Why do digital assets need to enter consumer scenarios?
Gate Card connects the on-chain assetization process.

Over the past few years, the core value of the crypto industry has shifted from "asset holding" to "asset utilization." In 2025, the annual trading volume of stablecoins reached approximately $33 trillion, surpassing the combined transaction processing volume of Visa and Mastercard at $25.5 trillion. As of April 2026, the total supply of stablecoins broke through $321 billion, and more than 130 card projects supported stablecoin wallets. The infrastructure for crypto payments is becoming increasingly mature.

However, a structural contradiction has persisted for a long time. The scale of crypto asset management continues to grow, but the channels for large-scale entry into everyday consumption scenarios remain inefficient. Digital assets in user wallets are sufficiently held in accounts, but when shopping at supermarkets, subscribing online, or making cross-border payments, multiple steps such as exchange, withdrawal, and transfer are often required, taking hours to days and incurring multiple fees. This disconnect causes a large amount of digital assets to remain in a holding state, making it difficult to convert into high-frequency consumption behaviors.

The large-scale growth of crypto payment cards is changing this situation. Research firm Artemis data shows that the monthly transaction volume of crypto cards grew from about $330k in January 2023 to over $1.5 billion by the end of 2025, with an annualized transaction volume reaching $18 billion, approaching the scale of peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers. Crypto cards are gradually evolving from marginal use cases to becoming the core entry point for stablecoins into real-world consumption scenarios.

The design and operational logic of Gate Card embody this trend. It is not only a channel connecting on-chain assets with a global merchant network but also redefines the financial attributes of consumption itself. When a purchase is completed with a crypto card, the digital assets paid are no longer just tools for transaction value transfer but enter a chain of on-chain assetization processes including exchange, clearing, points generation, and cashback redemption. The act of consumption itself is being redefined as a chain activity with financial attributes.

On-Chain Assets and Real-World Consumption: The Operating Logic of Gate Card

The fundamental difference between crypto payment cards and traditional bank cards lies in the starting and ending points of the fund flow. Traditional bank cards draw funds from fiat deposit accounts, while crypto payment cards are funded by digital assets held by users. When a purchase occurs, the system must convert on-chain assets into fiat currency in the background before entering the merchant’s payment clearing network.

The operational logic of the Gate Card revolves around three core layers: user accounts, platform clearing systems, and external payment networks.

User assets are stored in the escrow accounts of the Gate platform. When a purchase occurs, the system first confirms the asset balance and calculates the available credit. The account supports four types of digital assets—USDT, BTC, ETH, and GT—as sources of funds, allowing users to pay without prior exchange, with the system automatically matching assets and calculating prices at the time of purchase.

After conversion, the funds enter the bank card payment clearing network, transforming the transaction into a traditional payment process that can be settled within the global merchant network. Finally, the merchant receives fiat funds, and the platform deducts the corresponding assets from the user’s account. This structure ensures that consumption can be smoothly completed within the real-world payment system, requiring only a single card swipe.

Unlike traditional payment cards, crypto payment cards not only transfer funds but also carry multiple functions such as asset exchange, settlement, compliance verification, and more. Each transaction must meet the rules of both the on-chain account system and the real-world financial clearing system. This "dual compatibility" structure transforms consumption from a simple value transfer into a multi-stage chain process involving exchange, clearing, settlement, and points generation. Consumption is no longer just expenditure but a traceable, recordable, and yield-generating on-chain activity within the user’s digital asset system.

Spending as Earning: Assetization Logic in the Points System

An important aspect of the financialization of consumption behavior is that consumption itself begins to generate quantifiable asset returns. In traditional credit card systems, cashback is usually in fiat or points, with limited usage scenarios and unstable exchange ratios. Crypto payment cards directly link cashback mechanisms to digital asset systems, with consumption rewards entering user accounts as crypto assets, creating a closed loop from spending to asset growth.

The cashback system of Gate Card is divided into five levels based on user card tiers. T0 level earns 1 point per USD spent, with a cashback ratio of 1%, a monthly points redemption limit of 500 points, and a maximum cashback of 5 USDT. T1 level earns 1 point per USD, with a monthly limit of 5,000 points and a maximum of 50 USDT. T2 level earns 2 points per USD, with a 2% cashback ratio, a monthly limit of 10,000 points, and a maximum of 100 USDT. T3 level earns 3 points per USD, with a monthly limit of 15,000 points and a maximum of 150 USDT. T4 level earns 5 points per USD, with a 5% cashback ratio, a monthly limit of 25,000 points, and a maximum of 250 USDT.

The points-to-USDT exchange rate is fixed at 100 points = 1 USDT. Cashback points are permanently valid and can be exchanged at any time for USDT or GT. This mechanism ensures that every compliant purchase converts into a quantifiable on-chain asset increase. Consumption behavior is no longer just expenditure but an accumulative value-enhancing activity within the user’s digital asset system. When users exchange points for USDT and hold or reuse them, the boundary between spending and asset accumulation becomes even more blurred. Spending is turning into an assetization activity.

Card Level Linkage: How Consumption Behavior Affects User Asset Permissions

The financialization of consumption behavior is not only reflected in immediate cashback but also in longer-term rights and privileges. In traditional finance, spending records influence credit scores, which in turn affect loan limits and access to financial services. In the crypto payment card system, consumption behavior also begins to carry similar rights distribution functions, but with a completely different logic—spending amount directly determines the card level, which in turn affects cashback ratios and monthly redemption limits.

