SS #129 - Stablecoin Card Spending Tops $1B

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Good morning.

Crypto card spending tripling to $1.04B looks like stablecoins finally reaching everyday commerce, but with three platforms driving 77% of volume and Coinbase’s own users holding $20B in USDC while spending a fraction of that through cards, the shift from savings vehicle to payment rail is far less broad than the headline number suggests.

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In Today’s Edition:

• Headline: Stablecoin Card Spending Tops $1B

• Quick Bites: Fasset Lands $1B Valuation

• Yield of the Week: sUSDat/USDat LP’s: 337% LP APY

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HEADLINE

State of play: Crypto card spending more than tripled to $1.04B in July, with USDC and USDT funding 70% of transactions as users increasingly pay for everyday purchases like groceries and rides.

• USDC funded 50.8% of July volume and USDT 20.3%, up sharply from about 48% and 7% a year earlier.

• The average payment rose to about $86 per transaction, up from $59 year over year.

• RedotPay, EtherFi, and KAST accounted for about 77% of tracked volume, showing a concentrated market.

• Visa said it has over 160 stablecoin-linked card programs live or in development globally.

• Coinbase said USDC represents about 16% of its combined card transaction volume, far below its $20B USDC holdings.

What’s Next: Watch for Visa’s stablecoin card programs to keep scaling and whether platforms outside the top three, RedotPay, EtherFi, and KAST, can meaningfully grow their share of volume.

Why it Matters: Stablecoins moving from savings and remittances into groceries and subscriptions signals genuine payment utility, not just speculative holding.

Our Take: The market’s concentration in three platforms and Coinbase’s $20B in held USDC versus modest card spend suggest most stablecoin holders still aren’t spending, they’re parking, and headline growth numbers overstate how mainstream this actually is.

QUICK BITES

• Standard Chartered becomes first bank to distribute HKD stablecoin.

• BA backs Treasury’s proposed GENIUS Act rules for stablecoin issuers.

• Bernstein says Circle’s growth cycle can continue without the Clarity Act.

• Crypto card spending tops $1B as stablecoins move into everyday purchases.

• Stablecoin neobank Fasset lands $1B valuation as SBI backs its payments push.

YIELD OF THE WEEK

• The pool accepts sUSDat deposits and provides liquidity for Saturn’s yield-bearing vault token on BNB Chain, maturing August 27, 2026, with ~$2.36M in pool liquidity and earning 24x Saturn points.

• Capital is heavily skewed toward PT sUSDat (~$2.26M, 95.97%) versus sUSDat SY (~$94.88k, 4.03%), with the elevated LP APY driven by the near-maturity PT price convergence.

• Yield is generated from Saturn’s STRC dividend income, with LP APY of 337% driven entirely by USDat yield as PT converges to par at maturity, with no PENDLE rewards.

• The pool accepts ynRWAx deposits, YieldNest’s curated RWA product offering stable off-chain yields backed by diversified real collateral on USDC, maturing October 15, 2026, with ~$644.88k in pool liquidity.

• Capital is split across ynRWAx SY (~$350.68k, 54.38%) and PT ynRWAx (~$294.23k, 45.62%), earning a blended yield from underlying USDC yield, ynRWAx appreciation, and PENDLE rewards.

• Yield is generated from RWA-backed off-chain returns, with LP APY composed of 8.48% USDC yield, 0.76% ynRWAx yield, 0.25% PENDLE rewards, and 0.01% LP fees.

• The market accepts limUSD deposits, Liminal’s native yield-bearing stablecoin on Hyperliquid dynamically allocating across funding rates, xHYPE staking via kHYPE, and money market lending.

• Capital is deployed via Pendle Router into Liminal’s vault, with 1 limUSD converting to 1.02409 USDC at maturity, with 1-3 day native withdrawals or instant redemption available for a 0.01% fee.

• Yield is generated from Hyperliquid’s delta-neutral funding strategies and staking rewards, with the PT locking in a fixed 11.27% APY while YT holders capture remaining variable yield.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.