Visa is augmenting its stablecoin initiatives by incorporating five additional blockchain networks, underscoring its commitment to a multichain strategy for international payments. The company announced on Wednesday that its stablecoin settlement pilot program now encompasses nine networks and has attained a $7 billion annualized rate, representing a 50% increase from the preceding quarter. This program enables issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using stablecoins rather than 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 networks of Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar.
Visa's expansion comes at a time when stablecoins, cryptocurrencies pegged to the value of fiat currencies, are gaining traction as a means of transferring funds across borders. The company has been testing this model through pilots and regional rollouts, including USDC settlement tied to card programs in over 50 countries. By utilizing blockchain-based dollars, partners can settle transactions in near real-time, eliminating the need to wait several days for funds to clear through 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 program 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.'