Putting Digital Assets to Work: Lydian Launches a Rain-Powered Card Program

Historically, digital assets rarely move outside of crypto wallets. Lydian is changing that.

Backed by Tether and Cantor Fitzgerald, they've built infrastructure for merchants across nine countries to offer a "Pay with Crypto" checkout option, so customers can pay directly from their wallet and merchants settle instantly in local currency. Now, they're expanding that reach with a new offering.

The Lydian Card, powered by Rain, plugs stablecoins and other digital assets into Visa’s global network, making them spendable at more than 150 million merchants worldwide. For crypto holders, getting access to that network, without converting to fiat first, changes what digital assets can actually do.

Lydian cardholders fund their accounts with stablecoins or another supported asset, and can tap, swipe, and check out just like they would with any other payment card, all while using their digital asset balances.

Merchants do not have to change anything about their checkout flows; they can use the same point-of-sale systems and they receive payments in local currency. The stablecoin infrastructure works entirely behind the scenes.

Lydian users have the option to receive virtual and physical cards, and because it’s a Visa Platinum Card, it’s a premium experience. Cardholders have access to a broad suite of benefits, including built-in car rental insurance, purchase protection on eligible items, extended warranty coverage, and 24/7 Visa customer service.

"Mainstream adoption happens when the underlying technology becomes invisible. We built Lydian to make spending digital assets feel as familiar as tapping a card at your favorite local shop,” Carl Grimstad, CEO of Lydian, said. “The Lydian Card now gives anyone that owns a digital asset—and most specifically Tether holders—the ability to use their stablecoins anywhere Visa is accepted.”  

“By combining Rain's world-class stablecoin infrastructure with the premium benefits of a Visa Platinum Card, our users can now put their assets to work without ever having to worry about the complexity of conversion or settlement behind the scenes," Grimstad added.

Rain handles the infrastructure that connects Lydian's users’ stablecoin-backed spending power to Visa's network, enabling frictionless transactions and daily onchain network settlement behind the scenes, including on weekends and holidays. For partners like Lydian, this means less idle capital tied up in reserve balances, and faster time to market.

“The best infrastructure disappears, and Lydian understood that from day one,” Farooq Malik, CEO & Co-founder of Rain, said. “Now their users can use digital assets exactly how they’d spend fiat currency.”

Rain is committed to building the infrastructure that makes digital assets work in the real world. The Lydian Card is what that looks like in practice.