A new entry point for crypto payments in the PayFi era—how does Gate Card bring digital assets into everyday spending?

Digital asset holdings continue to grow, but a long-standing contradiction has never been effectively resolved: assets in users’ wallets remain sufficient within their accounts, yet they are difficult to use directly for everyday spending. From supermarket shopping to online subscriptions, from cross-border payments to ATM cash withdrawals, the channels that bring digital assets into real-economy scenarios have never been smooth enough.

The emergence of Gate Card is changing this situation.

The rise of PayFi: Crypto payments moving from the edge to the mainstream

From 2025 to 2026, PayFi is evolving from a crypto payment tool into a new generation of payment and financial engine. Stablecoins enable large-scale applications in high-frequency and cross-border payments, with settlement efficiency and cost structures that are significantly superior to traditional systems.

Industry data clearly reflects the scale of this trend. In 2025, the annual on-chain transaction volume of stablecoins reached approximately $3.3 trillion—already exceeding the combined transaction processing total of Visa and Mastercard of $2.55 trillion. As of May 2026, the global total market capitalization of stablecoins has surpassed $320 billion.

The growth rate of crypto payment cards is even more intuitive. In May 2026, the month-cumulative transaction value of crypto payment cards reached approximately $7.8 billion, up about 230% from the same period last year. Crypto payments are growing from experimental applications within the industry into a consumer settlement system with scale effects.

Traditional payment networks are systematically adopting digital assets as settlement tools. Visa is rolling out more than 130 “stablecoin + bank card” linkage projects across over 50 countries worldwide, and its stablecoin settlement business recorded annualized transaction value of $7.0 billion in April 2026. PayFi’s competitive landscape is shifting from competing on single-point applications to competing on comprehensive base-infrastructure capabilities—compliance, asset scale, and intelligent capabilities.

The disconnect between holding and spending

The core contradiction in the crypto asset industry is not the size of assets. According to Gate’s market data, as of July 14, 2026:

Bitcoin is quoted at $62,587.3, with a market cap of $1.25 trillion, a market share of 34.97%, a change of +2.46% over the past 30 days, and a change of -45.66% over the past year. Ethereum is quoted at $1,788.17, with a market cap of $21.58 billion, a market share of 5.82%, a change of +7.31% over the past 30 days, and a change of -41.04% over the past year. GT is quoted at $6.64, with a market cap of $707 million, a change of +6.84% over the past 30 days, and a change of -59.00% over the past year.

The problem is this: users hold a significant value of digital assets, but they cannot use them directly for everyday spending. If users want to use USDT for payments, they usually need to go through a complex process—transfer USDT from their wallet to a trading account, sell it for fiat, withdraw it to a bank account, and then complete spending through a traditional bank card. This chain takes hours to days and involves multiple fee charges.

Price volatility further increases the difficulty of spending. Users worry that the assets they spend today may appreciate significantly in the future, and this mindset suppresses their willingness to spend. Stablecoins are different—USDT is stable in price and naturally suited as a payment medium for daily consumption, but they lack the underlying infrastructure for direct spending. It is precisely this gap that creates market demand for crypto payment infrastructure.

Gate Card’s payment logic: eliminating the middle steps

Gate Card is a digital asset Visa card directly connected to a Gate Pay payment account. Its biggest difference from traditional bank cards is that what sits behind it is not a bank balance, but a digital asset account.

After users hold assets such as USDT, BTC, ETH, or GT in their Gate Pay payment account, during spending the system automatically completes two actions at the moment the transaction occurs: it converts the selected digital asset into U.S. dollars at the real-time exchange rate, and then settles with the merchant through the Visa network. The entire process is completed within seconds; what users perceive is simply a normal card-swipe experience.

This design removes the intermediate steps of “sell the coins first, then withdraw, and then spend.” For users who hold stablecoins long term, Gate Card turns USDT from a “held asset” into a “usable asset.” Users do not need to exchange manually in advance; the system converts the corresponding asset automatically based on the payment amount.

At present, Gate Card supports four digital assets for direct spending payments: USDT, BTC, ETH, and GT. The specific supported coins may differ depending on the card type, issuing entity, or region; in the future, more asset types will be supported gradually as the business develops.

Two card formats and a clear fee structure

Gate Card offers two formats: virtual cards and physical cards, and users can apply based on their needs.

Virtual cards are the preferred entry point for most users. After completing Level 2 personal identity verification, virtual cards typically have their review and activation completed within 3 to 5 minutes. Physical cards cover scenarios including insert-card payments, contactless payments, and on-site ATM cash withdrawal.

