Crypto card spending is dominating

X just kneecapped the “post-to-earn” InfoFi playbook. Yesterday product lead Nikita Bier said that X has revoked API access for apps that reward users for posting, blaming them for AI slop and reply spam. In other words, bots will not be getting paid anymore, so there should be less spam. The market reaction was almost immediate, with tokens such as Kaito (KAITO) – a platform that has been rewarding crypto chatter on X to “yappers” – falling over 15% within 30 minutes of Bier’s statement. Read more →

The news falls on the heels of X teasing up Smart Cashtags – a move that will make the platform a bit more finance-friendly with cleaner interactive ticker symbols and real-time price data.

Chainalysis just dropped an interesting read on how crypto behaves when a country is under real geopolitical and domestic stress. Their data suggests wallets tied to IRGC-linked networks now makes up ~50% of value received in Iran’s crypto ecosystem in Q4 2025. The data also shows a noticeable jump in BTC withdrawals from Iranian exchanges to personal wallets during the recent protest window, a sign that people are taking custody at a much higher rate than before. Read more →

According to new research from Artemis, crypto cards that allow users to spend stablecoins and other cryptoassets at traditional merchants, have quietly become one of the fastest-growing segments in digital payments. Monthly spending on crypto cards increased from $100 million in 2023 to more than $1.5 billion in 2025. The market now exceeds $18 billion annualized, compared to the entire peer-to-peer stablecoin transfer market at $19 billion. Read more →

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