Visa is bolstering its stablecoin offerings by integrating five additional blockchains into its settlement pilot, adopting a multichain strategy for global payments. The company announced on Wednesday that its stablecoin settlement pilot now encompasses nine networks, with a $7 billion annual run rate, marking a 50% increase from the previous quarter. This program enables issuers and acquirers to settle transactions using stablecoins instead of traditional banking channels.
The newly supported blockchains 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, cryptocurrencies pegged to fiat currencies, gain traction in cross-border money movement, Visa is testing this model through pilots and regional launches, such as USDC settlement tied to card programs in over 50 countries. By leveraging blockchain-based dollars, partners can settle transactions in near real-time, eliminating the need for days-long waits associated with traditional banking systems. By supporting multiple networks, Visa aims to provide partners with access to various liquidity pools without added complexity.
According to Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, 'Our partners operate in a multi-chain world 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.'