and market impact, you can also review materials on fund inflows and the role of stablecoins in payment infrastructure.