Solana’s monthly stablecoin card spending hits record $141 million in October

Paymentscan's monthly tracker has become the reference point for stablecoin-funded card spending, and Solana has topped it for four straight months. October's $141.1 million is roughly seven times the $20 million recorded a year earlier and 24% above September's high, continuing a growth curve that started once card issuers began letting holders spend USDC or USDT directly at point of sale, following a model Coinbase's own card first popularized with fiat on-ramps years earlier.

Cardholders no longer need to convert stablecoins to fiat before buying something at a register; the issuer settles that conversion instantly on the back end. That convenience pushes volume toward Solana's rails and rewards the handful of issuers running these programs, but it also concentrates risk: if one issuer's banking or compliance relationship breaks, a large share of monthly spending could freeze overnight, a vulnerability flagged alongside the record itself. (per cryptobriefing.com)

The same month that produced this record also saw overall crypto liquidity shrink by $17 billion in stablecoin supply, a split that is worth sitting with rather than smoothing over. Rising card spending on one chain does not mean stablecoins are expanding as a whole; it can mean existing supply is circulating faster, or consolidating onto rails like Solana while leaving others. Treating the spending record as proof of broader stablecoin growth risks missing that divergence.

Paymentscan's next monthly release will show whether November extends the streak to five, or whether October's 24% jump against September was a peak rather than a trend. Watch too for any sign of issuer diversification beyond the small group currently driving the Solana numbers, and whether the $17 billion drop in stablecoin supply continues or reverses, since that figure determines whether rising card activity reflects genuine new demand or a shrinking pool moving faster.