Stablecoin cards boom in SE Asia as StraitsX volume jumps 40x

• StraitsX card transaction volume surged 40-fold between the final quarter of 2024 and the same period in 2025.
• Global monthly crypto card volumes reached $1.5 billion by late 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 106%.
• The Singapore-based stablecoin provider is expanding its infrastructure to the Solana blockchain and launching cross-border payment corridors in Thailand.

Explosive Growth in Stablecoin Infrastructure

Infrastructure provider StraitsX has reported massive growth in its card-linked services, with card issuance growing 83-fold over a one-year period ending in Q4 2025. This surge aligns with a broader industry trend where onchain crypto card spending grew 420% in 2025, reaching $120 million by December. Visa remains the dominant player in this space, capturing more than 90% of onchain card volume.

Key performance indicators for the sector include:

• RedotPay, a major StraitsX partner, processed over $2.95 billion in card volume during 2025.
• Visa's stablecoin-linked card spend reached an annualized run rate of $3.5 billion by the end of 2025.
• StraitsX has processed a cumulative total of nearly $30 billion in stablecoin transactions.

The Vision of Invisible Payments

According to StraitsX CEO Tianwei Liu, the company's strategy focuses on making the underlying blockchain technology "invisible" to the end user. By acting as a Visa BIN sponsor, StraitsX allows partners like RedotPay and UPay to issue cards that settle in real-time using stablecoins. The goal is for stablecoins to function like fiber-optic cables—essential and ubiquitous infrastructure that operates unnoticed in the background while local currency is delivered instantly to merchants.

Technological Advancement and Regional Expansion

StraitsX is set to launch its XSGD and XUSD stablecoins on the Solana blockchain by the end of March. This deployment will utilize the x402 standard, designed to facilitate machine-to-machine micropayments and high-frequency, low-cost data flows. XSGD already commands a 70% share of the non-USD stablecoin market in Southeast Asia, maintaining a 1:1 peg with the Singapore dollar.

Expansion efforts are also moving into the cross-border arena:

• Project BLOOM, a regulatory initiative, will link Singapore and Thailand.
• The system allows Thai travelers to use KBank’s Q Wallet to pay Singaporean merchants via QR codes.
• Similar payment rollouts are currently planned for Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Industry Context and Future Outlook

Other full-stack crypto card issuers are also scaling rapidly, with Rain reaching $3 billion and Reap surpassing $6 billion in annualized volume. A primary driver for this adoption is the cost of international transfers; while the World Bank estimates traditional remittance costs at 6.49%, stablecoin-powered solutions can reduce these fees significantly. Visa executives compare the shift to driving an electric car on the same highway—the vehicle changes, but the rules of the road remain the same.