- i2c reported a 500% increase in issued crypto cards and a 600% rise in transaction volumes, CEO Jim McCarthy said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.”
- He noted the average daily transaction volume is $60 million and that volatility has not affected everyday spending.
i2c Inc. President Jim McCarthy says the company continues to see growing use of crypto cards despite the volatility that has driven sharp swings in digital asset prices.
Issuance and usage of crypto cards expanded significantly in 2021, outpacing comparable metrics for traditional credit and debit cards, McCarthy said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Monday.
He reported that between January and December last year Visa and Mastercard increased the issuance of crypto cards by 500%.
At the same time, transaction volumes grew sixfold—an increase of 600%—even as crypto prices surged and then declined toward year-end.
McCarthy added that people are using Visa- and Mastercard-linked crypto wallets for everyday spending. He believes this behavior is driving the sector’s growth “at a healthy clip despite the volatility of the underlying assets.”
According to McCarthy, crypto cards facilitate about $60 million in daily spending on average.
He also told CNBC there has been no clear correlation observed between price declines and any sustained increase or decrease in consumer spending through these cards.
Discussing demographics and daily spending patterns, the i2c president emphasized that usage spans a range of ages. For instance, a study of more than 3.5 million users showed that 45% of crypto cardholders are age 35 or older.
Asked what this trend means for the industry, even as cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) pursue alternatives to traditional payment rails, McCarthy said:
“I think DeFi right now is more of a theoretical play. [From my vantage point] what’s interesting is that despite the significant volatility of these assets, people are using them for everyday spending instead of relying solely on traditional systems.”
McCarthy’s comments come days after Visa Inc., a leading global card network, reported processing $2.5 billion in payments made with crypto-linked cards—about 70% more than in 2021.
i2c reportedly supports more than 5 million crypto cards, with services available 24/7 in 200 countries. The Silicon Valley company was founded in 2001.