The crypto industry in 2026 stands at a structural inflection point for value. Market focus has shifted from "the next 100x token" to "the next app with a million users," and both capital and innovation resources are flowing toward applications that solve real-world problems.
Amid this transformation, PayFi is emerging as the core engine connecting on-chain assets to real-world spending. In 2025, annual stablecoin transaction volume reached $33 trillion, surpassing the combined $25.5 trillion processed by Visa and Mastercard. By April 2026, total stablecoin supply exceeded $321 billion, and Visa-supported stablecoin wallet card programs had topped 130. These figures indicate that crypto payment infrastructure is approaching maturity.
Yet, a longstanding pain point remains unresolved: users hold ample digital assets in their wallets but struggle to spend them directly in everyday transactions. Gate’s Gate Card was created to address this challenge—connecting on-chain assets directly to the global merchant network.
From On-Chain Holdings to Everyday Spending: Payment Revolution Under the PayFi Trend
Over the past several years, crypto assets have evolved from fringe instruments to mainstream financial tools. The approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 marked the formal acceptance of crypto assets as a legitimate alternative asset class by traditional finance. As we enter 2026, the industry faces a structural shift: practical utility is systematically overtaking speculative value.
Against this backdrop, PayFi has become the key bridge between Web2 and Web3. The core logic of PayFi isn’t simply about crypto payment formats—it leverages the "time value of money" to redefine the relationship among payments, settlement, and financial services. Industry analysis and market discussions show PayFi is evolving into the next-generation payment and financial engine, with cross-border payments as its most mature use case. Settlement cycles have shrunk from days to minutes, and overall costs are an order of magnitude lower than traditional systems.
Stablecoins saw annual transaction volumes reach $33 trillion in 2025, with payment utility markedly enhanced. By comparison, Visa processed about $14 trillion, and Visa plus Mastercard totaled $25.5 trillion. Stablecoin transaction volume now exceeds the combined scale of the two major card networks. While much of this volume involves trading and liquidity flows, it signals that blockchain settlement is becoming a parallel payment infrastructure alongside SWIFT and card networks. According to Morph, 60% of enterprise stablecoin transactions are B2B payments. Morph predicts stablecoin settlement volume could surpass $50 trillion annually by the end of 2026.
Meanwhile, converting crypto assets for everyday spending remains a core industry challenge. Users may have substantial digital asset balances, but direct use at physical merchants, online shopping, or cross-border payments is difficult. This gap stems from fragmented crypto payment infrastructure—moving funds from wallet to exchange account, selling for fiat, withdrawing to a bank, and finally using a traditional card can take hours or days and incur multiple fees.
Price volatility adds another layer of concern. Gate market data as of June 9, 2026, shows Bitcoin at $63,090.3, down -33.74% year-over-year and -10.73% in the past 30 days; Ethereum at $1,688.24, down -15.58% year-over-year and -5.70% in 30 days; GT at $6.37, down -63.01% year-over-year but up +1.13% in the past seven days. For holders of volatile assets, timing consumption introduces uncertainty.
PayFi’s development direction aims to solve these issues. In March 2026, Visa announced the launch of a crypto credit card. In May 2026, Tron founder Justin Sun publicly stated that crypto cards represent "the next structural evolution stage" for stablecoin distribution. These signals indicate that crypto assets are transitioning from trading tools to consumption assets embedded in daily payment scenarios.
Gate Card: A Payment Tool Connecting On-Chain Assets to Global Spending
Gate Card is a digital asset payment card launched by Gate, directly linked to your Gate Pay account. Users can spend digital assets at over 150 million Visa-accepting merchants worldwide, both online and offline, without manually converting assets to fiat.
The card comes in both virtual and physical forms. Virtual cards are typically activated within 3 to 5 minutes after approval, while physical cards support chip, contactless, and ATM cash withdrawal. Users can access the card selection interface via the Gate Card web portal or Gate Pay mobile app, choose their preferred card type, and complete identity verification and approval steps as guided.
Applicants must complete Level 2 personal identity verification. Cards are available only to users in non-restricted countries or regions. Eligibility, card types, and specific features depend on verification results, residency, issuing partner review, and applicable compliance requirements. Gate reserves the right to refuse any application based on internal risk assessment.
Gate Card currently supports four digital assets for everyday spending: USDT, BTC, ETH, and GT. The system automatically converts and settles assets at the moment of transaction—no need to pre-convert to fiat. Card limits are based on the available asset balance in your Gate Pay account. Users can purchase digital assets via Gate’s buy feature or transfer assets from other wallets or platforms to their Gate account to increase their available balance.
