Visa has announced the expansion of its stablecoin initiative by integrating five additional blockchain networks, underscoring its commitment to a multichain strategy for global payments. The company revealed on Wednesday that its stablecoin settlement pilot program now encompasses nine networks, achieving an annualized run rate of $7 billion, representing a 50% increase from the previous quarter. This program enables issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using stablecoins, bypassing traditional banking channels. The newly integrated blockchain networks include Coinbase's Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Circle's Arc, and Stripe-backed Tempo, which join the existing integrations with Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar.
As stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of fiat currencies, gain traction in facilitating cross-border money transfers, Visa has been actively testing and implementing this model through pilots and regional rollouts. This includes the use of USDC for settlement in card programs across over 50 countries.
By leveraging blockchain-based dollars, partners can settle transactions in near real-time, eliminating the need for prolonged waiting periods associated with traditional banking systems. Visa's support for multiple networks aims to provide partners with access to diverse liquidity pools without added complexity.
According to Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, 'Our partners operate in a multichain environment and expect their options to reflect this reality. By expanding our stablecoin settlement pilot to more blockchains, our partners can select the networks that best suit their needs while relying on Visa to provide a unified settlement layer across all of them.'