Stablecoins Drive Surge in Crypto Card Transactions in Southeast Asia

Crypto card transaction volumes have seen a remarkable surge in Southeast Asia, with stablecoins emerging as a key player in this growth. StraitsX, a Singapore-based stablecoin infrastructure provider, has reported a significant increase in crypto card usage, with over USD 30 billion in stablecoin transactions processed.

The company's stablecoin card programme has experienced an 83-fold increase in card issuance and a 40-fold surge in transaction volumes between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the same period in 2025. This growth makes StraitsX's programme one of the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia, with users becoming increasingly indifferent to whether their payments run on crypto rails or fiat currency.

StraitsX is targeting the launch of its two flagship tokens, XSGD and XUSD, on the Solana network by the end of March to support the x402 standard for machine-to-machine micropayments. The infrastructure is also beginning to disrupt cross-border payment systems, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore's regulatory initiative, Project BLOOM, aiming to enable Thai tourists to scan QR codes in Singapore using KBank's Q Wallet.