Gift cards have evolved from a supporting sales tool into a significant revenue stream for retail chains, online stores, and service companies. For businesses, they offer a way to secure upfront revenue, increase repeat purchases, and strengthen customer relationships. For consumers, they provide a convenient and universally appealing gift format.
The expansion of online commerce and the rise of global companies have turned digital gift cards into a standard instrument in the corporate sector. They are used in marketing campaigns, employee rewards, incentive programs, and internal corporate services. However, the traditional model of issuing and distributing gift cards comes with several limitations — many of which blockchain technologies can effectively overcome.
Let’s take a closer look at how gift cards are issued and managed in the era of Web3 innovation, and how the market is transforming under the influence of on-chain solutions.
Current State of the Gift Card Market
A gift card is a prepaid certificate that gives its holder the right to purchase goods or services from a specific merchant or a group of merchants for a predetermined amount. A card can be physical or digital.
Gift cards were originally viewed as a supporting marketing tool. Over time, they developed into a large and independent market. Estimates vary:
- According to Precedence Research, the gift card market is valued at $1.24 trillion in 2025. It may reach $3.81 trillion by 2034 with an average annual growth rate of 13%.
- Straits Research reports that the market may grow by at least 15% each year and could reach $2.9 trillion by 2030.
- Global Market Insights expects the market to reach $2.39 trillion by 2034 with a compound annual growth rate of 12.5%.
Even with differing projections, the overall trend is clear. Gift cards have become a significant source of revenue and a key instrument for building customer relationships.
Gift cards also form one of the most stable and fast-growing segments of the prepaid market. They are used by retail chains, digital services, marketplaces, and corporate clients. Their users range from small businesses to large global companies.
The global gift card market continues to grow for several structural reasons:
- Consumers increasingly choose gift cards as a universal and safe gifting format
- Businesses use gift cards to motivate employees and provide compensation, reward customers and partners, and offer non-monetary benefits
- Digitalization has simplified issuance and distribution. Gift cards no longer require a physical format and can be delivered by email, through messaging apps, or via mobile tools
Despite steady growth, the traditional model of gift cards faces several challenges:
- Limited transparency of operations
- Risks of counterfeiting, code duplication, and selling invalid cards
- High administrative and operational costs
- Restrictions on international use
- No unified infrastructure for verification and exchange
- Low liquidity
These issues become more visible as the digital economy expands. As a result, the market finds itself in a paradoxical situation. It is a major digital segment, yet it still depends on closed systems, complex processes, and outdated control mechanisms. This creates natural conditions for the emergence of blockchain-based solutions.
What Are On-Chain Gift Cards
Today, most gift cards already exist in a digital format. According to Global Market Insights, digital gift cards accounted for about 48.7% of the global market in 2024. The market for online gift cards was valued at $523.4 billion that same year. However, digital or virtual cards should not be confused with their on-chain counterparts.
A digital gift card is the online version of a traditional plastic card. In practice, it works as a code stored in the internal database of the issuing company. Verification of authenticity, balance, and redemption takes place through the retailer’s or aggregator’s infrastructure. A digital card can technically be transferred to another person, although this depends on the issuer’s rules and is not always a safe process.
In other words, a digital card is a virtual version of a physical gift card. It is more convenient for the buyer, yet it follows the same traditional distribution model.
An on-chain gift card is a cryptocurrency token issued on a blockchain network. The card’s value, usage conditions, and ownership record are stored in a distributed ledger. This protects the card from tampering, allows independent verification, and makes it possible to transfer it safely to another user.
In essence, an on-chain card is a programmable gift card that exists as an independent digital asset.
The shift to an on-chain format is a natural step for the gift card market. The industry has long been moving toward greater transparency, improved security, and lower operational costs. The on-chain approach changes the nature of the gift card itself. Instead of a closed code that can be lost, duplicated, or forged, the user receives a cryptographically secured digital asset. For businesses, this reduces fraud risks, improves the accuracy of accounting, and opens the door to automating many processes that previously required manual oversight.
Several factors have made the emergence of on-chain gift cards possible:
- The limitations of the traditional model have become increasingly evident in a rapidly growing market
- Blockchain infrastructure has become more accessible and stable, which makes solutions built on it viable for large-scale services
- The digital economy is steadily moving toward tokenization
A more detailed explanation of blockchain technology and its applications can be found in a separate CP Media article.
