Key Highlights
- Stripe Crypto has partnered with Plasma to develop multi-currency stablecoin cards for individuals and businesses.
- The expanded infrastructure supports the U.S. dollar, Brazilian real, euro, Mexican peso, and Colombian peso.
- Supported stablecoins include USDC, OUSD, and eligible stablecoins compliant with the GENIUS Act.
Stripe Crypto announced a partnership with Plasma on Thursday to develop multi-currency stablecoin cards, naming Plasma as a design partner for the expansion of its existing card infrastructure.
According to the announcement, the collaboration is intended to let individuals and businesses spend from existing balances in supported currencies without unnecessary conversions. Plasma currently supports transfers in and out of accounts denominated in multiple currencies, including the U.S. dollar, euro, British pound, and Brazilian real.
Partnership structure and statements
Plasma will work with Stripe to enable customers’ account balances to be spent through multi-currency cards. Paul Faecks, chief executive of Plasma, stated: “We’re building Plasma for people whose lives and finances span countries. We’re moving to Stripe’s stablecoin card infrastructure to partner on developing multi-currency cards around how those people actually live and spend, with a simple ambition: spend like a local, anywhere.”
Henri Stern, head of crypto and stablecoins at Stripe and co-founder and chief executive of Privy, said: “Stablecoins make it possible to hold and move money globally. We’re working with Plasma to bring that same flexibility to spending, giving businesses the infrastructure to offer cards across currencies and markets without having to build it themselves.”
Supported currencies, stablecoins, and markets
Stripe said it is expanding its stablecoin card infrastructure to support additional fiat currencies and stablecoins. The expanded capabilities will support the following fiat currencies: U.S. dollar, Brazilian real, euro, Mexican peso, and Colombian peso. Supported stablecoins include USDC, OUSD, and eligible GENIUS-compliant stablecoins.
The infrastructure is available in more than 30 countries at present, with plans to reach more than 100 countries in 2027. The announcement noted that a cardholder holding euros would be able to spend directly in euros without first converting through dollars. Businesses operating in multiple markets would be able to issue cards denominated in currencies matching their spending requirements.
Stripe described the development as the first step toward a broader multi-currency experience in which cardholders could spend across multiple balances, with the appropriate currency selected at the point of purchase.
Stablecoin-linked card activity context
Stablecoin-linked card activity has increased across the payments sector. Visa reported that more than 160 stablecoin-linked card programs were live worldwide in its fiscal second quarter, with payment volume on those programs up nearly 200 percent year over year. Visa also stated that stablecoin settlement volume had passed a $20 billion annualized run rate, more than 15 times the level recorded a year earlier.
In a separate projection issued earlier this week, stablecoin payments firm RedotPay estimated that stablecoin-funded card payments could reach an annual volume of about $50 billion by 2028, as disclosed in a Reuters report.
In March, Visa and Bridge, a stablecoin company owned by Stripe, announced plans to expand a stablecoin-linked card program to more than 100 countries by the end of the year. Under that program, users can spend stablecoins from wallets, including MetaMask and Phantom, at merchant locations that accept Visa cards, which number approximately 175 million.
The Stripe-Plasma announcement builds on existing stablecoin card infrastructure by adding multi-currency support for both fiat and stablecoin balances.
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