Lightspark Launches Visa Cards Playground for Digital-Asset Balances
The developer tool lets companies design, issue and test branded Visa debit cards funded by dollars, stablecoins or Bitcoin (BTC).
Lightspark launched a developer tool for building branded Visa debit-card programs tied to dollar, stablecoin or Bitcoin (BTC) balances, expanding the company’s payments infrastructure for digital-asset accounts.
The Cards Playground, launched Sept. 24, allows companies and developers to create card designs, provision cards, connect them to digital wallets and test transactions. Users can also view the application programming interface (API) calls generated by each action.
The playground provides an entry point to card, account and stablecoin infrastructure through a single integration. Lightspark CEO David Marcus said the company is building a stablecoin-backed card-issuance platform with Visa.
“We're building the best stablecoin-backed card issuance platform in partnership with our friends at Visa,” Marcus said.
The card product supports virtual and physical Visa debit cards linked to customer Global Account balances. Those balances can include Bitcoin (BTC), stablecoins or dollars, with conversion into local currency when a card is used.
The product lists Visa acceptance at more than 175 million merchants and card issuing in 33 countries. The April 29, 2026, partnership between Lightspark and Visa was described as supporting stablecoin- and Bitcoin-backed debit cards in more than 100 countries, beginning in the United States and Europe before expanding into Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East.
Visa will provide access to its merchant network, while Lightspark will handle compliance, settlement and program management. Lightspark also partnered with Lithic in August to power its Visa card program, with Lead Bank issuing the cards.
The company’s broader platform includes global accounts, payments, cards, wallets and stablecoin issuance. Its stablecoin API supports minting, redemption and cross-chain settlement, including conversions among a company’s token, other stablecoins, fiat rails and local currencies.
Lightspark announced Spark, a Bitcoin Layer 2 network, in October 2024 and planned wallet-as-a-service and stablecoin-issuance products using the network. The company has described Bitcoin as a settlement network for stablecoins and self-custodial wallets.
Visa operated more than 130 stablecoin-linked card programs across more than 50 countries in March 2026 and expected that figure to roughly double during 2026 based on its active pipeline.
No figures were disclosed for the number of companies testing the Cards Playground, cards issued through it or the broader platform’s general-availability date.
