Visa's Stablecoin Expansion and Impact on Global Payments
The popular bankcard services provider, Visa, has announced a significant expansion to its stablecoin backing program, adding support for four more stablecoins spanning across four different blockchain networks. According to CEO Ryan McInerney on the company's Q4 earnings call, through the newly supported stablecoins, Visa will soon "accept and convert to over 25 traditional fiat currencies," thereby solidifying its stablecoin lineup. This growth highlights how Visa stablecoins are becoming an integral part of the global payments network, moving stablecoin payments from the margins into mainstream merchant and bank settlements.
Record Growth Driven by Stablecoin Adoption
Visa also announced that over $140 billion in crypto and stablecoin flows have passed through its network since 2020. The company further noted that card spending associated with stablecoin payments quadrupled year-over-year in Q4. Additionally, the company claims its stablecoin support settlement volume has exceeded a $2.5 billion monthly run rate, annualized. These figures demonstrate how stablecoin payments, once considered niche experiments, are being integrated into the wider payments landscape through Visa’s infrastructure.
Banks' Role in Stablecoin Backing and Visa's Platform
Visa is enabling banks and institutions to work with Visa stablecoins in novel ways. The rollout includes enabling banks to create and destroy their own stablecoins using the Visa Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP). It also involves adding the new stablecoins to Visa Direct for high-speed and efficient global treasury operations, including international settlements. By providing powerful new payment capabilities for stablecoins at an issuer and settlement layer, rather than simply acceptance, Visa is shifting the role of Visa stablecoins from a "crypto accessory" to core bank infrastructure. The offering represents a new avenue for banks to utilize stablecoins for foreign exchange (FX), treasury, and payment settlement services.
Macroeconomic Effects of Stablecoin Integration
There are three broader themes emerging around Visa as it focuses on stablecoin payments and its stablecoin program:
- •Payment networks on crypto rails: Visa’s move to support an upgradeable stablecoin signals that, for traditional networks, tokenized assets are no longer just pilot projects but are ready for production volume deployment.
- •Banks joining the tokenization game: The ability for banks to issue and burn stablecoins through the VTAP feature means Visa’s stablecoins are not only for crypto wallets but also serve as a banking instrument.
- •Competitive pressure and regulation: As networks expand stablecoin payments, the winners will differentiate on issues such as compliance, reserve transparency, and relationships with fiat-backed issuers, all of which are part of the Visa stablecoin equation.
Future Trajectories for Stablecoin Payments
The following scenarios illustrate possible trajectories for stablecoin payments and Visa stablecoins over the next 12–24 months:
| Scenario | Payments volumes via Visa stablecoins | Bank issuance/mint-burn programs via VTAP |
| Base Case | $30–50 trillion in total stablecoin payments globally | 100–150 banks utilizing Visa stablecoins infrastructure |
| Upside Case | $50–65 trillion or more | 200+ banks issuing their own tokens via Visa stablecoins platform |
| Cautious Case | $20–30 trillion | 50–75 banks slow to adopt stablecoin issuance/settlement features |
Next Steps for Stakeholders in the Stablecoin Ecosystem
Payment providers, banks, and fintechs will want to analyze how the rollout of Visa’s support for stablecoins aligns with their digital-asset roadmap. Those building merchant products or cross-border flows should pay close attention to Visa’s integrations. The use of Visa stablecoins for merchant settlement, bank tokenization, and global FX could set the next wave in mainstreaming crypto infrastructure. Simultaneously, companies building card-linked token programs also need to consider how stablecoin payments within Visa affect dynamics across fiat and crypto rails.
Glossary of Key Terms
Stablecoin: A cryptocurrency with a stable price, typically one that’s pegged to actual money, such as the U.S. dollar or euro. It can be described as “digital cash.”
Blockchain: An encrypted digital record book, or ledger, that is shared among a network of computers. It functions like a digital ledger shared by computers worldwide.
Visa Stablecoins: Visa-backed digital currency enabling individuals globally to send money over social networks, recording all transactions accurately, securely, and efficiently.
Minting and Burning: “Minting” is the term for creating new stablecoins, while “burning” refers to removing them from circulation, similar to printing or shredding physical money.
Tokenized Asset Platform (VTAP): Visa’s technology enables banks to offer safe and easy issuance, management, and settlement of stablecoins on their payment networks.
Cross-Border Payments: Transferring money across borders using stablecoins for faster, cheaper, and more reliable transfer times than traditional wire transfers.
USDC: One of several popular digital tokens known as a stablecoin, backed by dollars. Each token is intended to be equivalent to one U.S. dollar and is frequently used in digital payments.
Fiat Currency: Traditional government-issued money, such as the dollar, euro, or yen, which serves as a standard against which stablecoins are pegged.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Visa Stablecoins
1. What are Visa stablecoins?
These fiat-backed digital currencies provide near real-time settlement using the world’s leading networks to facilitate fund movement around the globe, 24/7.
2. How would Visa stablecoins help consumers and banks?
They enable banks to mint and burn tokens, ensuring liquidity, enhancing the speed of cross-border transactions, and enabling real-time settlements in over 25 fiat currencies.
3. Is the Visa stablecoin transaction secure and compliant?
Yes. Visa upholds very high encryption and information security credentials rather than maintaining a permissionless blockchain.
4. What’s next on Visa’s stablecoin roadmap?
Visa is looking to support more stablecoins and add more blockchains and payment innovations to its global network of over 60 million merchants with its Tokenized Asset Platform for financial institutions.