2026-01-21 07:23:22

Crypto card infrastructure company Rain completed a $250 million Series C funding round this month, with a valuation approaching $2 billion. This funding event marks an important turning point in the crypto payments sector — the competition around "how stablecoins can be truly used" is entering a new stage.

Artemis's research data is very straightforward. The scale of crypto card payments is growing at an annualized rate of 106%, with annual transaction volume reaching $18 billion. It’s worth noting that this is nearly the same as the $19 billion in peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers. Researcher Patrick Kim’s assessment is even bolder — he believes that by the end of this year, crypto cards will become the main retail payment scenario for stablecoins.

Currently, the competition mainly follows three paths:

**First is full-stack self-building.** Rain and Hong Kong’s Reap have chosen to become Visa principal members, handling core processes like card issuance and settlement themselves, directly bypassing traditional banks. Rain revealed that the number of card users has increased 30-fold year-over-year, payment volume has grown 38 times, and they already have over 200 clients.

**Second is building an intermediary layer.** Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion and invested in Zero Hash, valued at $1 billion. Large tech and financial infrastructure companies are betting on a "chain-agnostic" future — enabling merchants to receive and settle stablecoins directly without worrying about which blockchain is running underneath.

**The third is dedicated payment routes.** The market is still exploring, but the direction is clear — to develop tailored solutions for stablecoin payments. The competitive landscape in this field has just begun to take shape.

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MEV_Whisperer

· 14h ago

Rain's recent funding round is quite impressive, with a valuation of 2 billion and a direct takeoff. Cryptocurrency cards have an annual growth rate of 106%? Damn, these numbers are a bit outrageous. Wait, is the stablecoin payment track really that competitive? It seems like not many people are actually using it. Building a full-stack system to bypass banks, Rain has some big ambitions haha. Stripe's move this time is just to avoid getting screwed over; they are betting big. Will crypto cards become mainstream by the end of this year? I have my doubts... A $18 billion transaction volume sounds huge, but how much of it is truly effective? All three routes are competing, and probably only a few will survive in the end.

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YieldChaser

· 14h ago

Rain's recent funding round was indeed aggressive, with a 30x growth that can't be ignored. The path of stablecoin payments still depends on real-world applications. Stripe's "chain-agnostic" approach is effective, but Rain's full-stack solution is also strong. We'll see the results at the end of the year. It seems like crypto cards are about to explode. Wait... Is this data a bit exaggerated? It depends on the actual transaction volume.

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Lonely_Validator

· 14h ago

Rain's fundraising scale is really astonishing. Stablecoin payments are about to take off? --- 106% annual growth rate... this number is a bit scary. Is it real or inflated? --- Stripe is betting heavily on being chain-agnostic this time. --- 30x growth. Is Rain really doing it or just a numbers game? --- All three paths are competing. Probably only a few will survive in the end. --- Has stablecoin payments truly become mainstream? Why do I still see no one using them around me? --- Visa's main member move indeed bypasses banks' pitfalls. Quite interesting. --- Out of the 18 billion in transaction volume, how much is genuine demand? That's the real question. --- If Patrick Kim's predictions are really accurate, he should go buy a lottery ticket. --- Now, going all-in on crypto card infrastructure, betting on a breakout by the end of the year. It's a bit exciting. --- Only after Stripe acquired Bridge did I realize what it means to be rich and reckless. --- Wait, will these three paths eventually merge, or are they really each doing their own thing?

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MiningDisasterSurvivor

· 15h ago

Another round of funding frenzy, we've seen this show in 2018... The data looks too good to be true, 106% annual growth? Let's wait until the bear market comes. Rain blowing so fiercely, over 200 clients want to compete with Alipay? That's hilarious, the project team's PPT is always the most honest. Stripe spends $1.1 billion to acquire Bridge, invests in Zero Hash... This is a gamble that stablecoins can survive, but I don't believe it.

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SybilAttackVictim

· 15h ago

Card payment growth is so rapid, will it really surpass P2P transfers by the end of the year... it's a bit uncertain --- Rain's recent funding round has clarified the entire track's gameplay, which is quite interesting --- 30x growth? Come on, that's a bit exaggerated, could it be a comparison during a specific period --- Stripe is directly making acquisitions, it seems big companies really can't hold back anymore --- Stablecoin payments will eventually become a big business, it all depends on who can survive until the end --- Bypassing banks with this approach... regulators probably won't stay silent forever --- Over 200 clients isn't much, the key is whether user stickiness can be maintained --- The idea of being chain-agnostic sounds great, but how does it work in practice... --- An annual transaction volume of 18 billion is already quite substantial, but compared to traditional cards, it's still small --- It feels like Hong Kong player Reap is being drowned out in the public opinion, which is a bit unfortunate

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FlashLoanLarry

· 15h ago

rain's 30x user growth is insane but nobody's talking about the actual unit economics here... 106% yoy expansion sounds great until you realize most of these cards are probably sitting dormant. opportunity cost on all that venture capital is wild tbh

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