Visa has announced an expansion of its stablecoin initiative, incorporating five additional blockchain networks into its settlement pilot, which now encompasses nine networks and boasts a $7 billion annualized run rate, marking a 50% increase from the previous quarter. This development underscores Visa's commitment to a multichain strategy for global payments, enabling issuers and acquirers to utilize stablecoins for transaction settlements instead of traditional banking channels.
The newly integrated blockchains include Coinbase's Base, Polygon, Canton Network, Circle's Arc, and Stripe-backed Tempo, complementing existing integrations with Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Stellar. As stablecoins gain traction as a means for cross-border money movement, Visa's move aligns with the growing adoption of these fiat-pegged cryptocurrencies.
By supporting multiple blockchain networks, Visa aims to provide its partners with access to diverse liquidity pools without added complexity, allowing for near real-time transaction settlements. According to Rubail Birwadker, Visa's global head of growth products and strategic partnerships, 'Our partners operate in a multichain world and expect their options to align with 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 deliver a unified settlement layer across all of them.'