Types of On-Chain Gift Cards
On-chain gift cards can be classified in several ways. They differ by token type, ownership mechanics, level of programmability, and model of use. Combining these criteria makes it possible to highlight two major categories of on-chain gift cards.
Cryptocurrency Gift Cards
A cryptocurrency gift card gives its holder the right to receive a specific amount of cryptocurrency. Instead of granting access to goods or services from a particular merchant, the card provides access to a crypto asset.
Cryptocurrency gift cards fall into three groups:
- Transferable ownership. This type of card is a token with a fixed value. It can be gifted, sent, sold, or used on a secondary market.
- Limited ownership transfer. This type of card can be transferred only once or within a defined group of users. It is often used in corporate environments and issued within a closed blockchain network.
- No ownership transfer. Such cards function as soulbound tokens. They are tied to a specific blockchain address and cannot be sold or transferred to other users.
NFT-Based Gift Cards
Another branch in the development of on-chain gift cards involves solutions built on non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This format works well in scenarios where it is important to highlight the uniqueness of an offer, attach a specific item or service to a digital asset, or add collectible value to the gift.
Unlike standard digital gift cards, an NFT certificate exists as a unique token. It contains information about the right to a specific service or digital item, the conditions of use, and elements of personalization.
NFT gift cards are especially popular in premium segments of the market. They are used by brands that offer exclusive products, memorable experiences, or limited-access services. In many cases, the certificate acts not only as a way to transfer value but also as part of the customer experience. The visual design, rarity, or association with a particular series often contributes to the perceived value of the gift.
On-Chain Gift Cards in Practice
On-chain gift cards remain a relatively new segment, yet interest in them appeared long before they became an industry trend. One of the earliest projects to rethink the nature of gift cards through blockchain technology was Gyft Block. It was launched in 2015 by Gyft, which at the time was one of the largest digital gift card providers in the United States.
Gyft Block was introduced as a blockchain layer for tracking gift card issuance and use. It was built on the Open Assets protocol, a second-layer network based on Bitcoin. The idea was to turn a gift card from a retailer’s internal code into a standalone digital asset that exists on a blockchain.
The company’s interest in this area was not accidental. Gyft already worked with cryptocurrency and allowed customers to buy gift cards with BTC through its partnership with BitPay.
The initiative received wide attention in industry media and was viewed as a technological breakthrough. However, it did not evolve into a mainstream commercial product. The Gyft Block repository on GitHub was archived, and the model was never adopted by major retailers. There were several reasons for this:
- Blockchain technologies were not yet mature or scalable enough
- Retailers were not ready to integrate with open blockchain networks
- No infrastructure could be easily embedded into point-of-sale systems and CRM tools
Even after the project was discontinued, Gyft Block continued to be cited as one of the first serious attempts to modernize the gift card market through blockchain technology. Guillaume Lebleu, Head of Gyft Block, outlined the concept of a blockchain-based gift card marketplace, which influenced further development in this space.
The next stage in the evolution of on-chain gift cards involved solutions that allow companies to adopt blockchain without building their own systems. One example is the KrypC platform. It offers a Blockchain-as-a-Service model that enables retailers and service providers to launch on-chain gift card programs without developing complex infrastructure. Issuance, transfers, redemption, and tracking are automated at the smart contract level. User interaction remains familiar. These cards can be integrated into online stores, mobile applications, or offline point-of-sale systems.
Another notable example is Raise, one of the global leaders in the gift card market. In early 2025, the company secured $63 million in funding for its Smart Cards initiative. Raise aims to turn gift cards into programmable retail currency. This approach combines the properties of traditional gift cards with the capabilities of digital assets. Unlike early experimental projects, Raise is focused on commercial scale rather than technical demonstration.
The company is still working with financial sector partners and aims to create an open ecosystem in which gift cards can circulate freely, be transferred, integrated into digital wallets, and used across different jurisdictions.
In summary, the move toward an on-chain format is becoming a natural step for the gift card market. The industry needs more transparency, stronger fraud protection, and lower operational costs. Tokenization turns a gift card into a full-fledged digital asset and expands the possibilities available to both businesses and users.