The Gate Card’s card level is determined by the user’s Gate VIP level or the total amount spent on the current month’s card, with the higher value taking precedence. New level privileges take effect in the following calendar month and last throughout that month.

This mechanism directly links consumption behavior to user ecosystem privileges. The more frequently and larger the spending, the higher the cashback ratio and monthly redemption limit, creating a positive feedback loop. Consumption is no longer a one-way expenditure but a key variable influencing user rights within the entire platform ecosystem. The financialization of consumption behavior in this dimension manifests as: each purchase updates the user’s rights profile in real-time within the digital asset system.

The Trend and Barriers of On-Chain Asset Consumption

The trend of on-chain assetization of consumption behavior is accelerating. Artemis data shows that the monthly transaction volume of crypto cards increased more than fivefold within two years, with an annualized transaction volume reaching $18 billion. By March 2026, the monthly crypto card spending hit $606 million, a sixfold increase from a year earlier, with total on-chain transactions reaching $7.2 billion, over 24 million transactions involving 1.36 million unique wallet addresses. The growth rate of crypto card payments is about 106% annually, and by the end of 2026, it is expected to become the main retail payment scenario for stablecoins.

Behind this growth, on-chain assets still face multiple barriers to entering real-world consumption. While real-time exchange mechanisms improve payment efficiency, they also introduce costs such as slippage, liquidity fees, and settlement charges. Gate Card’s design uses stablecoins as an intermediary settlement asset to reduce losses from multiple exchanges, balancing speed and cost.

Compliance and risk control are additional barriers. Real-world payments must meet regulatory requirements, including anti-money laundering, identity verification, and source of funds compliance. Users need to complete secondary identity verification before using Gate Card, and some cards may require address proof. Risk control systems monitor transactions in real-time, including abnormal spending, large transfers, and cross-border risks, which can affect payment limits and scope.

Advances in technology and improved compliance frameworks are gradually lowering these barriers. By 2026, digital wallets account for over half of global online transaction volume, and crypto payments are predicted to be the fastest-growing online payment method, with a compound annual growth rate of 16% from 2025 to 2030. The channels for on-chain assets entering daily consumption are expanding.

From Transaction-Driven to Consumption-Driven: The Evolution of Digital Asset Usage

Early growth in the crypto industry mainly revolved around trading activities, including spot, derivatives, and leverage products. Market activity during the growth phase could significantly boost user numbers and capital inflows. However, as the market matures, growth relying solely on trading volume begins to show cyclical characteristics. When market volatility diminishes, user activity and capital flow are affected.

Real-world consumption and payment capability are becoming new expansion directions. Compared to trading, consumption needs are closer to real economic activities and are more likely to develop long-term stable usage frequency. Gate Card is a product designed under this industry trend. By connecting on-chain assets with real merchant payment networks, it enables digital assets to be used directly in daily consumption rather than remaining solely in trading accounts.

As consumption scenarios expand, the platform ecosystem is evolving from a single trading-driven model to a structure where trading, holding, and usage coexist. Payment cards are no longer just payment tools but form a comprehensive usage system around real-world consumption, including credit limits, rebate mechanisms, merchant support, and account level linkage.

The Future of Consumption Behavior Financialization

The essence of financializing consumption behavior is the gradual evolution of spending from a simple expenditure to an on-chain activity with asset attributes. In this process, crypto payment cards play two key roles.

First, they serve as the infrastructure layer for on-chain assets entering real-world consumption. Users’ digital assets are no longer confined to trading accounts or on-chain wallets but can be directly used at over 150 million merchants worldwide supporting bank card payments. Consumption behavior itself becomes a critical link in the digital asset circulation loop.

Second, while fulfilling payment functions, crypto payment cards also add asset appreciation attributes through points systems and privilege levels. Every compliant purchase generates quantifiable on-chain asset returns, and the amount spent influences the user’s rights level within the entire ecosystem. The relationship between spending and asset accumulation is being redefined.

For users, understanding the significance of the financialization of consumption behavior means recognizing that the way digital assets are used is undergoing a fundamental change. Asset holding is no longer a passive store of value but an active management tool embedded in daily consumption. Payment behavior is no longer just a one-way expenditure but a chain activity capable of generating quantifiable returns.

For the industry, the scaling of crypto payment cards signifies that the infrastructure for crypto payments is moving from a "can we pay" stage to a "is the payment experience good enough" stage. As technological barriers decrease and user experience improves, the shift from niche tools to mainstream options will accelerate.

Conclusion

The process of on-chain assetization of consumption behavior is fundamentally an extension of digital assets from a store of value to a medium of daily use. Gate Card connects on-chain accounts with global payment networks, enabling cardholders to simultaneously complete asset exchange, payment settlement, and rights accumulation during consumption. This design incorporates digital assets, previously outside the scope of the real economy, into a quantifiable, traceable, and value-enhancing consumption activity chain. As crypto payment infrastructure continues to improve, consumption behavior will no longer be merely expenditure but a long-term, financially attribute, dynamic node within the user’s digital asset system. For the crypto industry, the scaling growth of payment cards indicates that asset usage is shifting from transaction-driven to consumption-driven, and the depth and breadth of this shift will largely determine the future integration of digital assets with the real economy.