By Siti Muinah 
Swiss crypto wallet provider Tangem has shed light on the geographic distribution of its burgeoning payment ecosystem, revealing that Latin America and the United States currently serve as the primary powerhouses driving adoption. According to company disclosures shared with Cointelegraph, over 40% of all Tangem Pay payments originate from Latin America, while more than 30% come from the United States. This high concentration of usage highlights a growing appetite for crypto-backed spending solutions in these regions, even as physical card availability remains unevenly distributed across international markets.
The revelation comes on the heels of a major product milestone for the firm. On Wednesday, Tangem officially announced the launch of its very first physical Visa card, designed to facilitate seamless in-store and online purchases, as well as convenient ATM withdrawals. For the initial rollout, however, the company has instituted a strict limited release capped at just 5,000 cards. This initial batch is slated to be showcased to the global crypto community at the upcoming Token2049 conference in Singapore, marking a significant step forward in bridging the gap between decentralized digital assets and traditional financial rails.
The newly unveiled Visa card introduces a streamlined mechanism for asset management. Tangem confirmed that users are able to fund the payment card directly from their self-custodial wallets. Furthermore, in the event that a card needs to be temporarily suspended or permanently closed, users retain full control over their funds, possessing the ability to seamlessly move their digital assets back into their self-custodial wallet environments.
This architecture touches upon a fundamental tension in the ongoing evolution of financial technology. In comments provided to Cointelegraph, the company emphasized the distinct nature of self-custody versus regulated financial networks. "Self-custody removes one major boundary: there is no custodian standing between the user and their assets," Tangem noted in a statement. "लेकिन when those assets enter a regulated payment network, another set of boundaries appears."
Navigating these regulatory and infrastructural boundaries is no simple task, according to Andrey Ilinskiy, the head of Tangem Pay. Ilinskiy pointed out that the global availability of crypto payment cards cannot be attributed solely to consumer intent or regional interest. "It is not simply a question of where people want crypto cards," Ilinskiy told Cointelegraph. He elaborated further, explaining the complex matrix of factors that dictate market entry: "It is where demand, regulation, banking infrastructure and card-issuing requirements happen to line up — and today, those maps do not always overlap."
Tangem Delivers the Cards in Nearly 200 Countries, Excluding Only 20
Despite the complexities involved in international card issuance, Tangem has managed to establish a vast distribution footprint. The company reported that it is capable of delivering physical Tangem Pay cards to nearly 200 countries worldwide. However, this expansive global coverage does come with notable exceptions, as physical cards cannot currently be delivered to roughly 20 countries. Among the excluded jurisdictions are major nations and territories such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine.
Crucially, Tangem clarified that these logistical and operational restrictions do not necessarily mirror the domestic regulatory rules governing cryptocurrency itself within those nations. Instead, a complex array of variables dictates where a crypto-linked card can successfully be deployed. Factors such as stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, international sanctions regimes, localized banking rules, and rigorous card-issuing compliance standards all play a decisive role in shaping the company’s geographical availability map.
In many cases, these operational hurdles create an ironic paradox for financial innovators. The very macroeconomic and political conditions that spark intense local demand for alternative financial rails—such as cryptocurrencies—frequently make the issuance of a regulated, traditional payment card significantly more difficult to achieve. "The same conditions that can create demand for crypto as an alternative financial rail can make regulated card issuance more difficult," Tangem observed, summarizing the delicate balancing act required to operate at the intersection of decentralized finance and traditional banking infrastructure.
Alongside the physical card rollout, Tangem is expanding its value proposition to users through targeted incentives. The firm is introducing a cashback rewards program denominated in USDC, the stablecoin issued by Circle. Under this new structure, eligible purchases will yield cashback rates of 1% for Basic users, while Plus users will enjoy an enhanced rate of 2% on qualifying transactions, further integrating stablecoins into everyday consumer spending habits.
Nana 
Lina Irawan