In terms of cost structure, Gate Card charges no issuance fee, monthly fee, or inactivity fee for both virtual cards and physical cards. Crypto exchange fees are charged at 0.90% for each transaction of $2 or more, and $0.05 for each transaction below $2. Foreign exchange fees for non-USD transactions are 0.40%, which is at a relatively low level in the industry.

Spending limits are adjusted dynamically according to card tier.

A six-tier cashback system: spending is earnings

On July 2, 2026, Gate officially launched the Gate Card points system. The new system is built around three core capabilities: cashback from spending, points redemption, and tier growth.

Gate Card establishes a six-tier T0 to T5 cashback system. Different tiers correspond to different cashback ratios, per-transaction cashback caps, and monthly cashback limits. Eligible users can enjoy up to 8% cashback on qualifying spending. The points multiplier determines how many points you earn for each $1 spent—1x means that spending $1 earns 1 point. The points redemption ratio is fixed: 100 points can be redeemed for 1 USDT. For example, spending $100 earns 100 points, which can be redeemed for 1 USDT.

The specific benefits for each tier are as follows:

| Card tier | Points multiplier / cashback rate | Monthly points cashback cap | Monthly equivalent cashback amount | Per-transaction points cashback cap | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | T0 | 1x / 1.00% | 500 points | Up to 5U | 200 points | | T1 | 1x / 1.00% | 5,000 points | Up to 50U | 1500 points | | T2 | 2x / 2.00% | 10,000 points | Up to 100U | 3000 points | | T3 | 3x / 3.00% | 1,5000 points | Up to 150U | 5000 points | | T4 | 5x / 5.00% | 2,5000 points | Up to 250U | 8000 points | | T5 | 8x / 8.00% | 4,0000 points | Up to 400U | 15000 points |

Points can be redeemed for two digital assets: USDT and GT. Points are valid long term and have no expiration limit. The following transaction types do not participate in points accrual: fiat payments; non-spending transactions such as fees, management fees, top-ups, and withdrawals; orders that are canceled or refunded; transactions involving specific merchant categories, including services from financial institutions, value card purchases, foreign currency exchange, drafts, and traveler’s checks, etc.

Card tiers follow a dual-rail driver model, determined comprehensively based on the user’s Gate VIP level and their monthly spending amount, with the higher benefits available between the two being applied. Once users reach the corresponding spending thresholds, they can be automatically upgraded in the following month. This means spending and benefits grow in sync, forming a complete positive cycle.

Global payment capabilities and application scenarios

Gate Card can be used at approximately 150 million merchants worldwide that support Visa. The product covers more than 200 countries and regions and supports online spending, offline payments, and ATM cash withdrawals. It also supports binding Apple Pay and Google Pay to meet the diverse payment needs of users worldwide.

An update in May 2026 further expanded use cases. National-level QR code integrations—such as VietQR in Vietnam and Pix in Brazil—enable users to make direct crypto payments at more than 17 million merchants by scanning QR codes. Mobile wallet integration improves convenience; it supports Google Pay. Users don’t need a physical card—just tap a POS terminal with their phone to complete payment.

Gate Card has broad applicable scenarios: everyday consumers can simplify daily payments without relying on banks; travelers don’t need to worry about currency exchange to be accepted globally; high-frequency users can improve capital efficiency through higher limits and cashback rewards.

Gate Card’s positioning in the PayFi ecosystem

PayFi is evolving from a “crypto payment application” into an underlying value channel that connects payments, settlement, and financial services. At its core is unlocking the time value of capital. Within this framework, Gate Card serves as a connector between on-chain assets and real-world consumption.

The four assets supported by Gate Card—USDT, BTC, ETH, and GT—are themselves the most liquid and widely recognized asset set in the crypto industry. This means users do not need to hold any specific settlement token solely for payment purposes; they can directly use the mainstream assets already in their asset management portfolio to make payments.

From a more macro perspective, the crypto payment card format represented by Gate Card is driving the transformation of digital assets from investment tools into payment tools. Crypto assets are no longer limited to digital symbols held in trading accounts or wallets; they are beginning to flow into global payment networks and move through real consumption scenarios.

Closing thoughts

The true value of digital assets lies not only in holding and trading, but in whether they can smoothly enter real-world consumption scenarios. Gate Card provides a complete path for crypto assets to enter everyday spending through the Visa payment network, an instant asset conversion mechanism, and a six-tier cashback system.

From online shopping to offline payments, from cross-border spending to ATM cash withdrawals, Gate Card is turning digital assets from “held assets” into “spendable currency.” Against the backdrop of the PayFi era reshaping payment and financial infrastructure, Gate Card offers a practical example worth paying attention to—ensuring that on-chain assets truly reach everyday life.