Cryptographic cards beat traditional banks in Europe with regard to small purchases, with 45% of the transactions of cards linked to cryptography less than 10 euros ($ 11.7) – a category where species historically dominated.
According to a CEX.IO report shared with Cintelelegraph, cryptographic cards holders display spending models that reflect traditional bank card users while adopting online payments at a faster rate.
The report noted a 15% increase in CEX.IO newly orderly cryptographic cards across Europe in 2025, signaling growing interest while more and more Europeans turn to digital assets for daily payments.
In addition, although data from the European Central Bank show 21% of all card payments in the euro area are online, CEX.IO figures reveal that cryptographic cards users already make 40% of their internet transactions – almost double the average.
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Cryptographic cards used for daily expenses
Expenditure models show that Crypto cards holders use their cards for daily expenses. According to Cex.io data, the grocery store represents 59% of purchases, near the reference of 54% of the ECB, while restaurants and bars represent 19%, above the average of food and drinks in person.
In particular, the average transaction of cryptographic cards is at 23.7 euros ($ 27.8) compared to 33.6 euros ($ 39) for bank cards, based on data from the T1 2025 Mastercard.
“What we see in Europe is that users of cryptographic cards do not explore only new technology – they show us what daily expenses might look like in the future really without species,” said Alexandr Kerya, vice -president of product management at Cex.io.
“With an average card payment volume increasing by 24% last month, this change clearly grows,” he added.
The data also show that stablescoins feed 73% of transactions, with other major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Solana (soil) also used for grocery store, catering and transport.
The trend is consistent with other suppliers. For example, OOBIT reported strong expenses on essential elements of everyday among European users, while Crypto.com noted similar volumes in online purchase transactions.
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Barclays to block crypto purchases on credit cards
Despite the overvoltage of the adoption of cryptographic cards, Barclays announced its intention to prohibit cryptographic transactions on its Barclaycard credit cards. The bank cited the fears that customers fall into unmanageable debt due to the volatility of the cryptography market and underlined the lack of protection of investors in the sector.
Barclays explained that purchases of cryptographic assets do not benefit from the Ombudsman’s financial service or the financial services compensation in the event of a problem, leaving exposed consumers.
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