This week we dig into the “quiet explosion” of crypto cards.

How a familiar piece of plastic is becoming the real bridge between on-chain value and everyday spending, why Visa and MasterCard are betting big on stablecoin settlement, and how these products shift from nice-to-have perks in rich countries to financial lifelines in places like India and Argentina.

- The numbers behind crypto cards’ growth: from ~$100M a month in 2023 to over $1.5B a month in 2025, why that 106% CAGR now rivals peer‑to‑peer stablecoin transfers, and how fiat vs. native (stablecoin) settlement actually works at the point of sale.  

- Visa vs. MasterCard: the radically different strategies they’re taking (infrastructure rails vs. big-brand exchange partnerships), the rise of full‑stack issuers, and how cutting out legacy banks changes rewards, fees, and who makes money on each swipe.  

- Why companies push cards so hard: exchanges using credit cards as user‑acquisition funnels, DeFi protocols letting you “borrow to spend” so your assets keep earning yield, wallets chasing steady interchange revenue, and the lifeline use cases in India (tax‑driven credit) and Argentina (inflation‑hedging with USDC), plus why the “direct stablecoin acceptance” dream runs into massive bootstrapping and consumer‑protection hurdles.

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Stay curious, stay kind.