Visa Expands Support for Stablecoins Across Multiple Blockchains
Visa is set to enhance its cryptocurrency services by introducing support for four stablecoins on distinct blockchains, facilitating minting and burning for banks.
Visa, a major player in global payments, is planning to implement support for four stablecoins on distinct blockchains to enhance its cryptocurrency services. CEO Ryan McInerney revealed during the company’s recent earnings call that the initiative will enable banks to mint and burn these stablecoins.
“We are adding support for four stablecoins running on four unique blockchains, representing two currencies that we can accept and convert to over 25 traditional fiat currencies.”
Although McInerney did not disclose specific details about the stablecoins or the networks involved, this move is expected to expand Visa’s existing array of supported networks and stablecoins.
Currently, Visa already supports stablecoins like Circle’s USDC and Euro Coin (EURC), as well as PayPal USD (PYUSD) and Global Dollar (USDG), utilizing the Ethereum, Solana, Stellar, and Avalanche blockchains.
McInerney noted that the demand for stablecoins has surged, with Visa facilitating $140 billion in crypto and stablecoin transactions since 2020.
In terms of performance, the spending on Visa’s stablecoin-linked card services grew fourfold in the last quarter compared to the same period last year.
“We expanded the number of stablecoins and blockchains available for settlement, and monthly volume has now passed a $2.5 billion annualized run rate.”
Focus on Banking with Stablecoins
Going forward, McInerney emphasized Visa’s intention to enhance its stablecoin services for banks and facilitate increased cross-border financial transactions, suggesting that there is much more development to unfold in this segment.
The initiative commenced in late September with the Visa Direct pilot program allowing banks to pre-fund cross-border payments using stablecoins like USDC and EURC.
Looking ahead, McInerney mentioned that ongoing improvements and investments in their solutions layer will enable Visa to provide more advanced features to clients and partners, which includes allowing banks to mint and burn their own stablecoins using the Visa tokenized asset platform.
“We are starting to enable banks to mint and burn their own stablecoins with the Visa tokenized asset platform, and we are adding stablecoin capabilities to enhance cross-border money movement with Visa Direct.”
The entire progress indicates a clear commitment from Visa to deepen its involvement in the cryptocurrency space.
