What actually happens at the checkout?
When someone pays for lunch with a stablecoin card, the restaurant does not need to know what USDC is. At the terminal, the card behaves like any other payment card. The customer's balance in digital dollars covers the purchase, while the merchant receives classic dollars through their usual payment provider. That is how CryptoSlate describes it.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency pegged to the value of a traditional currency, most often the US dollar (for example USDC). Settlement means the final clearing of a transaction, that is, the moment when the money actually changes hands.
The key thing: in this chain, the stablecoin is more a source of funding for the purchase than a visible part of the payment. The merchant does not even know that a digital dollar was behind the scenes.
So who earns when you pay?
Because the stablecoin has to be converted to ordinary dollars along the way and connected to standard payment infrastructure, according to CryptoSlate there remains room for several companies that charge fees for this connection. These are the layers between the card, the transaction processor, the network, and the merchant.
Charliedesk points out that the sources do not quantify the exact split of these fees (how much goes to whom). The fact that fees exist and that several parties split them is documented. We do not know the specific figures and margins of individual players from the available sources.
What exactly did Coinbase and Marqeta announce?
Here is the most recent concrete event. According to The Block, Coinbase is powering stablecoin cards for customers of the company Marqeta. The Block states that the expanded partnership builds on earlier cooperation, when Marqeta powered Coinbase's US debit card back in 2020.
Marqeta is a company that provides infrastructure for issuing payment cards (so-called card issuing), which businesses use to launch their own card programs.
The Defiant adds details of the planned offering aimed at enterprise cards:
| Element | Role according to The Defiant |
|---|---|
| Funding of card programs | Businesses should be able to fund them continuously, that is, 24/7 |
| Holding of balances | Held by Coinbase |
| Onchain settlement | Provided by Base, Coinbase's blockchain network |
Base is a layer 2 blockchain built by Coinbase. In this case it serves as the infrastructure for onchain settlement.
The combination of "continuous funding" and "onchain settlement" is the argument for why businesses might view stablecoin cards as a different model than classic bank card programs, which are tied to business hours and banking cycles.
What do we not yet know from this?
The sources describe the structure and the announcement, not the results. From them it is not clear:
- What exact fees the individual layers charge and how large the total cost per transaction is.
- When exactly the Coinbase and Marqeta enterprise offering will be fully available and in which countries.
- What transaction volume or how many businesses are already actually using these cards.
- How the model behaves in Europe, where its own stablecoin regulation applies (MiCA). The sources focus on the US context.
The claim that "stablecoin cards are on the rise" comes from CryptoSlate's framing. Charliedesk presents it as a claim from the source, not as a verified figure about market volume, because the provided sources contain no specific data on growth.
What to watch out for with this type of news?
With partnership announcements it is useful to separate three things: what already works, what is only planned, and what is marketing. The Block talks about powering cards (both existing and new cooperation), The Defiant about a "planned offering" for businesses. That suggests part of it is still at the intention stage.
The second thing to watch is who bears the risk of the balances. If Coinbase holds the balance, it is relevant under what conditions and with what protection for businesses. The sources do not yet specify this.
Charliedesk will watch whether and when specific figures appear on fees, volumes, and availability. When they come, we will compare them with this announcement.