Tangem Pay Reveals Global Demand Shifts as Swiss Crypto Provider Launches First Physical Visa Card

Swiss cryptocurrency hardware wallet provider Tangem has revealed that more than 40% of its Tangem Pay payment activity originates from Latin America, while over 30% stems from the United States. The figures highlight an increasingly globalized appetite for crypto-backed spending solutions, even as the company navigates a complex patchwork of regional restrictions that leave physical card availability constrained in several key markets.

The revelation comes on the heels of Tangem’s official announcement introducing its first physical Visa card, designed to facilitate seamless in-store and online purchases, as well as traditional ATM withdrawals. In its initial rollout phase, the company has capped the release at a limited batch of 5,000 cards, positioning the product as a major milestone in bridging the gap between decentralized digital assets and everyday commerce.

Industry observers have long watched the intersection of self-custodial crypto storage and traditional fiat payment rails. Tangem’s newly introduced product aims to address this challenge by allowing users to fund the physical card directly from their self-custodial wallets. Furthermore, the company emphasized that if a card is temporarily suspended or permanently closed, users retain full control, with the ability to move their funds directly back into the security of their personal wallet interface.

Speaking on the intricate dynamics of global financial expansion, Andrey Ilinskiy, head of Tangem Pay, highlighted the operational hurdles that crypto-native payment providers face when scaling across international borders.

"It is not simply a question of where people want crypto cards," Ilinskiy explained, pointing out that consumer desire is only one piece of a much larger puzzle. "It is where demand, regulation, banking infrastructure and card-issuing requirements happen to line up — and today, those maps do not always overlap."

The tension between decentralized finance and centralized regulatory frameworks forms a core narrative of the modern fintech landscape. Tangem noted that while self-custody successfully eliminates major structural boundaries by removing intermediaries standing between users and their digital assets, the moment those assets cross over into a regulated payment network, an entirely new set of boundaries inevitably appears.

Tangem delivers the cards in nearly 200 countries, excluding only 20

Despite the logistical complexities, Tangem has managed an expansive global footprint, delivering its physical payment cards to nearly 200 countries worldwide. However, the company confirmed that it cannot currently ship physical Tangem Pay cards to approximately 20 nations, a list that includes heavily sanctioned or restricted jurisdictions such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Palestine.

According to the Swiss crypto provider, these delivery and operational restrictions do not necessarily mirror the regulatory rules governing cryptocurrency assets themselves within those regions. Instead, a myriad of external factors—including stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) mandates, international sanctions regimes, localized banking laws, and card-issuing compliance obligations—dictate where a crypto-linked payment card can legally and functionally be made available.

The interplay between local financial instability and regulatory strictness often creates unique market paradoxes. Tangem observed that the exact macroeconomic and political conditions that generate high domestic demand for cryptocurrency as an alternative financial rail can simultaneously make regulated card issuance significantly more difficult or legally impossible.

In addition to the launch of the physical Visa card, Tangem is rolling out an incentive structure designed to attract active users. The company is introducing a cashback program utilizing Circle’s popular USDC stablecoin. Under the new reward scheme, eligible purchases will yield cashback rates of 1% for Basic users, while Plus tier users will receive an enhanced 2% back in USDC.

Tangem plans to showcase its pioneering physical Tangem Pay cards to the broader fintech and blockchain community at the upcoming Token2049 conference in Singapore, marking a significant push for visibility as the company looks to scale its operations and navigate the evolving global regulatory environment.