From a cost perspective, both virtual and physical Gate Cards have no issuance fee, monthly fee, or inactivity fee. Crypto conversion fee is 0.90% for transactions of $2 or more, and $0.05 for transactions under $2. Foreign exchange fee for non-USD transactions is 0.40%. This fee structure is competitive within the crypto payment card sector, especially for cross-border spending.
For mobile payment integration, Gate Card supports Apple Pay and Google Pay, enabling contactless payments via mobile devices. This design aligns the everyday crypto spending experience with mainstream payment tools, lowering the adoption barrier for traditional users.
Cashback Points System: Spend and Accumulate Assets
Gate Card features a cashback points system linked to VIP level and spending amount. Cashback rates can reach up to 5%, and points can be redeemed for USDT or GT, creating a "spend—cashback—accumulate" closed loop.
The points system uses a fixed redemption rate: 100 points can be exchanged for 1 USDT. Users earn 1 to 5 points per $1 spent, depending on card level. The regular points cap is 50,000 points. Points never expire and have no validity limit. Manual redemption starts at 50 points (0.5 USDT).
Card upgrades follow a dual-track mechanism: users can qualify by reaching spending thresholds or by attaining Gate VIP levels, with the higher benefit of the two applied. Level evaluation is automatic and takes effect the following month.
Points Accumulation Rules and Notes:
Regular spending earns points based on card level, but there are clear exceptions: fiat payments (e.g., direct debits from fiat accounts), fees, management charges, deposits, withdrawals, and other non-spending transactions do not earn points. Canceled or refunded orders also do not earn points.
Certain merchant categories are excluded from points accumulation, including: purchases, services, and bond repayments at financial institutions; prepaid card purchases and reloads at non-financial institutions; transactions involving forex, money orders, traveler’s checks, and bond repayments at non-financial institutions; and remittance transactions.
Card spending is subject to daily, monthly, and annual limits. T4 level has a daily spending limit of $500,000 and an annual limit of $18,000,000. ATM cash withdrawals are capped at $5,000 per day, $5,000 per transaction, and a maximum of 10 withdrawals per day.
Closing the Consumption Loop: Gate Card in the PayFi Ecosystem
Gate Card’s cashback mechanism transforms spending into renewed accumulation of on-chain assets. When users pay globally with Gate Card, the points earned can be redeemed for USDT or GT, making spending more than just a one-way outflow.
Stablecoins, RWA (Real World Assets), and AI are collectively shaping PayFi’s foundation—stablecoins are evolving into a universal settlement layer across chains and systems, RWA brings real-world assets on-chain for 24/7 settlement and liquidity, and AI drives payment systems toward dynamic risk management and automated decision-making. Regulatory progress, RWA’s practical implementation, and AI maturity will define the competitive landscape in 2026. Clear regulatory frameworks, scalable asset onboarding, and AI-driven dynamic finance are reshaping PayFi’s core competitive barriers.
Within this framework, Gate Card acts as the physical bridge from on-chain assets to global consumption. In 2026, Gate officially launched Gate for AI Agent—the industry’s first infrastructure enabling centralized trading, on-chain transactions, wallet signing, real-time news, and on-chain data access via a unified platform and interface. Gate Card’s programmable settlement capabilities provide foundational support for AI Agent’s autonomous payments—signaling the evolution of payment tools from human-centric to automated payment channels.
With a 1% fee structure, cashback rates for T2 and above can offset fee costs and create positive returns. Web2 and Web3 are accelerating mutual integration, and traditional and emerging payment gateways like Visa, PayPal, and Neobanks are becoming key bridges for PayFi’s entry into mainstream payment systems and everyday commerce. As a payment tool connecting on-chain assets to real-world spending, Gate Card’s positioning aligns closely with PayFi’s development trajectory.
Conclusion
The true value of crypto assets lies not just in holding them, but in their ability to be used anywhere, anytime. PayFi’s essence isn’t to create a new financial paradigm, but to enable existing digital assets to function in the real world.
Stablecoin transaction volumes have surpassed traditional card networks, Visa has launched a crypto credit card, and AI Agents are gaining autonomous payment capabilities—all pointing in the same direction: crypto assets are moving from "digital gold" to "digital cash." With up to 5% cashback, acceptance at 150 million merchants worldwide, direct payment with four digital assets, dual-track upgrade mechanism, and points that never expire, Gate Card offers a practical bridge connecting on-chain and off-chain in this transformation.
Payment tools are evolving, and the boundaries of spending are dissolving. The real question for on-chain assets may be shifting from "how to hold" to "how to use."
